England-based print management company SF Taylor upgrades its booklet production with Duplo DBM-600 Booklet System to meet capacity requirements, increase productivity; system offers increased automation, allows company to produce A6-A8 landscape booklets

Photo Credit: Simon Young, Managing Director and Gill Britain, Finishing Manager.

Stockport-based print management company SF Taylor have upgraded their booklet production with a new and fully loaded DBM-600 Booklet System to meet capacity requirements and to increase productivity throughout their business.

Installed in January, the twin tower DBM 600 Booklet System was chosen because “Duplo is one of our ‘go to’ supply partners, we have a continual investment program and want to invest in the latest equipment. The older 500 Booklet System was excellent but over the last few months we’ve increased our print capacity dramatically and so we need the very latest that Duplo had to offer”, said Simon Young Managing Director of SF Taylor. “The new 600 system is much more efficient and frees up more of our operators due to the increased automation with it’s new intuitive PC control system. Our people are very familiar with the Duplo systems so the installation took a single day, with another day and half to train 7 of our technical operators – they took to it incredibly well. With the new Booklet System we can now do A6-A8 landscape booklets which is a key feature we needed, also it can take a wider variety of stocks with the new intelligent towers with deeper bins. We’re also looking forward to really pushing the boundaries on the booklet system as it’s much more robust and the set up times have been drastically reduced allowing us to process more jobs in a much shorter period.”

Talking about SF Taylor’s customers and the work they do, Young continues “We provide complete ‘Print Management Services’. Our hybrid model of internal manufacturing and complementary supply partners, enables us to deliver our fantastic services. From large contracts to smaller projects, we have the capabilities and structure to deliver the ultimate solution and service.” 

“With 90% of our work coming from the NHS and with more contracts being awarded in 2021, we’ve continued our investment plans through the last few years with the latest equipment, including the Koenig & Bauer Rapida 75 along with a new Xerox 4100 that arrived just before the Duplo Booklet Maker.”

With a staff of 60, SF Taylor’s history goes back as far as 1926, now with over 12,000 sq.ft. of production facilities. The DBM-600 Booklet system joins a Duplo iSaddle purchased in 2014 at one of Duplo’s Northern Lights shows. Their print room is comprehensive with their latest Koenig & Bauer 5 colour press joining their raft of B3 GTO’s and their digital presses that include Xerox Iridesse with inline finishing, B3 Xerox Nuvera, 3 B3 Xerox Versants and their latest Versant 4100.

“Our manufacturing capabilities are widespread and varied, and our machinery needs to compliment these requirements” Says Young regarding choosing machines and suppliers. “From technical machinery to labour intensive accurate fulfilment, our machinery and people are key. The new machines support our existing customers’ and our continual growth in our sector and allows high-capacity feeding, stacking, and finishing for coated and uncoated papers, bright papers, labels, business cards, glossy brochures, window decals, durable/synthetic papers, greeting cards, tabs, embossed, polyesters and custom solutions."

“Associating with key supply partners supports the implementation and training of any new equipment, familiarity and software functionality is key to running an efficient and streamlined production facility and working with Duplo allows just this. Our long-term partnership approach with our key partners is complimented by the service and aftercare we receive to keep us 24 hours a day!”

When asked about performance and how the company handled the pandemic, Young said “From the outset of the pandemic we have stayed fully operational to support our customers’.  With one of our largest sectors being the NHS, we were awarded a ‘COVID19 Critical Supplier Status’ in recognition to our services. This reflected our ethos throughout the pandemic to all our customers. Our latest investment in manufacturing reflects our commitment to maintain a sustainable business and remaining a market leader.”

“We want to continue to be a supplier of choice for our customers and we are committed in delivering the best service possible. With the increase in capacity SF Taylor are providing a customer centric focus and ethos which has enabled us to become a strong and trusted, single source provider for our clients.”