The book printer, which is part of the Opus Print Group, took delivery of the 2006 model perfector in June after purchasing it from the fire sale of defunct Sydney printer Beaver Press.

Ligare general manager Wayne Bywater told ProPrint that the company was attracted to the fact that the press “only had 50 million impressions on the clock”.

“We started talking to Beaver about it a few months ago. We needed a new colour press and we were either going to have a look at a good second-hand press or buy a new press, though that probably would have been a five or six-colour, as price is a major factor,” he said.

The company has replaced a five colour Heidelberg Speedmaster 102, a four-colour SM 74, and a Roland 700 press. The 700 has been moved to Ligare New Zealand, while the other two Heidelberg presses have been sold.

Bywater said the book printer was targeting “better efficiencies” with the new press, which is able to handle the work previously performed by all three outgoing machines, including colour book covers.

“It allows us to be more competitive. What used to take us a day, we can now do in three hours,” he said.

Bywater added that “better quality” and “faster turnaround time” were also a factor in opting to purchase the press.

Ligare trained its existing staff on how to use the new press at the Opus-owned Canprint, where a ten-colour version of the perfector is in use.

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