Diecutter Helps Print Finisher To Enter B1 Market

New, larger premises and a Bobst Commercial 106 diecutter mean that Prolam can now offer a complete B1 print finishing service.

Rotherham (UK) trade finisher, Prolam, said that commercial printers are moving towards size B1, so the company has installed a new Bobst Commercial 106 diecutter to enable cutting, creasing and embossing at that sheet size.

With no room left for expansion on its previous site, Prolam decided that it needed to move to larger premises and chose a new, 12,000 square foot building within a modern business park at Dinnington, on the outskirts of Rotherham.

The site allows for a further 4,000 square feet of production space to be added at a later date.

Having made the decision to offer B1 diecutting and embossing, Prolam's key objectives were to find a machine that would handle paper as light as 80gsm and which would diecut and strip at the same time.

This requirement was to allow the company to reduce their reliance on hand stripping and, subsequently, to allow the company to be more competitive on long stripped runs.

Prolam chose the 7,700 sheets per hour Bobst Commercial 106, which also gives the company the ability to diecut and emboss concurrently.

Additionally, because tooling is standard across the Bobst B1 range, customer-supplied tools will generally be compatible.

Paul Blanksby, managing director of Prolam, said: "There is definitely a move towards B1 amongst our commercial print customers.

We have long been able to offer B1 laminating, spot UV and roller coating.

Now we can die cut and emboss at this size as well, completing the line up of our services." Blanksby added: "This site gave us space to install a new Bobst diecutter and also meant that we could bring our pocket folder equipment back in from a separate location.

At the same time it gives us more space for work in progress and room for future expansion." And he explained that his company needed to make the move to B1 with confidence.

Everybody is the marketplace knows Bobst diecutters but, like many people in the industry, Prolam thought that a new machine from the company would be very expensive and a second-hand would perhaps be an option.

However the company discovered that Bobst had a well-priced machine specifically aimed at the commercial sector.

The Commercial 106 has doubled Prolam's sheet size and the flat-bed process has given the company a more uniform pressure, making getting a consistent cut and crease easier.

And Blanksby added: "I can honestly say that Bobst is a fabulous firm to work with.

The company did a pre-delivery inspection, the machine came in already run and tested and the installation was quick and efficient.

The training for the operators was great too and the instructors are still supporting us as we break in to new markets.

I've dealt with a good few suppliers and Bobst are by far the best.".

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