First Dainippon Multi-Format CTP At Bemrose Booth

Specialist and secure print services group Bemrose Booth has ordered the UK's first Dainippon Screen Ultima multi-format computer to plate system, as part of its strategy to increase automation.

Specialist and secure print services group Bemrose Booth has ordered the UK's first Dainippon Screen Ultima multi-format computer to plate system, as part of its strategy to increase automation and efficiency.

Due to be installed and commissioned at the company's Derby facility in January 2004, the investment in the Ultima comes as part of the Group's long term capital expenditure programme at its UK manufacturing sites in Derby, Hull and Teesside.

Bemrose Booth Derby specialises in a variety of business sectors, from secure transactional items such as gift and incentive vouchers, and event and travel tickets to business- to-business calendars.

"Investment of this type sees Bemrose Booth embracing leading edge technology to further build our differentiation in the marketplace.

Our customers rely on us as a key partner to deliver continuing quality and service improvements," said business development director Andy Blundell.

Examples of the variety of work handled by the company include the print and fulfilment behind Marks and Spencer's online gift voucher ordering system.

The printing, personalising and distribution of tickets for the 2002 FIFA World Cup and rail ticketing for all the UK train operating companies are also typical.

Bemrose Booth chose the Ultima for its ability to handle the large format plates required for the company's two-colour Timson VLF press and smaller format plates.

The smaller plates can be imaged two-up for the company's multiple multi-colour sheet and web offset presses.

Dainippon believes key features behind the choice of the Ultima include high plate capacity, full automation with integral punching, fast plate production speed, and the ability to handle a high level of repro quality for calendar work.

They said it is also capable of handling the fine lines and patterns needed for tickets and vouchers.

"We already have one Dainippon B2 CTP system and have been investigating a variety of large format CTP technologies for some time in order to further boost efficiency and give us the capability to handle long and short runs with equal effectiveness," explained Blundell.

"Pace of production, quality and the ability to handle a range of plate sizes were important criteria and with the Ultima we have found everything we needed in one machine," he added.

The fully automatic Ultima will be installed complete with an in-line, multi-cassette plate autoloader and processor to maximise the production performance of the system.

Each of the autoloader's four cassettes can handle up to 75 large-size plates, or 150 plates for eight-up (or smaller) plates, enabling double-plate exposure for a maximum of 600 plates.

It will receive one-bit TIFF files from a Barco Fastlane front-end system.

"The Ultima is a superbly flexible machine in its ability to support many press formats.

Companies with multiple presses and high production levels only need to invest in one machine, confident that they will obtain consistent high quality from a reliable device," said Brian Filler, Managing Director of Dainippon Screen UK.

Back to top