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XEROX press operator Jean-Marc Mandon (left) with Matthew
Berkeley-Hill, whose company manufactured the Autoflex
Xerox choses Berkeley
for pack printing
XEROX has installed a Berkeley Machinery Autoflex Excel XT narrow web press to improve print quality and
production efficiency on its product packaging. Nick Coombes reports
Xerox has installed an Autoflex Excel XT narrow web press
at its production facility in Limoges, France, to improve print
quality and production efficiency. The Autoflex, which is
manufactured by UK-based Berkeley Machinery, was chosen
for its ability to meet Xerox’s stringent colorimetric tests on the
printed packaging that it produces for its portfolio of leading
international brand owners.
Print production first began at Limoges in 1999 when a
locally based industrial company contacted Xerox with a view
to rationalizing its costs and improving the planning of its
core business by outsourcing. Initially, using simple flexo and
digital presses, the company supplied self-adhesive labels
and instruction leaflets, and the working partnership endured
for six years on this basis. But, in 2005, with the arrival of a
new operations manager, Jean Michel Moreau, at the Limoges
plant, Xerox began to develop a more commercial approach
to its operation, which led to the installation of an iGen3
digital press and associated finishing technology, designed
for quadricolor page-to-page printing. This gave the Limoges
plant an opportunity to extend its markets for commercial
documentation in France and abroad.
"Xerox began to develop a more commercial
approach to its operation, which led to the
installation of an iGen3 digital press and
associated finishing technology, designed
for quadricolor page-to-page printing"
The year 2005 also saw the introduction of an offer to
customers of ‘Performance Bonds’ that guaranteed the quality
level of work being delivered. To ensure the company was able
to meet the performance criteria, Xerox began to search the
market in 2011 for the latest flexo technology, and initially was
interested in sourcing a nearly new press. When one of the
right age and specification proved difficult to find, the company
turned its attention to new machinery, and via UK company
Polygraphica, Berkeley Machinery's business partners, a new
press was considered after Matthew Berkeley-Hill spoke direct
with Xerox.
The new Autoflex Excel XT at Limoges is an 8-color flexo
NOVEMBER 2013 | L&L