Saturday, November 22, 2008

Recycling and the Environment

To ensure that we are as environmentally friendly as possible, Graphico Printing Limited has taken numerous steps.

We'd like to mention a few below:

1) We have changed our entire plate production system and cut out the constant use of hazardous chemicals. By installing our new Heidelberg Suprasetter to produce our plates, we now have a chemical free plate production process.

2) We have now introduced an internal paper recycling system whereby all internal paperwork and internal documentation is printed on off-cuts from press sheet wastage. As well as this, we no longer purchase jotting pads and instead only use press off-cuts.

3) We send to recycling any offcuts that cannot be re-used in other parts of the business.

4) We have now also got a large range of recycled paper in stock, so if you should choose recycled paper for your printed jobs, we can recommend which type of paper would help give you the same desired finish.

5) Where we have to use new paper internally, we ensure we use a recycled or sustainable paper.

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Total Print! Expo 2009 announced

With Total Print! Expo 2008 having only just come to a successful close on Thursday 16th October 2008, Total Print! Expo 2009 dates have already been announced for 20-22 October 2009 in Earls Court 2 again. The show which focuses on digital print will return once more before IPEX in 2010 at the Birmingham NEC

This year even Heidelberg attended the show and were demonstrating the Suprasetter which Graphico has invested in as well as their new Anicolor press which allows them to be compete against suppliers of colour digital presses for short run jobs that have increasingly moved towards digital printing in recent years.

Thursday, October 09, 2008

Print Industry Exhibition

Next week will be the start of Total Print Expo 2008. This is the smaller annual exhibition that sits between Drupa, the flagship print industry exhibition in Germany Dusseldorf that we attended earlier in the year and IPEX, the next large show for the industry at the Birmingham NEC in 2010.

As you'd expect a team from Graphico Printing will be making the journey from Croydon to learn about the latest and greatest in our industry to ensure we have the tools and knowledge to provide our customers with the best quality printed materials in the most efficient manner.

With the show focusing heavily on digital print hardware and software we'll be paying close attention to what's new in both areas to ensure we are leading with digital print technology in the Croydon area. If you are a business in Croydon and would like a quote for some print work, don't hesitate to contact us by phone or online to see how we can help you with your print requirements.

Monday, September 15, 2008

Quark XPress 8.0 Installed

We are please to announce that we now have Quark XPress 8.0 installed across all of the machines in our design department and are ready to receive your jobs in the new version (or previous versions if required) and will be able to work with them. We can print both digitally to our digital printer or to an offset press. The benefit of digital of course is that Graphico Printing should be able to deliver your printed job in the Croydon area in the same day if we are given the artwork early in the day and there is no special finishing required.

Sunday, September 07, 2008

QuarkXPress 8 Roadshow

Quark, held a roadshow to showcase their new version of the industry leading professional DTP software, Quark XPress 8.0. Any professional printer should be able to open Quark documents, but at Graphico Printing, we like to be ahead of the competition, so to ensure we are able to meet the demands of our customers and their designers, we always like to run the latest versions of software available. On September 3rd 2008 the design team from Graphico Printing went to London to attend the Quark Roadshow where the latest version was demonstrated and our team were able to talk to Quark employees are learn directly from them about the new features in the latest version of Quark XPress. We purchased licences for Quark 8.0 to ensure all of our design computers are running the latest version as we saw benefits in the new release that will benefit us in terms of the speed we are able to produce jobs and our customers in ensuring we can open all of their jobs. We look forward to receiving your next jobs in Quark XPress 8.0 format.

Monday, August 18, 2008

How does a printer print to the edge?

Following on from the blog with the table of different paper sizes that are available, have you ever wondered how a printer can print to the edge of a piece of paper? The paper must need to be held or "gripped" from somewhere by the printing machine regardless of whether it is offset or digital, so how can the ink cover the whole page? The answer is that a printer will use one of the oversize paper types listed below. This allows the printer to print to an area larger than that final printed job and then cut it down to the correct size to give the desired look.

Name mm × mm in × in
DL 110 × 220 4.3 × 8.7
F4 210 × 330 8.3 × 13.0
RA0 860 × 1220 33.9 × 48.0
RA1 610 × 860 24.0 × 33.9
RA2 430 × 610 16.9 × 24.0
RA3 305 × 430 12.0 × 16.9
RA4 215 × 305 8.5 × 12.0
SRA0 900 × 1280 35.4 × 50.4
SRA1 640 × 900 25.2 × 35.4
SRA2 450 × 640 17.7 × 25.2
SRA3 320 × 450 12.6 × 17.7
SRA4 225 × 320 8.9 × 12.6
A3+ 329 × 483 12.9 × 19.0

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Origins of Printing

Have you ever wondered how printing has evolved. We found a great video on YouTube showing the original printing methods used by the early printers well before the days of offset printing, computers, desktop publishing, film, CTP and even digital printing. Movable type was originally developed in China as shown during the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. This later advanced into Letterpress as shown in the video.


