Productivity surges at Snap WA hub after first Heidelberg Anicolor install

The new four-colour plus coater Speedmaster Anicolor was installed in February to replace an old five-colour Speedmaster SM 52.

Chief executive Michael Banton said: “There is no other press like the Anicolor, it is so far ahead of anything else on the market. It has definitely exceeded expectations and we are extremely pleased with our decision.

“I am truly amazed at how much the press has already impacted productivity. We have realised a 35% productivity gain already, and that’s being conservative. This machine is so fast. Makeready is completed in five sheets compared with 100 on our previous press.”

Production manager Phill Weall told ProPrint the hub had decided to replace its seven-year-old SM 52 because it wanted something that could provide better quality, faster makeready times and faster set-up times.

The Perth hub employs 24 people and produces more than 1,700 jobs per month for the state’s 21 Snap franchises. Its other main presses are a two-colour SM 52 and a four-colour Ryobi 3304H.

Banton said the Anicolor had fit into the hub’s workflow “brilliantly”.

“We are pulling work off our other machines to fill the two shifts on the Anicolor press, it is that fast,” he said.

Heidelberg’s general manager of product management, Lindsay Barnes, said Australasian installations of Anicolor presses had been “hugely successful” and resulted in 50% productivity increases for most printers.

“Combine the productivity savings with a 90% reduction in waste and 50% reduction in makeready and it is easy to see how the Anicolor technology has closed the gap between digital and offset printing, allowing print companies to deliver high quality offset products at more competitive price points,” he said.

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