& Paper Monthly
FINISHING SHOT Taking the advantage THE FINISHING SPECIAL – A look at adding value to print P.10
ALL ABOUT PRODUCTIVITY – Finishing at Howard Hunt Direct P.15
A THOROUGHLY MODERN PRINTER – Keeping it relevant – Formara P.26
THE PLATEMAKING DILEMMA – Processless? Chemistry free? Low chemistry? Which is best? P.19
Vol.22 Issue.03 June 2009
Print & Paper Monthly
Case Study
A thoroughly modern printer Winston Churchill once said, ‘To improve is to change, and to be perfect is to change often’ and Formara is a prime example of a printer with a healthy approach to a changing world. Mark Rushton reports. ith a staff of 46 and a turnover of £3 million,
W
Keeping in the loop
Formara, based in Southend on Sea, Essex, is a
The company decided that it had to adapt to the changing
classic SME printer having to cope in a world that
face of print, and it had to embrace a few changes of its
changes almost on a daily basis. Formed in the early 70s, the
own, starting with getting to grips with the electronic era.
company started out producing work for two big Essex based
Mr Wilce continued, ‘We realised that we not only produced
customers, Ford and Marconi, hence the name ‘Formara’ – an
a lot of print for our customers, we also knew a lot about
amalgamation of the two company names. These were the
their products and the way they organised their information.
heady days when volumes and margins were high, and to be in
So as they began to go over to electronic versions of their
print was a hugely profitable occupation.
technical manuals and brochures, we remained firmly in the
Phil Wilce, partner and sales director at the company said: ‘Initially Formara started out with a couple of Multiliths and was predominantly a jobbing printer turning out a lot of black and
loop and continued to help them run the document side of their business.’ The company now has a dedicated team of eight
white work, producing, for instance, manuals for Ford
‘document’ experts who specialise on the web and electronic
tractor’s technical division. These types of jobs were
side alongside the already extensive knowledge of print. ‘Our
a short to medium sized printer’s dream, with
team now produces a lot of web work, which includes
regular runs of a few hundred copies of 1000
electronic catalogues, language management and translations
page manuals.
and we still print a lot of technical and marketing information
‘In the 80s the company progressed
for the UK. We have always managed the technical side of
into printing a lot of black and white
things, developing the data bases and services and managing
work for the government, as well
the whole process from receipt of the English version to delivery of the complete package in all the different languages and formats. They are still PDF files, but as well as sending it to pre-press or a digital printing machine, we are now sending it to a website. ‘We take time to understand our customers’ business, their
as advancing
products and their markets. This positions us to advise on the
further into the automobile sector
most appropriate way to deliver their information to their
and at one time had six perfectors
customers. Essentially we become an extension to their
running on electrostatic plates
company, providing a specialist input to their information
producing loose leaf,
communication that achieves high levels of speed, efficiency
saddlestitched and perfect bound
and accuracy using the most appropriate delivery channels.
work – and there was tonnes of it – this really was an excellent era to be in a printing business.’ This was all before the advent of
Formara has embraced change in the machine room with the same commitment and energy as it has applied to the
the compact disk, and the company
electronic side of the business, and is now the perfect all
did extremely well through the 90s
rounder in terms of being able to deliver everything a
and into the early 2000s, capitalising
demanding customer needs, whether black and white or full
on perfecting technology, but
colour, digital or litho.
keeping mostly in the black and
Phil Wilce at Formara.
What about print?
Mr Wilce said, ‘From the late 90s, we identified that the print
white area. Mr Wilce said, ‘From
market was changing dramatically and that to be a real player
1998 onwards, we saw the writing
we had to get into colour.’ The first two colour litho press was
on the wall and identified that a lot
installed in 1999 and then a four colour press came in 2001.
of our black and white work was
The pressroom now contains the full raft of presses, including a
going electronic but also that the
Shinohara 52 four colour and two colour perfector, an Oliver
market was demanding more and
B2 two colour perfector and two Ryobi 3200 perfectors.
more colour.’
Mr Wilce added, ‘The move into colour printing has been a
good one for us, although initially it was a big step. We chose
faring better in these tough economic times. Our break-even
the Shinohara four colour press because it was perfect for
point between the two processes tends to be a higher run
what we needed at the time; the level of investment was
length to most printers, because we are a B3 company. So at
manageable, it ran at a reasonable speed, and it produced
the moment on black and white we will print digitally up to
good quality work. We have been delighted with it, and it is
the 900 to 1000 run mark, and on colour the break-even is
now the busiest machine in the whole building.’
around 350 to 400 copies.
The company has also been an early adopter of digital,
‘But we have noticed a big change in the way customers
recognising the impact the process is making. It installed firstly
operate now, they are not interested in what process their job
Kodak photocopiers, then switched to Canon IR150VP and IR110
is produced by, the quality is now unquestionable in digital –
high volume monochrome machines. In 2007 the company
all they are looking for is efficiency. So as far as we are
installed its latest digital press, the Kodak Nexpress M700.
concerned, the determining factors on any job are simply the
On the finishing front, it prides itself on being able to cope
run length and delivery time. The other factor is that we are
with anything a customer might throw at it, being able to
increasingly getting demands for variable data printing, and
finish almost every job in-house, as well as posting out from a
we see this as a clear growth area in the future.’
purpose built mailing facility.
Is continuous change still on the agenda for Formara? Mr Wilce concluded, ‘There is still plenty more change on the
Digital versus litho
horizon. We will continue to invest in all processes across the
So, with all that choice of output, how is the digital versus
board, including litho. But one of our main interests at the
litho comparison working out on the front line? ‘It is very
moment is in the field of web to print. We already have the
interesting,’ said Mr Wilce, ‘we actually find that it is much
software in place, Kodak’s Insite, and we have created a
easier to fill our litho colour press with work, and at the
brand, Print4London.com, which we see as a real opportunity
moment our figures tell us that the litho side of our business is
to capitalise on automated web ordering.’
June 2009 • www.paperandprint.com