21 Colour begins finishing upgrade with Stahlfolder KH 56

Glasgow printer 21 Colour has invested 130,000 in a Stahlfolder KH 56 as the first step in its finishing revamp.

The new machine from Heidelberg will arrive in October to replace a 10-year-old MBO 321 steam-fed buckle folder.

21 Colour sales director Philip Cole decided to upgrade to a more automated machine to speed up make ready times.

The XL 75, which was the first of its kind to be installed in Scotland, has won the £4.8m-turnover company larger run jobs meaning that the variety of short- and long-run jobs has increased.

Cole said the quick and easy accessibility of stored set-up information on the machine meant that changing between those jobs would become easier.

He said: "This lets us interrupt large runs with small runs and not waste running time with make readies."

The folder also comes with a presser stacker to ensure a flatter finish on leaflets, enabling easier packaging from the folder and better feeding into the six-station Muller Martini Bravo stitcher.

The team are yet to choose between an Autobond or Komofi laminator as the next installation in the coming months.