When Devon-based commercial printer Hedgerow Print decided to consolidate its warehouse footprint on an industrial estate in Crediton and move from two smaller units into a larger 930sqm premises in 2021, it took the opportunity to review the armoury of equipment it was using.

In addition to two Heidelberg Speedmaster 52 presses, two Konica Minolta 6100 digital devices and a range of large-format digital printing and finishing equipment, Hedgerow also had a five-colour Komori LS529 H-UV press it had bought secondhand around six years previously.

Gary Radford, managing director of Hedgerow, said the Komori had served the company well, but it was a “little long in the tooth” and the move to larger premises was the perfect time to upgrade the used model for a brand new one.

So in May 2021, the business installed a four-colour B2 Komori GL429 with H-UV drying. Radford says the Komori Lithrone machine was the natural choice for Hedgerow and he didn’t need to shop around as he knew exactly what he was getting.

“We were very early adopters of H-UV technology and whilst the [Komori] machine we had was a converted H-UV – it wasn’t factory built – we knew that was the technology we wanted,” says Radford. “Also Komori had been very supportive of that original machine so to be honest, we didn’t look any further. We knew Komori, we knew what they were capable of, we knew what the company was about and we wanted to stick with them. We also knew that they could hold our hand through the transition to the new machine.”

Radford adds that as the company was still in the middle of the pandemic when he decided to upgrade to the new machine it wasn’t possible to test drive it, but he had no reservations surrounding its capabilities thanks to how well the old Komori press had run.

“It’s a bit like when you buy the latest version of a car you already own. You know there’s going to be some new features and new parts, but if you’re happy with the base model, when they bring out a new version and they say ‘it’s now got this and it’s now got that’ you’re confident that those bolt-ons will be advantageous to you, so it wasn’t really the leap of faith that it sounds like it might have been.”

The beauty of making the switch to the new machine was the company’s new premises were completely empty so Hedgerow could carry on using the old five-colour Komori H-UV, which it has since sold, in the old factory, thus minimising downtime while installation of the new model took place.

“We kind of finished up on the Friday on our old machine and started on the new one on the Monday in a new factory, which was great,” says Radford. “It was a nice straightforward installation and our minders were able to pop over to the new factory at various stages of the installation to have training on it as and when required.”

Although full training on the new machine was given to Hedegrow’s press minders, as they were already familiar with the inner workings of Komoris it didn’t take long for the company to get fully up and running.

“There’s obviously some big upgrades in terms of the quality of the scanner and the software that runs the the press, but on the whole it was a relatively easy transition for the minders,” says Radford.

He says the machine, which is typically used for brochures by Hedgerow, helps the business meet growing demand for fast-turnaround production thanks to its makeready times, the UV technology and functions like the automated blanket washing, impression cylinder and ink roller cleaning, which are completed at a touch of a button by the operator. It has a 12,000sph high-speed print start-up and a maximum printing speed of 16,500sph.

Radford says the best thing about the machine is the H-UV technology. “The sheets are completely dry off the end of the press, which means that we can turn the work over and back it up straight away or put it straight into the finishing department as soon as it comes off the press. That technology is invaluable in the small, tight-turnaround market that we’re in at the moment. And because it’s H-UV there’s no spray powder required so it’s a clean working environment. Energy consumption is obviously a massive issue at the moment and this machine is less power hungry than our old one, so that’s a big plus as well.”

He struggles to find fault with the press, while a brief issue with inks was effectively self-inflicted. At one point the company, which started out using Komori’s own K-Supply inks on the machine, was approached by its former ink supplier to trial its inks, which Hedgerow did, but it quickly ran into issues.

“So Komori came out and helped us through those issue and we’re now back up and running using their inks,” says Radford. “It was a decision based on price. We just thought that in the current economic times we would try and switch away, but it was a bad decision and although the K-Supply might be slightly dearer, we get a great result from them.”

His other regret is opting for a four-colour machine and not a five-colour. “Our old machine was a five-colour, but we did very little five-colour work, so I decided that it wasn’t worth spending the extra money to buy a five-colour, but we’ve had to do a lot of five-colour work in the last 12 months, so I wish we’d gone for a five-colour again.”

Radford says that the key thing the Komori press has brought the business is greater efficiencies, which has enabled it to increase the amount of work it is able to take on. 

“We’ve seen a big increase in production since we installed it,” he adds. “We were really only running split shifts occasionally in our old factory, but we’re now doing full double days regularly. On top of that the press is obviously significantly faster [than the company’s previous model], so our production output has increased massively over the last 12 months. We’re very happy with the way that that’s progressed.”

In addition to helping the company secure more work with existing customers, the Komori GL429 has also helped Hedgerow win new customers. 

“We’ve brought in new clients to look around the new premises and for them to be able to see a brand new press which is performing as well as it does in situ has only boosted their confidence in our ability,” says Radford. “So that has been a big selling point for us because when people have come on site they’ve decided that, yes, they’ll place the order with us because they can see that we’ve got good quality machinery to do their work.”

He adds that thanks to the raft of benefits the Komori press has brought the business should the need arise he would definitely buy another one, and he would recommend it to other printers looking to do the kind of quick turnaround work that has become Hedegrow’s bread and butter. 

SPECIFICATIONS

Max sheet size 480x660mm

Min sheet size 257x364mm

Sheet thickness range 0.04-0.6mm

Max speed 16,500sph

Footprint 7.4x2.7m

Price from £695,000 depending on specification

Contact Komori 0113 823 9200 www.komori.com 

COMPANY PROFILE

Hedgerow Print was founded in 1989 by John Leach. Gary Radford joined Hedgerow in 1994 as an apprentice printer and met his wife Michelle who was working in the company’s pre-press department. The pair subsequently moved on to work elsewhere, but when Leach looked to sell the business in 2003 they jumped at the opportunity to snap it up. 

Hedgerow produces a diverse range of work for commercial clients, but its core business is leaflets, folders, stationery and brochures. It currently employs 14 people and Radford says the company continues to invest in new kit to make the business as efficient as possible - true to his word he recently bought a Duplo iSaddle to enhance Hedgerow’s finishing capabilities. Radford says print runs vary from the low hundreds up to 150,000, but the sweet spot is 5,000 to 20,000 copies.

Why it was bought…

Hedgerow was moving to larger new premises and decided to upgrade its existing Komori H-UV press to boost production. 

How has it performed…

Radford says the machine was brought in to print jobs in the 5,000 to 20,000 copies range and it’s been eating through this work since installation. “We’re winning more of that sort of work and that’s exactly what the machine is designed to do,” he says.