Komori Press Answers Need For B2 Competitiveness

The ability to compete in the B2 five-colour print market will be available to the UK's Lithograve, which has installed a five-colour Komori Lithrone S29 press.

Lithograve expects to see 25 per cent - 30 per cent increase in production over two years because of its GBP1 million investment of which the new Lithrone is a part.

Birmingham's Lithograve currently operates 28-inch Komori presses and the investment in a new LS29 will allow Lithograve to offer added value print, which is essential in the current climate.

The company prints a range of commercial work with an average run length of 10,000 copies for business stationery, presentation folders, multi-page brochures, posters, postcards, flyers, mailers, calendars, box cartons and header cards.

Lithograve's main clients are design, advertising and PR agencies in Birmingham and throughout the English Midlands.

Komori said that like all printers, Lithograve has been affected by increased demand for shorter run lengths and faster jobs turn-around.

Lithograve has addressed those issues by involving new technology on the presses and introducing digital working to increase output, successfully operating litho and digital presses side by side in a quest to offer quality and speed.

The company's managing director, Dave Vickers, commented: "Lithograve has been a Komori house for the past 30 years and we have introduced different combinations of presses along the way.

This latest investment is a 29-inch B2 sheet size which gives us increased flexibility.

We are also finding that silk and uncoated stocks are becoming more popular so we plan to varnish and seal on the run.

We plan to target the same high quality markets but can now offer longer run lengths and aim to take on more brochure work." Joint managing director, Mike Bird, continued: "Other litho manufacturers put exciting offers on the table but we decided to invest in another Komori.

We know we have made the right choice based on our own experience and service history as Komori's reliability is hard to beat." The company has also introduced Agfa's Acento CTP with Azura chemistry-free plate to run on the new and existing presses, in a bid to boost its environmental credentials.

Bird added: "We like the clear defined image on the Azura plate and that the entire unwanted surface is removed before the plate goes on the press." The print house also plans to install an HP Indigo 5000 digital press to handle shorter print runs and using Agfa's Apogee X workflow system to link its existing pre-press department to the Komori and Indigo press, to create a fast and reliable workflow, added Komori.

Steve Turner, Komori's general sales manager for the north of the UK, commented: "Lithograve is a long standing Komori user and we are delighted to have supplied this press at an exciting time in the company's development.

The LS29 is highly automated and makes Lithograve one of the most efficient and advanced print companies in the area." Lithograve was founded in the 1950s, employs 15 members of staff and expects to turn over GBP1.25m this year.

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