Print Leeds in £3m Heidelberg spend

Print-Leeds has invested around 3m in a Heidelberg Speedmaster CX 102-7+L and CTP system as part of its expansion following the acquisition of S&C Labels in February.

The new machine will replace the company’s existing 11-year-old, seven colour CD 102 and will run at 16,500 sheets per hour.

It features CutStar technology and Inpress Control, while the company has also installed a new B1 Suprasetter 106 CTP system.

Managing director Rod Fisher claimed that Print-Leeds was the only UK label printer with Inpress Control, which measures the colour of every twentieth sheet.

Fisher said the company had "substantial new work in the pipeline" as a result of the new system. "Inpress Control will give us greater consistency and perfection. So people are coming to us because they’re realising that we’ll be the most advanced labels printer in the UK," he added.

The machine will also be fitted with CutStar technology. Fisher said this would allow Print-Leeds to print on an array of substrates, including plastics, mirror papers and polypropylene, which is used for water bottles.

Fisher said the new machine would arrive next week and would be up and running in January.

Print-Leeds will mainly use the new machine for S&C Labels’ work but it will also handle some of the Print-Leeds’ plastics printing.

The investment comes ahead of the finalisation of a £500,000 building programme to increase the company’s premises in Leeds from 10,000sqft to 19,000sqft.

Expanding the premises will allow the company to accommodate S&C’s 25 employees from its Huddersfield site, who will move to Leeds at the end of December.