The first installation of the recently-announced Konica Minolta AccurioPress C4080, and the first production press sale for KM Partner IBS Office Solutions, has been made at Streatley, Berskhire-based A1 Sovereign, where it will help meet customer demand post-lockdown.
A1 Sovereign provides design, print and fulfilment services to the UK FMCG sector and also offers digital printing and copyshop services to local businesses and consumers.
A new colour press had been sought for some months and following guidance from IBS, A1 Sovereign had a demonstration at Konica Minolta’s showroom, using its own substrates. The company uses a variety of materials, coated and uncoated, plus more unusual products such as SRA3 self-adhesive film from Kernow Coatings, which enables it to produce stickers and decals using a dry toner process.
‘We were very impressed by the quality of the detail, solids and overall consistency, as well as how its workflow management software can be used to automate the processing of jobs,’ explained A1 Sovereign’s operations director Tony Mitchell. ‘The C4080 enables us to use any of our chosen substrates without jamming, maintains full speed, auto duplexes, and registration is perfect.’
The arrival of the new press in late 2020, coupled with new investments in finishing, was timed well for market changes resulting from Covid restrictions that led to significant growth in sanitisation-supporting laminated print products; the company recorded 35% annual growth in its accounts to March 2021. Since installation, a1 Sovereign has added an extra wide paper deck to the AccurioPress C4080, to bring production of the increasingly popular six-panel A4 brochure in-house.
