The system, which is currently mid-installation, links to the company’s Prinect workflow and will produce the plates for its three presses. It replaces a Kodak Lotem II.

The Suprasetter is able to produce 27 plates per hour rather than the previous 16. The company will also use Fuji Pro-T plate supplied by Heidelberg, which uses fewer chemicals than other models.

It follows the installation of a fully automatic Stahlfolder TH56 in January and a Speedmaster XL 106-5+L with Impress Control in August 2012, after a deal was struck with Heidelberg at Drupa.

The TH56 is equipped with a twin stacker and was the second installed by the company, after being impressed with its first Stahlfolder’s performance over the past year.

Head of manufacturing, Richard Kyte, said that the Speedmaster was "flying" and that both "customers and prospects are very impressed with it".

He said investing in complementary pre-press and post-press equipment allowed the company to keep pace with the higher productivity it has been seeing.

He added: "We decided in favour of Heidelberg CTP because we invested in Prinect Prepress Manager last year and our long-term aim is to network all our production and link it to our MIS.

"Having the Suprasetter makes that synergy easier. It’s all about future proofing our business."

The company intends the Prinect system to be the hub of a linked-up MIS, pre-press, press and post-press JDF workflow in the future, something it hopes to achieve within the next two years.

McLays is a print, mail and digital communications provider to UK brands, across the financial services, healthcare, retail, government and utilities sectors. It had a turnover of £16 million in the 2011/2012 financial year.

Tweet