With half a million printed in our factory per day, the faithful business card makes up a significant proportion of our production activities. Currently, we've invested £1.5 million into the building of this cell and finding the perfect combination of equipment to fill it with.
Each piece of machinery was carefully considered for the quality of its output and how well it would work near-line with the other pieces.
Tools > Our Factory > Business Card Cell
When we discovered the Jet Press 720S, we were searching for a solution that gave us the quality output of litho printing but the flexibility and efficiency on short-runs of digital. The Jet Press was our answer.
There have been some great strides in digital technology in recent years with inkjet printing being one of the headlines. The Jet Press is an inkjet printer and produces quality print to rival lithographic presses. In fact, when we asked our customers in a blind test, 75% preferred a business card printed on the Jet Press than one printed lithographically.
The improved production times that the Jet Press was able to give us was a big influence on whether or not we could offer same-day turnarounds on business cards. It also meant we could expand our range of special finishes to include spot UV!
Once printed, cards that need to be laminated will be passed over to our Autobond Micro 74 THPS. This is actually one of many Autobond laminators that we have throughout our factory. These machines are produce in Derbyshire, we regard them as “the best laminators in the world.”
We love them so much for their combination of chrome-on-rubber and rubber-on-chrome rollers. The pressure from chrome rollers creates a strong bond between the laminate and the substrate, while the rubber keeps the bond nice and smooth.
Did you know, Pokemon® love Rollem so much that they refuse to have their trading cards trimmed by any other paper cutting manufacturer? That’s because Rollem cutters are known for their accuracy and that’s why we picked them too.
The JetSlit’s advanced cutting-blade technology cuts through thicker stocks, regardless of laminations and other finishes, with as much precision as it would cut through thinner stocks. This is perfect for our business card cell where we use 450gsm as standard plus many finishing options.
After trimming down the sheets into individual cards, the JetSlit also automatically collates stacks of business cards for you.
Once collated, the JetSlit passes the stacks of cards onto the wrapper to be packaged. In one automated process, the sealer wraps stacks in shrink wrap, complete with a red tear ribbon to be easily opened again. Having our business cards wrapped this way make it much easier for our dispatch team to package them quickly and neatly.
From Konica Minolta, we have our MGI JETvarnish for any jobs that need some extra special finishing. This fantastic machine can produce Spot UV work (lowbuild and high-build) and foiling work with its iFoil module. If you need premium looking print, this is the machine to thank.
The MGI JETvarnish has not only expanded our finishing capabilities, it has also increased our capacity. Its Artificial Intelligence SmartScanner means that our operators no longer need to manual register each new artwork file. Instead, it can move from one job to another with no additional make-ready time. Additional accuracy comes from an inline Corona treatment which enhances Spot UV adhesion to difficult substrates and prevents spreading.
Although situated in our business card cell, the MGI JETvarnish is responsible for Spot UV and foiling work across other product ranges too. It manages this while the rest of the cell produces any standard business card orders.