The new FB7600, which was installed at the end of April, will enable the Suffolk-based company, which produces POS and display work for retailers and their suppliers, to offer faster turnaround times and keep more work in-house.
Chris Hall, group business development director of parent Fencor Group, said: "We are looking to grow Easypack by 50%, which includes our display, co-packing and folding boxboard divisions. The HP digital press is central to us achieving this goal. Overall, we're looking to increase turnover by circa £3m."
He added that the machine had been very busy since its installation and that the company intended to up production further. "The machine has been full-on on one shift since start-up and we are looking to ramp up to two shifts in the run-up to Christmas," he said.
The FB7600 can print at up to 500sqm per hour, which Easypack said will enable it to respond quicker to orders, and it has the ability to print on very thin substrates as well as those up to 25mm.
Hall said: "To remain competitive, it is crucial to speed up the route to market. We wanted to offer quicker turnaround times while maintaining high quality and the FB7600 is ideal for this."
Easypack opted to have a multi-sheet loader supplied with the press, which enables the simultaneous printing of up to four sheets, in order to maximise productivity.
Another big selling point of the press was its ability to produce short runs. "We see the market moving more and more towards shorter runs so we wanted to keep ahead of the game and be able to offer them in an efficient manner – in terms of both cost and time," said Hall.
"At Easypack we also know that markets continuously change and chose the FB7600 accordingly - it is a platform that can be built upon and it can be updated as and when which is great for moving targets."
The FB7600 has also extended the range of substrates that Easypack is able to handle. Until its installation, the company worked primarily with paper, corrugated board and folding boxboard to produce applications such as POS displays, dump bins and pre-filled displays, but it is now looking to offer new substrates to customers including vinyl.
Easypack also operates a 2.4m Canon Océ Arizona 550 GT, which is used for short runs and samples, and a 2.2m Sias screen press as well as Komori and Heidelberg conventional presses at its 6,000sqm facility in Mildenhall, Suffolk.
Easypack, which has 50 permanent staff and a turnover of around £7m, forms part of £17.5m-turnover Fencor Group, which also comprises Manor Packaging in Peterborough and ACH Corrugated in Ely.