Sunday, August 03, 2008

Stationery

Don't forget, as well as being the nominated printer for hotels and restaurants all over the UK and some in Europe as well, we are able to provide a next day service on a catalogue of over 20,000 Stationery items anywhere in London. Your items will be delivered daily using our own fleet of vans.

Just ask for one of our new 2008 Stationery catalogues and we'll be happy to bring everything you need straight to your office.

Friday, August 01, 2008

Paper Sizes

We thought it would be useful to have a paper size chart to give you an easy reference to the different standard sizes of paper that are often talked about. It is always handy to be able to tell your printer what paper size you would like your digitally or litho job to be produced on as well as being a guide for Envelopes (C Series).


ISO paper sizes (plus rounded inch values)

Format A series B series C series
Size mm × mm in × in mm × mm in × in mm × mm in × in
0 841 × 1189 33.1 × 46.8 1000 × 1414 39.4 × 55.7 917 × 1297 36.1 × 51.1
1 594 × 841 23.4 × 33.1 707 × 1000 27.8 × 39.4 648 × 917 25.5 × 36.1
2 420 × 594 16.5 × 23.4 500 × 707 19.7 × 27.8 458 × 648 18.0 × 25.5
3 297 × 420 11.7 × 16.5 353 × 500 13.9 × 19.7 324 × 458 12.8 × 18.0
4 210 × 297 8.3 × 11.7 250 × 353 9.8 × 13.9 229 × 324 9.0 × 12.8
5 148 × 210 5.8 × 8.3 176 × 250 6.9 × 9.8 162 × 229 6.4 × 9.0
6 105 × 148 4.1 × 5.8 125 × 176 4.9 × 6.9 114 × 162 4.5 × 6.4
7 74 × 105 2.9 × 4.1 88 × 125 3.5 × 4.9 81 × 114 3.2 × 4.5
8 52 × 74 2.0 × 2.9 62 × 88 2.4 × 3.5 57 × 81 2.2 × 3.2
9 37 × 52 1.5 × 2.0 44 × 62 1.7 × 2.4 40 × 57 1.6 × 2.2
10 26 × 37 1.0 × 1.5 31 × 44 1.2 × 1.7 28 × 40 1.1 × 1.6

Thursday, July 31, 2008

Drupa 2008

Earlier in the year a group of us from Graphico visited the Drupa show in Dusseldorf. The largest printing trade exhibition which is held every 4 years takes over the city and is a must attend event for any printer wanting to stay at the forefront of their industry.

We found a short clip on Youtube to give you a glimpse of some of the attractions at the show:

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

New employee

Today, Graphico Printing Limited has a new member of staff to allow it to offer various digital printing at lower cost. Abizar Dungarwalla who is Shaukat Dungarwalla's son became the newest employee to Graphico.

Reaching Us

We are a lithographic and digital printer based in West Croydon on London Road and are easily accessible by car and and public transport.

Our postal address is:
Graphico Printing Limited,
69-71 London Road,
West Croydon,
Surrey,
CR0 2RF

Our delivery bay and car park can be accessed from Parsons Mead which the road that runs parallel to London Road at the back of site.

If you are arriving by public transport, the most convenient train station is East Croydon which has excellent links to London Victoria and London Bridge stations. All trains from East Croydon going towards London also stop at Clapham Junction which is a hub for trains to the west country. Gatwick Airport, Brighton and other south coast stations can also be reached directly from East Croydon.

Monday, July 28, 2008

Cito Superfeeder

We were featured in the November 2007 edition of Printweek about the purchase of a new Cito Superfeeder to enhance our envelope printing capabilities. The article has been reproduced below:

Cito Superfeeder

Managing director of Graphico Printing Shaukat Dungarwalla has saved time and money and gained more control of production with his feeder.

What does the machine do?
It manages a continuous feed of envelopes to the press and collects them on the other side on a conveyer belt. This makes repacking easier and is manageable with a single minder.

Why did you choose this particular machine?
This is really the only machine that has the flexibility of continuous feed without stopping the press.

What was your previous machine?
We had a Just-Feed, which we replaced because it was manual, inconvenient and cumbersome.

Why did you make the purchase?
As I said, we purchased the Superfeeder in order to replace the Just-Feed system, which was outdated and could not meet our expectations in terms of production.

