PRESS TO IMPRESS

YK522 gets the thumbs up from Stoke printer

Staffordshire Printing Ltd has become the latest company to install a Sanxin press from UK supplier Printers Superstore. A two colour YK522 is now running at the company’s Stoke factory, and according to MD Ken Beresford, the Sanxin’s combination of low cost and high spec was an offer he couldn’t refuse.

“The Sanxin machine is priced so competitively, it means a new press for the same price as a used machine,” he says. “We had read about it, but we had to see it for ourselves, so we booked a demonstration. Before they even started it up we knew we were dealing with a quality piece of kit, anyone with any knowledge of engineering would take one look at the Sanxin and know it’s been well built. You could put it alongside anything else on the market and it wouldn’t look out of place, and in some respects it’s better. The demonstration was impressive too.”

“We contacted another Sanxin user for their opinions and found they were pleased with their YK522, and the deal was sealed when Printers Superstore offered us a used DPX CTP system to work with the machine,” continues Mr Beresford.  “Now we’re running both, we are sure we made the right move. We’ve done process work and the registration is excellent, we can adjust it using touch screen control which is very innovative and up to date.”

Mr Beresford bought Staffordshire Printing in the summer of 2008 as a complement to his existing business, Crewe-based Office Services Ltd, which offers a wide range of goods and services, including print, with the emphasis on sign and display work and digital printing. “We took on Staffordshire Printing to enhance our litho capability and capacity,” he says.

The move seems to be paying off. “We’re on course to double Staffordshire Printing’s turnover by the summer,” he says. “We’re a general jobbing printer and although we do some more prestigious colour work our ‘bread and butter’ work is in two and three colour stationery. The demand is still there and so long as we stay competitive and work hard we can make money. The Sanxin press is already helping us bring new work in.” 

Staffordshire Printing has 5 staff and operates from a 3,000sq ft site. The company is fully self contained, with comprehensive prepress and finishing equipment. It has a broad client base ranging from individuals to large international companies.