H&H Reeds has invested in a new Heidelberg Versafire EV five-colour digital press, continuing a decades-long partnership.

The Cumbrian printer replaced its Heidelberg Linoprint CP digital press with the Versafire EV, helping the company to continue expanding its offering to customers.

The machine, installed in April, allows H&H to swap out its fifth colour between white, silver, gold, and clear varnish, with extra options for neon yellow, neon pink, and invisible red toners.

Gareth Rylands, print and production manager at H&H, told Printweek that the clear varnish had allowed the company to offer a cost-effective alternative to UV for customers that couldn’t afford the step in price.

He added: “It’s not identical, but it puts us in the ballpark - and I think it’s a brilliant addition if we use it well, you can do some really effective stuff.”

Silver and gold are likewise impressive, he said: “Once you’ve learned how to use it and design the layers right, some of the effects are really, really good.”

H&H’s investment is its latest with Heidelberg UK, in a relationship that has had the manufacturer as the company’s supplier since before Rylands came to H&H 27 years ago.

The new machine does not represent a radical change for H&H, however, but a continuation of efforts to provide as wide a service as possible to its customers.

Rylands said: “As far as we’re concerned, [it’s] still business as usual.

“I think we don’t really hold any boundaries on the things we can produce, it’s just trying to find what the customers want. We like to be creative, we like to give them something different from our competitors.”

The Versafire EV prints 85 or 95 A4ppm, depending on the version bought, and can handle stocks up to 360gsm. The printer can also print banners up to 0.7m long in duplex or 1.26m in simplex.

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