Ormskirk letterpress specialist and general commercial printer Rufford Printing expects to increase turnover by a fifth following the installation of a Horizon SPF/FC-200A stitch/fold/trim line supplied by Intelligent Finishing Systems Ltd.
“We had been working at capacity and sometimes sending work out but with the Horizon SPF/FC-200A we are more productive,” comments Brian Smith Managing Director of the firm that works with a range of local clients including NHS trusts and parish councils.
“It has made a tremendous difference. We produce medical instruction leaflets of around 5,000 A3 folded in sets of three and we would collate them into each other taking up to an hour. The Horizon collates, folds and three-knife trims so a job that would take one hour now takes five minutes. We also produce magazines for ten parish councils that are 32pp A3 – perfect for the Horizon.”
He continues: “It is easy to run which means everyone can work on jobs and confidently produce high quality results. For the first time we are now looking to push for more work and win new business.”
The operation was established in 1968 by Mr Smith following a spinal injury at the age of 16 that left him paralyzed from the neck down. After 12 months of rehab he was encouraged to try letterpress typesetting. He bought an Adana 8 x 5 hand press and a small selection of typefaces.
Rufford Printing began life on his parents’ dining table in January 1970. It quickly expanded into the garage and within the next 12 months Mr Smith purchased a reconditioned Heidelberg 10 x 15 T Platen for £500. He composed the formes in lead monotype in the day while his father worked the press in between shifts at a textile mill.
The business grew steadily using all the space in the garage. Offset litho was introduced during the 1980s and in the early 1990s the business re-located to larger premises in Mawdesley. It now runs two Heidelberg GTO four-colour presses, a Heidelberg 10 × 15 T Platen, a Heidelberg 13 x 18 GT Foilmaster Platen, an Arab treadle letterpress 10 x 15, an Intertype (Linotype) Line casting machine and an Adana 8 x 5 hand platen.
The 4,500bph JDF-ready Horizon SPF/FC-200A replaced a table-top plockmatic and Duplo collator with hand fed booklet maker. It features a 200-programme job memory storage for instant recall, an icon-based touch-screen for job set-up and a 10-station VAC-Turbo 1000 PowerCollator.
Mr Smith did look at other solutions before investing the Horizon and states: “The build quality stood out. It is much more robust. We can set it up and run it at the push of a button with no need for Allen keys.
“It is marvellous,” he concludes. “Our presses were always a lot faster than the finishing department and now we can match them. It will make us a lot more profitable.”
