Jet Tech Group has helped Entwistle build a faster, more automated and more versatile digital production platform.
The longstanding print business is now extending that investment through a new Fujifilm Revoria EC1100 at its Warrington operation as well as Fujifilm XMF PressReady Digital workflow automation software throughout the group.
This follows Entwistle’s investment in a flagship Revoria PC1120 at its Manchester site earlier this year.
For Entwistle, the latest move is not simply a replacement exercise. The EC1100 replaces an existing Xerox Versant and forms part of a wider programme to increase production efficiency, reduce manual intervention and create greater consistency between its digital print operations.
The decision to invest again with Jet Tech Group and Fujifilm was also strongly influenced by the technical service, day-to-day support and wider business relationship established following the Manchester installation.
“What is important to us is that we are not just putting another press onto a customer’s production floor. We want to understand where the pressure points are in the business, where time is being lost and where an investment can make a genuine commercial difference.
Entwistle is a very good example of that. The PC1120 gave the Manchester operation a major increase in capability and opened up new production possibilities. At Warrington the requirement was different – it was about dependable high-volume CMYK production, fast turnaround, automation and getting work through finishing efficiently. The EC1100, combined with PressReady, gives them a very strong platform for doing exactly that.”
Productive short-run digital print
The Revoria EC1100 is capable of production speeds of up to 100 A4 pages per minute, while supporting a wide range of coated and uncoated media between 52 and 400gsm. Fujifilm has designed the platform to maintain productivity across mixed-media work, with automated adjustment helping minimise disruption when changing between substrates.
It can also handle long-sheet applications up to 1,200mm, extending the range of work that can be produced digitally beyond conventional cut-sheet formats.
Image quality is driven by Fujifilm’s VCSEL-ROS imaging technology, delivering 2,400dpi output in combination with EA-Eco toner. The EC1100 also incorporates inline automation for image-to-media alignment, density uniformity, image transfer and tonal reproduction adjustments – reducing the amount of manual calibration required from operators.
Its media library can retain settings for up to 1,000 paper types, while optional air-suction feeding, multifeed detection, gate-type registration, decurling and paper cooling technologies are designed to maintain stable production across more challenging stocks.
For Entwistle, one of the most important elements is what happens after the sheet leaves the print engine.
The Warrington system has therefore been configured with booklet-making and three-edge trimming capability to support an increasing requirement for short-run and on-demand booklet work. The wider EC1100 finishing platform can support applications including saddle stitching, folding, creasing, face trimming, full-bleed trimming and square-back finishing, depending on configuration.
“A lot of the work coming through Warrington is time-sensitive. Customers are looking for shorter runs, quicker turnaround and increasingly they want a finished product rather than simply printed sheets.
That means every stage of production matters. The EC1100 gives us the speed and quality we need, but the inline finishing is equally important because it removes stages from the process. If we can print, make the booklet and trim it as part of one production route, we are reducing handling and getting work through the business much faster.
We have also had a very positive experience with Jet Tech and Fujifilm through the Manchester installation. The technology is important, but so is knowing that when you need advice or support you have people there who understand your business.”
Building on the PC1120 investment
The Warrington installation follows Entwistle’s earlier investment in Fujifilm’s Revoria Press PC1120 at Manchester. Sitting further up the Revoria range, the PC1120 has given Entwistle access to significantly broader creative production capability.
The six-station digital press operates at up to 120 pages per minute and supports media from 52gsm through to 400gsm, alongside sheet lengths extending to 1,200mm. It produces at up to 2,400 x 2,400dpi and can run six colours in a single pass.
Its major point of difference is its speciality toner architecture. Alongside CMYK, the PC1120 supports a wider toner set including white, gold, silver, clear and pink, with speciality colours positioned before or after CMYK depending on the application. This gives Entwistle the ability to move beyond conventional four-colour digital print into embellished and higher-value work without introducing a separate offline production stage.
The platform also combines this embellishment capability with extensive feeding, registration, decurling and finishing options, giving the Manchester site greater flexibility in how it approaches both standard commercial work and more demanding creative applications.
Crane continues: “The two investments complement one another extremely well. The PC1120 gives Entwistle the ability to produce work that would have been very difficult to achieve on a traditional CMYK digital press, particularly where speciality colours, unusual media or higher-value applications are involved.”
“The EC1100 has a different job to do. It is a very strong production machine for the day-to-day commercial workload at Warrington, where speed, consistency, media handling and finishing efficiency are critical.”
“That is really where we see the value of taking a consultative approach. The answer is not always simply the biggest or most highly specified machine. It is about selecting the right production platform for the work that site needs to process.”
Automation beyond the press
Alongside the EC1100, Entwistle is implementing Fujifilm Revoria XMF PressReady across the group to further automate the movement of jobs through production.
The software provides centralised job management and can automate repetitive prepress processes including preflighting, imposition, grouping, sorting and numbering. Rule-based workflows can also route jobs according to factors such as page size, quantity, media and page count.
PressReady can receive work from multiple submission sources and connect with MIS and web-to-print systems, helping reduce manual touchpoints between order intake and print production. Fujifilm positions the technology specifically around the growing challenge of processing larger numbers of shorter, more varied digital print jobs without proportionally increasing labour requirements.
For Entwistle, that creates an opportunity to automate tasks which previously required operator time and move towards a more streamlined route from incoming order to finished product.
“Automation is becoming increasingly important because the number of jobs is growing while individual run lengths are often coming down. You cannot afford to add another manual step every time that happens."
