GRONHI GH522NP FITS THE BILL
"The right machine at the right price at the right time"
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The Company
Richardson Printing of Lowestoft, Suffolk was founded in 1982, and describes itself as a general commercial printer. It has 30 staff and 8000 sq ft premises. Its customers are a mixture of local businesses and London- based agencies and brokers – and it also has a good reputation as a trade printer, not only because of its versatile litho line-up, but also because it has a strong finishing capability, including in-house laminating and die cutting.
The company has taken delivery of a brand new GH522NP, a two colour B3 machine with numbering and perforating. According to Partner John Richardson, the press fits perfectly into a niche between B2 litho and small format digital.
Doing what digital can't
"Our core production is on two five colour B2 machines, but we needed something to handle smaller formats, often in odd sizes between B3 and SRA5. Consequently one of the first things we looked at was the Gronhi’s ability to change paper size quickly and run small sheets effectively,” says Mr Richardson. “Also, we have a sister company, Micropress in Halesworth, which is primarily a large B1 printer but also has a large digital department with a good B3 market share. They send us work which is more suited to B3 litho machines, so what we needed was a machine to do what digital can’t. In the case of the Gronhi, this means a lot of two colour pantone or metallic inks, often business cards, stationery or envelopes, and also numbering and perforating work, such as NCR sets or invoices"
The right machine, at the right price, at the right time
Having identified the requirement for a two colour B3 machine, Mr Richardson considered the options from the ‘usual suspects’ of well-known press manufacturers. “We have always run Heidelberg B3 machines but when we saw the Hans Gronhi at IPEX, it was obviously a better choice,” he says. "It’s clearly a robust, well-engineered machine which is at least equal to the rest in terms of technology. The difference is the price tag, we are talking almost half the cost of other machines with comparable specifications. These days, because margins are so tight, we have to cut our cloth accordingly. Gronhi is the right machine at the right price at the right time."
MThe GH522NP is equipped with semi-automatic plate changing and a range of modern features. “We especially like the stream feeder and dampening system, and it has a powerful inking system” says Mr Richardson. “It’s also very straightforward to operate, so there’s no real learning curve for our minders to go through.”
Smaller formats and odd sizes
"We needed something to handle smaller formats, often in odd sizes between B3 and SRA5, so the GH522 needed to change paper size quickly and run small sheets effectively,” says Mr Richardson. “We also bought it to do what digital can’t, namely two colour pantone or metallic inks, often business cards, stationery or envelopes, and also numbering and perforating work, such as NCR sets or invoices."
Mr Richardson concludes; "Even with the recession challenging our margins, we have upheld the company policy to always run efficient up-to-date equipment. The competitive price of the GH522NP, combined with its’ advanced capabilities, have enabled us to continue along this path."
ONE YEAR ON : Richardson Print love their Gronhi which "Surpasses German Quality"
The verdict one year on? "It’s done exactly what we wanted it to do," says Mr Richardson, "plus we’ve been pleasantly surprised that the quality surpasses the German machine it replaced.
We are increasingly using it for two-pass four colour work, with very impressive results."
"The Gronhi machine is very well engineered and has great rolling power. We’ve not had any problems with it, and we’ve found Printers Superstore good people to deal with. When the time comes we will have no hesitation in buying another Hans Gronhi press."
Mr Richardson is so pleased with his GH522, he is happy to share his opinion of the press. "I’m always happy to talk print with other printers, including my experiences with this machine. Mr Richardson can be contacted on 01502 516991.
