FEW contemporary printshops can boast of having crashed onto the scene just as Wall Street crashed out, precipitating the Great Depression. Harry’s Printers doesn’t actually boast about it though – it just gets on with the business of keeping its many annual report, brochure and general printing customers satisfied with proficient printing and prompt delivery.
The business opened in East London in 1929 on the back of a small letterpress machine bought to run off copies of founder Lalloo Hari’s popular spiritual writings and poetry. His words were written in the vernacular and previously had been sent to India for publishing.
Now, 92 years, three branches and four Harry generations in, the company is not only holding its own in competitive commercial print when other, some even larger, concerns have fallen foul of the economy and Covid-19, but is investing in new technology to ensure it retains its hard-earned status as a reliable, respected and reputable firm.
After venturing into digital printing about 25 years ago and having benefitted from an HP Indigo 5000 series printer over the last five of those, this latest HP Indigo 7800 installation signals the company’s confidence in the future of digital print and its satisfaction with its Kemtek connection, says production manager, Sudesh Mathadeen.
‘Although, understandably, we have been quieter than in the past, business is beginning to pick up and we want to be prepared for the expected demand with machinery that produces the best quality product and provides flexibility through the latest advancements,’ he explains. ‘The new unit will allow us to explore new substrates, markets and opportunities to innovate.’
The press has many exciting features, Kemtek’s business development executive Wendy McLoughlin, points out. ‘It is the fastest A3-format press on the market, printing colour pages at up to 160 pages/min.
‘Indigo’s ElectroInk has the widest digital colour range and includes special effect inks using up to seven ink stations on press. Its very thin ink layer produces sharp images. The One Shot Color feature allows printing also on synthetic substrates and plastic cards, and the press makes short work of raised print and textured effects, eliminating the need for costly traditional methods,’ Wendy enthuses.
Compatible with more than 2 800 substrates, the press can deliver unique effects using dark, transparent, metallic and recycled papers, and paperboard for folding cartons.
Designed with sustainability top of the technological mind, the 7800 promises reduced production waste, enhanced energy efficiency and carbon-neutral operation.
While the company is yet to discover the full capabilities of its new ‘toy’ – with Kemtek training sessions for all operators scheduled for the new year – it is well pleased with its buying decision. Time to market and quality are exceptional, Sudesh maintains.
Possibilities for growth are swirling around the heads of the management team. In an industry where many leading titles have bitten the newsprint dust, many recently, packaging is a beacon of hope for many commercial printers, with Harry’s listing diversification into simple packaging a distinct possibility, with investment in the requisite die-cutting technology in the near future.
‘If you’re a printer investing in technology now and you want to survive in the years to come, you have to go into packaging,’ states the big boss, as Vrij Harry is billed on the company’s website. ‘There will always be a need for packaging.’
And, it seems, always a need for the high-quality, dependable commercial print service provided by Mr Harry, as he is fondly known to everyone, and his 170-strong dedicated crew.
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