What features do you particularly like?
It is a universal machine, so the feeder fits on any press. It can be moved easily from machine to machine, meaning we can change where the production takes place, as per our requirements. The fact it is continuous feed is also a benefit.

Is there anything that you dislike?
Nothing really. It’s a simple solution for a difficult process.

Is there anything that you wish it had?
A counter would be useful.

How fast is it?
It is a variable speed feeder, so can run it as fast as you can print.

How reliable is it?
So far it seems fairly robust. It’s made of solid metal, so it should last a long time.

How easy is it to use?
Very easy. Cito provided us with a training package with installation.

How much time or money has it saved?
It has saved time in that we can now run jobs at full-press speed, which is much faster than our old solution and the quality is considerably better. It allows us to be in more control of production and saves money in the time that each job is on the press.

Has it won you any new work?
Yes, we have been able to keep many more jobs in-house, as well as becoming a trade envelope printer. So, Graphico is now able to accept jobs from our existing customer base, as well as from the trade.

Would you say that it offers value for money?
While expensive for what it does, the volume of envelopes we produce means it is worth the money.

What about the pre- and after-sales service?
Cito’s training and after-sales care is excellent on a one-to-one personal basis, with regular follow-up calls.

Who do you think the machine is right for?
It would be perfect for any company producing envelopes, as well as those who send envelopes out for printing. This is a must in this day and age, as margins are being eroded daily.

Under what circumstances would you buy another?
This machine is very flexible, being able to move from one machine to another. It can cope with high-volume demands, so I would only purchase another if the demand increased even more dramatically than it already has.

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Heidelberg Suprasetter

Graphico Printing Limited has successfully completed the purchase and installation of a new Heidelberg Suprasetter to further optimise the pre-press cycle. The environmentally friendly CTP system uses the latest Fuji plates to ensure no chemicals are required in the production of the press plates. The new system replaces our Linotronic film and chemical plate solution. As well as being green, our customers will benefit from an even better finished product through the increased clarity and detail that now really sets us apart on our 4-colour jobs such as hotel brochures and restaurant menus.

Some information on the Suprasetter 75:

High Performance for Medium Formats
Equipped with extremely reliable technology, unique in its class, the Suprasetter 75/A105/105 offer superb quality with maximum production capability. Even more, this range of Suprasetter provides a high level of flexibility in throughput, format, plate handling and punching. The best conditions for combining high productivity and maximum flexibility are also ensured through seamless integration in the Prinect workflow with a free selection of the screenings or Plate on Demand, giving a direct access to plate production at the control panel of the press.

Plant List

Design & Artwork:
Gigabit Apple Mac Pro (8-Core, 3Gb RAM) network with:
- Quark XPress 7.3
- Adobe CS3
- In-house scanning and re-touching
- Layout and Design
- Extensive database of licensed stock photographs and other design aids
- In-house production of films up to A1
- Heidelberg Suprasetter CTP system
- Xerox in-house high volume digital colour and black & white production equipment
- HP DesignJet Network Poster Printer
- MICR Printing Equipment

Press Room:
A range of Heidelberg Presses both single and multi colour up to B2 size. Supported by a range of equipment for finishing to any requirement.

Warehousing & Distribution:
A complete warehousing facility to provide on demand supplies of printed stationery and unrelated products via NS International. Distribution is carried out by our fleet of vans which cover the South East daily and to the UK using our courier partners.

Plant Upgrade and Renewal:
The company policy is to upgrade or renew all computer equipment at least every three years. We have completed a comprehensive upgrade of our Pre-press IT systems in 2007 so that we are able to work with the latest Hardware and Software on the market.

Products and Services Graphico Offer

Products Include:
Letterheads
Business Cards
Envelopes
Guest Folios
Luggage Tags
Keycards
Menus
Brochures
Tent Cards
Coasters
Placemats
Bin Liners
Cheques
Unique Numbering
Room Directories
Door Hangers
Laundry Bags
Carrier Bags
Posters
Any other printed requirements

Office Stationery & Consumables:
Our personalised catalogue offers a range of
more than 14,000 products including office
furniture, 90% of which are available on next day
delivery.

Services:
Design and Artwork
Stock Management
Reporting
Customer Mailing
Variable Data Printing

Stock Management
There are a number of advantages built into the flexibility of this service. The most prominent are:

• Releasing valuable on-site space to Front of House Departments

• No risk of running out of stock. We’ll manage stock ensuring there is always back up stock available to you of stock purchased from us and from your other suppliers

• Effective cost management:
- One supplier invoice
- We can purchase and stock items for you in bulk from other suppliers.
- No extra charges
- No fixed costs

• Service expandable to other group sites

• Effective purchasing through:
- Maximising volume
- Minimising supplier drops

• Status reports - available periodically or on request

Development and the Future

Currently Graphico has over 350 clients in the hotel and leisure industry, most of which are globally recognised establishments. We are committed to providing the highest level of customer care, by continually assessing your business needs and making adjustments where necessary. We will invest in our company to stay at the forefront of our industry so that you can be
sure that you are receiving the highest quality of products possible for the best possible value.

