Griffin general manager Ben Jolly said the HP T350, which will be up and running by mid-July, can produce 1,000 books per hour. It will run inline with a Muller Martini Hi-Tech perfect binder.

Griffin checked out similar configurations in the US and Europe before making the investment. The T350 was released at Graph Expo in Chicago in October 2010.

The T350 will be used for medium run lengths of a few hundred to a few thousand – a key area for the company, Jolly told ProPrint.

“Right now the profile of our business has been pretty steady, but we saw a significant dip about five years ago in the size of runs,” he said.

“We estimate for now and the foreseeable future there will be a greater demand for one to 3,000 runs.”

Jobs under 100 will still be pushed through its Xerox Book Factory, while runs of “a thousand to a million or more” will be produced on its fleet of Timson presses.

Jolly said the reliability and the high-quality results of the T350 swayed Griffin’s decision.

“The machine is one of the first of its type not just in the country but the world and has the potential for big things,” he said.

“We are impressed with the concept and the results, impressed enough to dip our toe in and embrace the new technology.”

Comment below to have your say on this story.

If you have a news story or tip-off, get in touch at editorial@sprinter.com.au.  

Sign up to the Sprinter newsletter