The £1.7m deal, which was finalised during Northprint 2011 and included upgrades to Kingston Carton’s existing Roland 700 HiPrint, marks the first DirectDrive press to be purchased by the UK packaging sector.
The upgrades include converting the press to ColourMetrics, intregrating a PilotPlus monitoring system and retrofitting a QuickChange clamp to the HiPrint’s coating unit.
Kingston Carton managing director Arend Buitendam said that the new press would help the company, which has a turnover of £8m, to meet greater demand for more specialised packaging, quicker makereadies and lower print runs.
He added: "We wanted to beef up our offset department and we went for the Roland 700 DirectDrive press because of its synergy with our existing machine and its top speed and logistics. Also, we have total confidence in Manroland, they have been looking after us very well for many years."
The Roland 700 DirectDrive press features an electronic drive on the plate cylinder and a patented double-clutch system which reduces the makeready times and is aimed at printers who require short-run productivity. Plate changing can be carried out simultaneously on two to 12 printing units at the same time other makeready functions are being performed.
Norman Revill, managing director of Manroland GB, said: "This is a fantastic announcement to make on the back of a successful Northprint exhibition and it’s very exciting to have now sold our first DirectDrive press in the UK packaging sector."
