Publisher's £1.5m Speedmaster Boosts Capacity

Ian Allan will significantly increase the volume of work handled from outside the group when it exchanges a five-colour for an eight-unit Heidelberg press in June 2004.

Ian Allan will significantly increase the volume of work handled from outside the group when it exchanges a five-colour for an eight-unit Heidelberg press in June 2004.

With the same manning it anticipates a one-third increase in productivity.

The Ian Allan Group is among only a small band of companies remaining in the UK that combines publishing and printing operations.

Currently 75% of the printing division's turnover is from internal business (primarily magazines and books covering transport, aviation, defence and sport) but this will drop to 50% when the added capacity of the Heidelberg Speedmaster SM102-8P comes on stream.

The company believes it is the ability to offer the complete personal service that marks it out.

Much of its work is in magazines and books but promotional material, report and accounts and even maps are handled.

Outside customers include the Railway Heritage Trust, Walton Heath Golf Club, West End Review, Brooklands Museum and personal publishers.

Ian Allan's own magazines and books are printed at the Hersham plant include Modern Railways, Aircraft Illustrated and Buses.

Currently the company prints over 20 magazines, mainly monthlies, and 140 books a year.

The average magazine run is about 20,000 but can go as high as 50,000.

With books the median is about 3,000 copies.

Managing director Tony Saunders said: "Six years ago when we bought the five-colour Heidelberg SM102 it was the right press for our market.

It has done good service, clocking up over 150 million impressions.

But our market has changed again and we need to produce full colour on both sides of the sheet in one pass.

We looked at other suppliers and the second-hand market but we have had good service from Heidelberg for six years and that is a real comfort factor when you are operating with one press." It is two years since the company moved to CTP with a Topsetter 102AL, which even now outputs 1,000 plates a month.

The ?1.5m press investment brings production up to full speed, complemented by a new KTD78 combination folder that will run alongside two rival buckle machines.

Saddle stitching is handled in-house on an eight-station line but perfect binding and case binding is put out to specialist finishing houses.

Group chairman David Allan said: "In the last 10 years we have been turning work away because of loading constraints.

With the eight-colour we have more capacity and become more competitive with web operators." The publishing arm of Ian Allan was started in 1942 and the printing operation added in 1956.

It has moved from Rotaprints to Solnas to MAN Roland machines and on to first the Heidelberg Speedmaster five-colour.

The eight-colour press marks the start of yet another new era.

It will produce on a three shift, 24-hour basis.

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