Integrated into GB Mail’s Buhrs and Sitma paper wrapping lines, the Norwix MPP4 HP TIJ 2.5 and UC22 HP TIJ 4.0 inkjet devices have helped the firm “smash all previous production records,” according to operations director Gary Leonard-Pepin, one of the firm’s three co-founders.
Replacing older Domino units, the new mono inkjet systems have cut changeover times on the wrapping lines massively, from up to two hours down to as little as a minute, and also print around 20% faster. For a mailing house that handles around a million items a week, faster paper wrapping has made a significant difference to operations, allowing Leonard-Pepin to assign workers to other machines and even give staff some early finishes on Friday afternoons, while giving GB Mail room for growth.
Having installed the first, the MPP4, in early March, GB Mail bought the UC22. Installed within three weeks of purchase, the second unit cemented the team’s confidence in the new machines.
“These things can run in about two or three minutes of the shift starting, where the older inkjet systems needed probably 20 minutes or so to warm up – that alone shows savings, and when you factor in the downtime you get off the older inkjets during the course of a shift, we’re outputting a lot more per shift,” Leonard-Pepin told Printweek.
“The plan is to put in three inkjets this year, but I’m trying to be cautious – manufacturers can overpromise – but we made the decision that we were going to go with Norwix based on profile, and that it was a known technology used by manufacturers we know, they have a few in the market with our competitors.
“So we put the first one in, cautiously, and were happy with that: it was a no-brainer to go with a second, and we’ll be investing in a third.”
GB Mail was founded in 2017 by Leonard-Pepin, Ben Taheri and Joseph Ghadami, with work focusing on envelope enclosing and paper wrapping, with in-house mailing print run handled by a fleet of seven Canon and Konica Minolta toner presses.
“GB Mail exemplifies a forward-thinking business that truly understands the value of investing in efficiency,” said Richard MacLean, sales director at E&B.
“We’re proud to support their growth with proven Norwix solutions.”
