email: editor@printmonthly.co.uk November | December 2026 - Issue 363 16 KIT & CONSUMABLES | NEWS Route 1 Print invests in two HEIDELBERG presses Route 1 Print, has invested in two HEIDELBERG Speedmaster XL106-8Ps complete with Plate to Unit, LED UV, and automated Push to Stop technology. The installation forms part of a wider £12m investment programme focusing on equipment modernisation and production capacity expansion. The investment has been undertaken by Route 1 and its parent organisation, Bluetree Group, at their 300,000sq ft production site in Rotherham. The investment is intended to support growing demand from customers and strengthen Route 1’s production capabilities, focusing on reducing manual handling and simplifying operations. HEIDELBERG Plate to Unit is a fully automated logistics system that physically transfers offset printing plates from the imaging department directly into the press’ printing units without any human intervention. The investment has reportedly been well received by the Route 1 production team, with staff highlighting that the new automated equipment makes operation easier, safer, and more intuitive. It has been calculated that the new presses are already running up to 40% faster than the previous fleet, driven by more efficient makeready times and integration with HEIDELBERG’s Prinect workflow system. Jack Parks, head of Route 1 Print, says: “This investment is ultimately about helping our reseller partners serve their own customers even better. Greater capacity and efficiency will help us keep pricing competitive, enabling our partners to protect healthy margins.” Baker Labels installs UK’s first Durst Tau G3 Peak LED Baker Labels has installed the UK’s first Durst Tau G3 Peak LED at its Brentwood headquarters with the aim of significantly increasing digital inkjet capacity as the company continues to invest in the growth of its label business. The new 510mm-wide press was delivered in late August, with installation completed by Durst engineers within three days. Trials, profiling, and operator training followed, before the first live customer work moved onto the machine. The G3 Peak joins Baker Labels’ existing Durst Tau RSC 340 LED which was installed in October 2024, reportedly giving the company well over double its previous production capacity on the Durst platform. As well as representing a commitment to the growth of its core label operation, Bakers chose the machine to maintain and further improve its quality and turnaround times. The Durst G3 Peak will work alongside Baker Labels’ existing Durst Tau RSC 340 The Speedmaster XL106-8Ps were purchased as part of a £12m investment programme By Jonathan Pert Fujifilm announce global partnership Fujifilm has announced a global strategic alliance with ePac Flexible Packaging, an international provider of digitally driven flexible packaging solutions, to utilise Fujifilm’s Jet Press FP790 high-volume digital press across its global network. The partnership aims to enable ePac to increase its global throughput while preserving its short-run and on-demand capabilities. The deployment begins in North America with a Fujifilm Jet Press FP790 installation at ePac’s new facility in Phoenix, Arizona. Wider fleet expansion is then planned across ePac’s wider global network in future phases. Kodak launches PROSPER Plus 5 American print press manufacturer, Kodak, has launched the KODAK PROSPER Plus 5 imprinting system, expanding its existing PROSPER Plus portfolio with a 152m/min solution that adds KODAK Stream inkjet technology to existing presses and finishing lines. Designed for both printers and converters, the PROSPER Plus 5 has been developed to enable variable data printing, coding, serialisation, personalisation, and versioning on existing analogue presses and finishing lines without replacing current equipment. With the device, Kodak aims to give printers the flexibility to expand into higher-margin applications, respond faster to changing customer demands, and generate new revenue from assets they already own. Food wholesaler boosts output with IGS purchase Sunderland-based premier food wholesaler, Nico Rossi, has installed an IGS Cobalt SP800 single pass printer in order to boost its operational efficiency and increase capacity. As demand for fast, customised food packaging continues to grow across the regional hospitality sector, Nico Rossi set out to find a highspeed printing solution capable of keeping pace with its rapid distribution network. Following a live demonstration of the Cobalt SP800, Nico Rossi determined that the printer delivered the single-pass speed, output quality, and substrate versatility required for high-volume wholesale packaging. By Jonathan Pert By Jonathan Pert By Jonathan Pert The solution offers 600 x 900dpi resolution, flexible drop size options, and enhanced reliability [L to R] Jimmy Shadforth, production manager at Nico Rossi; Peter Flynn, MD at IGS; and Roger Andrews, MD at Nico Rossi The Jet Press FP790 has been specifically developed for high-volume flexible packaging printmonthly PrintMonthlyMagazine printmonthly_signlink printmonthly
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