This simplifies your purchasing procedures and furthermore enables you to manage your budget more efficiently. This commitment has resulted in our “can do” attitude that gives you the peace of mind that we will go out of our way to help you achieve your goals and targets which are especially important in hotel openings. We believe this has been paramount in establishing the long term relationships we have with our customer base.

About Us

Graphico began back in 1975 by three brothers who were studying for their printing degrees. Through our hard work and determination, we have grown from strength to strength and come to be at the fore-front of the printing industry, as well as proving to be the backbone for many other companies that have started as a result of the experience gained at Graphico.

At Graphico we pride ourselves upon providing a dedicated service as well as high quality printing. We care about our clients needs and continually push ourselves to exceed our clients expectations. Currently the majority of our clients are in the hospitality industry, which suits us perfectly, as we fully understand their hunger for complete customer satisfaction.
Our long term relationships with customers has proved invaluable, and has helped them reduce in-house purchasing, stock control and budget problems, as well as having daily deliveries of the goods they require.

Our big development recently has been our advancement in security printing. Currently, we print cheque books, giro books and statements for international banks, all fully managed in-house, from the blank piece of paper, to the end user receiving their banking documents.

We like to keep upto date with the latest technology innovations in printing and have a programme in place to regularly update our equipment. Aside from the investments we have made in new 4-colour Heidelberg presses and a variety of post-press equipment in the last two years, our most recent advances have been in pre-press hardware and software. We are now running the latest versions of all the major software applications needed for quality pre-press work on the fastest Quad-core Apple Mac Pro systems. In addition we have migrated to the latest chemical free CTP Suprasetter technology from Heidelberg which is great for the environment. Not only does this continual investement in technology ensure we are able to offer the best quality work to our clients, but it means that we can produce the work faster and more efficiently while keeping costs down through innovation.

The services we offer at Graphico

Our Services
At Graphico, we pride ourselves on being able to provide your company with a specifically tailored niche product to not only satisfy your everyday needs, but also help develop your product and service range to enable you to give your customers the attention they deserve.

Print Management:
There are many companies that will provide print management, however their services will only cover printed stock that they produce for you. At Graphico, we go the extra mile offering a full print and stock management service. With this bespoke service, we will dedicate an account manager to you who will assess your requirements and work with you to ensure that your needs are fulfilled, with daily deliveries of any of the products that we offer through our own logistics service. As our core business lies within the hospitality and service industries within the UK, we understand the need for smaller onsite storage, so with Graphico, you can opt to have us purchase and stock your goods at our warehouses, where it will be stored and then delivered to you as and how you require them. This will reduce your requirement for storage space, as well as simplifying your ordering process, as you only have to call or email us and receive your goods the next day.

Every organisation no matter how large or small can benefit from the services Graphico has to offer because what sets us apart from other companies is that we do not have a generic list of set services to offer you. Our account manager will meet and discuss with you what the best solution for your company is.

Hotel and Restaurant openings:
Through numerous customers putting their full trust in Graphico, we have become experts in managing the print and stationery requirements for hotels and restaurants that are either opening new or re-launching themselves into the marketplace with a fresh new look. By involving us at the planning stages, together we can ensure you have every base covered. Every new hotel or restaurant that Graphico has been a part of launching is currently on our portfolio, which is a testament of the quality, dedication and commitment that we offer.

Concept Development:
We are not just printers, we have an in-house team of designers and finishers who work together, to ensure the finished product exceeds the customers expectations. Starting from just a simple idea, our team at Graphico can work with you to turn the idea into a fully finished product. A service that we offer, depending on the type of job, is that we can provide you with an actual hard proof of your job so that you know exactly what you will receive when the product is delivered. This is useful to ensure that you are completely satisfied with your products, and is just another example of how you and Graphico can be more productive together.

Data Management:
We know that random direct mail cannot only be expensive but also useless if not accurate to the receiver. Therefore, at Graphico we are able to manage your databases, ensuring that they are maintained for accuracy and completeness. This allows us to provide solutions that fit with your customer contact strategy. Using our digital variable data printing services you can ensure that your customers receive specific marketing material based on their needs and more importantly, their wants. The targeted use of valuable customer data has enabled our clients to gain a much higher ROI from their direct marketing activities, whilst ensuring the end customer receives something of value to them.