PJ Print invests in Polar jogger

Greetings cards producer PJ Print has improved production flows and reduced noise after buying a Polar RA-4 jogger.

According to the company, which is based in Acton, west London, the machine was purchased to replace an older RA-4 that had been bought secondhand at auction, but which had begun to require excessive upkeep.

Technical director Rick Nock said: “It had started to need constant maintenance and repair and had become extremely noisy," said Nock. "The new RA-4 is a lot more automated; the side gates, for example, are automatic. It is also quieter.”

He added that PJ Print had secured a “very good deal” on price from Heidelberg

The new RA-4 runs alongside an existing Polar 137ED. Both machines are used to process work from the company's Heidelberg Speedmaster CD 102 press.

The company also operates equipment for die-cutting anf foiling. The nine-staff, £2m-turnover firm makes 40 million greetings cards a year.

“The jogger has to work when we need it to work and now it does. Speed is not the priority; we will benefit most from a better quality cut and less maintenance and noise," said Nock.

“We are regularly handling 280gsm and 300gsm stocks so a jogger is indispensable. Accurate cutting is critical in greetings card production because of the post cutting processes.

“When we first enquired Heidelberg quoted delivery times of three or four months so we were very grateful when they were able to respond to our need in a week.”