Sense Creative Meets Demand with New Ryobi

Darlington and Internet-based Sense Creative has announced the installation of a Ryobi 525GE B3-format press to help it cope with current customer demand for printed product. The machine was supplied by Apex.

The addition of the Ryobi press has also allowed the print business to move forward with its plans to create its own unique web-to-print solution under the title of “That Print Thing” (see www.thatprintthing.co.uk for more details!). “Our own web site has been a huge success for us, and is effectively our sales force! We have nobody out on the road, and every order is paid for up front,” explained Tim Thompson, founder and Managing Director of Sense Creative. “The concept behind the creation of “That Print Thing” is to provide an e-commerce printing and template package for other printers to utilise. If they have equipment, they can print the resultant orders themselves. Alternatively, we can print the work and send it back to them to deliver to the end customer. “That Print Thing” will include products such as photobooks, vehicle graphics, and banners, as well as typical litho work such as stationery and greetings cards.”

Tim and his father John Thompson have only been in business for four years. Having started with quick and efficient digital printing from home, the Sense Creative team rapidly moved through Xerox equipment and onto litho printing machinery with the purchase of a four-colour Shinohara press. “The move to litho was certainly an eye opener with regard to the complexity of the machinery, but it also showed us what true print quality was all about,” said Tim Thompson.

This latest investment will allow the company to add a seal to a standard four-colour print. “The move to a five-colour machine allows us to print with a sealer meaning that the prints are virtually dry to the touch when the come off the press. Features such as the sheet feeder on the Ryobi are also fantastic: it means that we really can run at 11,000 sheets per hour, whereas with the older Shinohara press we rarely got above the 9,000 mark on even the simplest work. The Ryobi will also run heavier weight stocks very well, which means that we can print multi-up business cards – which we do a lot of – easily and efficiently,” added Tim Thompson.

Operators are also impressed with big press features on the 525GE such as the Ink Volume Setter, which allows ink profile information regarding the next print job to be fed into the press, providing for a quick and accurate job changeover.

Sense Creative’s latest purchase will certainly be worked hard, as the company is already running the machine for twenty-four hours per day on a five-day week. Plate production at the print site is now in the region of 4,000 per week.

Commenting on his company’s approach to the print business, Tim Thompson said: “I am delighted at how quickly our company has grown. This is entirely down to our e-commerce mentality: we have no sales people on the road; they are too expensive. We realised early on that we had to have a good web presence in order to attract business, and it has worked extremely well for us. For printers who need to fully understand the benefits of having a web presence, our latest “That Print Thing” venture is the ideal way to find out!”

For further information on Sense Creative visit the www.sensecreative.co.uk web site, or call 08450 580 579.