Buckleys in Stockport, which won label printer of the year at this weeks PrintWeek Awards, has brought all its repro work in-house and installed ArtPro software from Artwork Systems.

"The benefit is a faster response time, and it also helps us keep skills in-house rather than relying on outworkers," said sales director Tony Stevens.

Buckleys has created a completely new pre-press department and now uses a B1 Purup-Eskofot Magnum imagesetter and copydot scanner.

Stevens said the firm would be looking to make a move into CTP production over the coming year.

The firms two-year, 2m investment programme also included the installation of a four-colour MAN Roland press. It was installed at the beginning of this month, joining a 1.5m, B1 MAN Roland 708 press with a double coater.

"We put together the investment plan in October 1999 because we wanted to stay ahead of the game," said Stevens. "The investment has given us a much wider scope, and we are looking to expand into new types of work, including card printing."

Story by Fay Schopen