Who or what is Hans Gronhi? With that name, you could be forgiven for assuming it was a German firm, but in fact it is one of the biggest Chinese press manufacturers.
But before rejecting it out of hand due to China's less than favourable reputation in the printing press market, pause to ponder what else is made in China. Apple's iconic iPhone is just one example of high-end high-technology goods assembled in China and you don't hear many people writing that off because of where it was put together. And when you learn that at £175,000 all in, with all the bells and whistles most firms will ever want - about half the price of a similarly configured five-colour B3 from an established German or Japanese marque - can you afford to be so dismissive?
Given that most printers are currently cash-strapped, the option of getting a brand new press for half the price you'd normally expect to pay has got to be attractive.
Graham Moorby, managing director at UK dealer Printers Superstore, has got an answer to anyone who thinks that the price and its origin rule it out of consideration.
"It's not just about price," he argues. "If it didn't have quality and reliability, the price would be irrelevant."
Open minded
Moorby urges people to keep an open mind and to come and see the press for themselves before making a judgement. It's an approach that has worked so far. Printers Superstore first started selling Chinese presses three years ago when it began marketing the Sanxin range of two- and four-colour machines and, to date, it has sold around 20 machines in the UK. Hans-Gronhi came into the picture in 2008 when it bought Sanxin and decided to look beyond the domestic Chinese market.
Rivals bring up the issue of the higher residual value of their machines, but Moorby says "you will lose more money over the lifetime of a £300,000 press than our's at £175,000".
He argues that lower upfront costs and interest payments mean a customer could "buy ours for less than the total cost of interest and depreciation on a more expensive machine".
If the residual value issue bothers you, consider that by the time you come to sell the press, Hans-Gronhi may be a more established name with a decent residual value and in Moorby's words: "No B3 press is like a fine wine or an oil painting, they're all going to depreciate".
So how has the company managed to take so much cost out, without compromising on the performance?
Like huge swathes of consumer goods, the price reflects the lower costs of producing a machine over there.
Chinese leader
In China, Hans-Gronhi is the market leader in offset presses in the B3 format and recently invested £100m in its 385,000m2 factory, taking production up to 400 presses per year. As a result, Moorby has got high hopes of market dominance in the UK market in the medium term.
"We'd like to be the dominant force in B3 within three to five years; it's bold, but why not?"
It comes back to perceived quality. It's hard not to draw a comparison with the arrival of Japanese presses 20 to 30 years ago, although Moorby counters that today's market expectations means that the Chinese manufacturers have had, and risen to, a tougher challenge.
"When the Japanese presses first arrived the market wanted single-colour presses and expected much lower quality," he says. "Our presses have had to come in at the top end of the colour market and reach a much higher quality threshold than the first Japanese machines did."
He cites features such as the five-roller ink train that can be run ‘integrated' with all five rollers for jobs with heavy solids, or ‘non-integrated' with just four rollers for work with light coverage. Another example is the oscillating bridging rollers, which are better at milling ink.
In addition, with off-press controls and a raft of automation, the press is up there with the best of the offerings from the established players. Moorby cites a scanning spectrophotometer in development that can measure the whole sheet, rather than just the colour bar, as an example of the company's aim to be an innovator.
At the moment, Hans Gronhi's range in the UK is limited to the B3 GH range in up to six colours. But that can come kitted out with a high degree of automation, with numbering and perforating optional, as is an X-Rite EasyTrax spectrophotometer and IR dryer.
Machines for the domestic Chinese market can be supplied with coaters and UV curing, although they have yet to gain a CE mark, so aren't available here. The manufacturer is also increasing the format of its machines - in China a 660mm-wide SRA2 machine is available and larger formats are being developed.
Low-cost option
One thing worth bearing in mind about the low price of the GH525 is what that does to your running costs and the shortest runs you can produce competitively against digital print.
Semi-automatic plate changing, off-press controls and automatic wash-ups mean makeready is as speedy as most rivals and Moorby says customers are cutting into sellable quality in 20 or so sheets. When combined with lower hourly rates due to the price, this means you can keep a competitive edge, with the option to either reduce rates without cutting margins to the bone or, at the same price, recoup a larger margin.
Another way in which costs are kept down is that the machine has a small footprint, potentially cutting the rent you need to pay and with a power rating of 15kW it's also energy efficient.
However, Moorby is keen to emphasise that crammed into its compact form, and despite its frugal consumption, is a heavyweight press - 10.5 tonnes to be precise. The question is whether you take weight as an indicator of its robustness.
If, having heard the arguments, you want to take up Moorby's offer of seeing the GH525 in action, then you can either arrange a trip to Printers Superstore and, like many prospective customers, chuck your toughest jobs at it to see how it copes, or you can wait until Ipex.
In May, Hans-Gronhi will have a stand where the GH525, along with a few surprises, will be centre stage.
"It shows the firm's desire to be a leading player," says Moorby of the firm's Ipex appearance.
With a strong presence in Birmingham, Hans-Gronhi is likely to go very quickly from a name you've never heard of to one that's hard to ignore.
SPECIFICATIONS
Max sheet size 520x375mm
Stock range 0.04-0.4mm
Speed 12,000sph
Colours one to six
Automation Semi-auto plate change,auto ink sweep, roller wash, CIP4, remote cylinder adjustment in all directions, auto dampening
Footprint 5.2x2.3m
Price
£174,950 (fully automated five-colour),
X-Rite EasyTrax scanning spectrophotometer £7,000
Contact
Printers Superstore
0113 208 8500
www.printers-superstore.com
THE ALTERNATIVES
Ryobi 525 GE
The 525 GE is a trimmed down version of Ryobi's top-of-the-range GX B3 machine, with a smaller footprint and lower price, although the £80,000 saving pales in comparison with the price of the Hans Gronhi.
Max sheet size 520x375mm
Stock range 0.04-0.05mm
Speed 11,000sph
Colours Two, four or five
Automation Semi-automatic plate changing, program inking, PDS-E density control
Footprint 5.6x2m
Price £289,000 (five-colour)
Contact Apex Digital Graphics 01442 235236 www.apexdigital.co.uk
Heidelberg Speedmaster SM 52
Features include auto plate, CIP 4 connectivity, fully automatic blanket and impression cylinder wash-up, slick and proven transfer system, inking and dampening with the option for a hickey removal system. Reliable, no fuss single-suction tape feeder and low start-up option.
Max sheet size 370x520mm
Stock range 0.03-0.6mm
Speed 15,000sph
Colours up to 10
Automation Fully automatic perfector option, presetting of sidelays and printing unit pressures
Footprint 5.5x2.7m (five-colour)
Price From £400,000 (five-colour)
Contact Heidelberg 0844 892 2010 www.heidelberg.com
Manroland 50
Double-size printing cylinders and transferters derived from Manroland's larger presses allow the R50 to handle thicker substrates and reduce sheet marking. It is claimed to handle the largest range of substrates of any B3 press and its delivery pile height of 700mm is one of the largest on the market.
Max sheet size 360x520mm (option: 380x530mm)
Stock range 0.04-0.8mm
Speed 13,000sph
Colours Two - six
Automation Semi-automatic plate change, automatic fount and dampening control, options include blanket washing and ink pre-setting
Footprint 6.3x2.7m
Price £375,000 five-colour
Contact Manroland GB 020 8648 7090 www.manroland.co.uk
