Lewis Printers, the Carmarthen B3 commercial printers, has just taken delivery of the Ricoh Pro™ C901 Graphic Arts Edition press supplied by Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg). This replaces a Konica Minolta, which will be moved across to sister company Gomer Press. The new Pro C 901 digital press will run at Lewis Printers alongside a litho line up which includes a Speedmaster SM 52-4+L, SM 52-2-P, a GTO 52-2-P and a TOK. 

"We wanted a digital press that would offer us consistent and accurate colour and increase our output," says Jonathan Lewis, managing director. "We saw litho and digital output compared at a Heidelberg open house and we were convinced by it. Few customers would be able to detect the difference in quality. The Heidelberg brand was convincing." 

The digital press will be used to handle a range of short run and personalised products including posters, leaflets, booklets, flyers and business cards. Most of this company's work is from local businesses and the public, clients who require advice and support to maximise the effectiveness of their print. The digital and litho machines complement each other, giving the company a competitive edge over a wider range of work. 

"We don't yet know where the breakeven will be between litho and digital production but we will be working on the costing over the coming weeks and seeing which technology is right for which contracts, something our customers generally leave us to decide," says Jonathan Lewis. 

Heidelberg announced its partnership in mid 2011 and has subsequently added a number of orders for the Ricoh Pro C 901 and Pro C 751 series of presses.