Pre-media

Taylor Bloxham has defied the economic slowdown with a £1.5m investment in new pre-press, printing and finishing equipment, giving it up to a 30% boost in productivity.

The Leicester-based company, which recently bolstered its finishing capability with a new guillotine workflow system, will take delivery of an XL105-6LX six-colour coating press in October.

Group managing director Pete Hammond argued that the increased throughput enabled by the new guillotine system and large-format press would allow the company to stay ahead of the summer slowdown.

He said: "These investments will decrease makeready times and increase our production speeds, helping us to remain competitive in the marketplace."

Taylor Bloxham expects the increased productivity and flexibility of its new press, which follows the installation of a new Polar 137 guillotine with PACE cutting system, autoturn and lifting equipment, to increase productivity by almost one third.

A spokeswoman said: "The new XL format gives a larger image area, giving clients more flexibility, while higher speed will give a potential 30% increase in productivity."

The purchase of the XL105, which replaces an older 720x1,020mm six-colour Heidelberg CD102, has led Taylor Bloxham to bolster its pre-press department.

A spokeswoman said: "There is a need for investment in pre-press, but only a cassette feeding system – our existing Magnus 800 platesetter – is large enough to take the new plate size."

Taylor Bloxham, which employs more than 200 staff, is part of the Print People Group. The company, which was founded in 1938, has a turnover of around £19m.