Banbury Litho invests in XL 75 to cut waste

Family business Banbury Litho is to take delivery of a Heidelberg Speedmaster XL 75-5+L this November to minimise start-up waste and increase its volume of sellable sheets.

The ISO 14001-certified company said it wanted to improve productivity and quality as well as "neutralise" the carbon used in its manufacture by investment in global sustainability projects. Heidelberg will calculate and certify Banbury Litho.

The press prints 15,000 sheets an hour and will replace an older Heidelberg CD 74 and complement a Speedmaster SM 74-10-P. Managing director Matthew Wise said the new kit, with Inpress spectral measurement, would increase capacity by up to 30% with no additional hours.

"We are very, very busy and wanted the new machine to give us extra capacity and quicker turnaround without having to invest in more staff," said Wise, who prints brochures, leaflets and corporate literature for local councils and blue-chip clients.

"Five-colour is fairly standard these days and the coater means we can work and turn without delay," he said. "It will increase scheduling flexibility and productivity with fully closed-loop colour management using existing Heidelberg Prinect workflows."

Banbury Litho was launched 35 years ago in the garage of Wise's father Mark. Sister Becky is company secretary. The 40-staff business has a £4m turnover and replaces kit every five to seven years. It uses vegetable inks and Howard Smith papers with certification from the Carbon Trust.

Carbon neutralising its new press married up with its approach to sustainable strategies, said Wise: "We live in a lovely part of the world and feel we have a responsibility to the environment."