PrintWorks North grows with Ryobi 525GE

PrintWorks North Ltd, Wetherby, has announced details of its latest expansion with the installation of a Ryobi 525GE five-unit offset litho press. The purchase comes just some 26-months since the installation of the company's first four-colour press.

Commenting on the new spend, Paul Johnson, Managing Director of PrintWorks North, said: "After investing in our first four-colour press - a Ryobi 524GE in 2009 - we have seen a year-on-year shift in the type of work being demanded by our customers. Full-colour print accounted for around 20% of all work in 2009. In 2011 that figure stands at over 60%. We are constantly developing new customer relationships and the introduction of our new website (www.printworks-online.com) will pave the way for even more full-colour work in 2012."

Ben Johnson, Sales & Marketing Director at the company, added: "Over the course of the last two years we have witnessed an increased demand from clients for super-fast turnaround print that does not compromise on quality. Our inability to seal inline meant that we often had to pass print jobs through the press up to four times - four process colours plus a sealing run for each side of the sheet. This was putting pressure on turnaround times and limiting the productivity of the business. With tight margins and a volatile price/speed orientated market, we needed to act."

Having formed a close relationship with Apex Digital Graphics over a number of years the father and son team of Paul and Ben Johnson looked to them for assistance and the Ryobi 525GE was the obvious solution. "We had been extremely happy with the versatility of the 524. It coped extremely well everything we threw at it, especially the constant changes between spot and CMYK. However, the move to the Ryobi 525GE also provided us with a number of new features that would further shorten make readies and increase the speed at which our printers could operate without compromising quality," confirmed Ben Johnson.

The press was installed at the end of December and by the end of the first week in January 2012 PrintWorks North were up and running and seeing the expected benefits straight away. The first job was nice and simple: 1,000 A4 leaflets. "We were turning the job almost immediately and within half an hour of printing the leaflets they were dry and ready for cutting and folding," said Paul Johnson.

"As always Apex have been fantastic during the whole installation. Minor teething problems are inevitable during installations, but these are always dealt with immediately by the Apex engineers. Their friendly professional approach ensured that the press was installed quickly and with minimal downtime, and their aftercare service in our experience has been second to none. If all goes well with our new website we will definitely be utilizing the services of Apex Digital Graphics again in the near future!"