Spingold Design & Print Ltd has chosen a Horizon RD-N4055DM Rotary Die-Cutter from Intelligent Finishing Systems (IFS) to help cement its place as a front runner in the high quality playing and gaming cards market.
The Suffolk general commercial printer began building up its card business, including game, quiz, trump, and tarot, around eight years ago. Today, it is driven through its B2C sites Printfromyoursofa.co.uk and Playingcardspersonalised.co.uk
During the pandemic demand increased dramatically and helped Spingold double turnover from £600,000 to £1.2m today. It took on three people who had lost their jobs at other print companies. In 2021 it invested in a Konica Minolta AccurioPress C14000 which runs alongside two Xerox Versant 180s.
The latest investment has been supported by a £25,000 grant from the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership Growth Through Innovation Fund delivered via Suffolk County Council.
Spingold Managing director Ed Oakes explains: “We had our eye on a rotary die cutter for a long time. We have two Duplo systems but wanted something the next level up with a dual cylinder. We first saw a Horizon system at a D-Scoop event in 2018 but that one was only a single cylinder. Then the dual cylinder was launched and we saw that in Germany. We already knew Horizon systems were incredibly well built. It was a fantastic piece of kit.”
He continues: “Then we applied to the innovation fund which meant we could make the investment without any further need for financing. That really helped us make up our mind.”
The Horizon RD-4055DM with dual magnetic cylinders is designed to simultaneously die-cut and crease/score short-run product from both sides of the sheet. Running at a speed of up to 6,000 cycles per hour, it can also perforate, slit, hole punch and round corner in one process for digital and offset printed sheets up to 0.5mm. Its repeat-register function enables the running of multiple up imposed applications with a smaller die to reduce die cost (Up to five repeats in a single pass). It incorporates the new Horizon CSD-40RD Stacker and Horizon SPC-N4055 Separator to elevate responsive production. They also eliminate the need for two person operation for jogging and stacking at the delivery section and counting and separating the output.
Ed adds: “We wanted a dual cylinder because the ability to crease inline will save us an enormous amount of time. It will improve our quality and speed of output as well as enable us to increase our capacity by as much as 40% which will give us some breathing space and room to grow. It will help cement us as a front runner in the market.”
As for return on investment he states: “It has come in at the right time so we can be ready for our busiest period in the summer when we produce work for those who sell on Amazon at Christmas. If our growth carries on the way it has, or even at half the pace, it should pay for itself in two years.”
