Edwards Brothers Installs Book Press
ANN ARBOR, MI—Edwards Brothers (EB) has installed a new Timsons T48A ZMR (zero makeready) one- and two-color press, adding to one of the biggest fleets of Timsons presses in the country. This press will significantly increase EB's capacity and help it meet the needs of its professional and educational clients who have a growing demand for short- and medium-run offset book manufacturing.
There are two printing units on the web, allowing the press to continue printing while the next set of plates is installed for the next run. The two printing units will also allow the press to produce high-quality, two color text printing.
"Even in this difficult environment where making significant capital purchases can be unsettling, it makes sense to use technology to lower our manufacturing costs as well as increase capacity," said John Edwards, president and CEO of Edwards Brothers. "As a short-run manufacturer, we see opportunities as publisher print runs stabilize at new lower levels. This new Timsons press will help us meet that demand and, at the same time, help increase our own efficiencies by reducing downtime and paper waste during the manufacturing process."
The Timsons press purchase is part of a Edwards' program of ongoing investment in plant and technology in order to maintain quality and efficiency. Other recent investments include an upgrade of EB's fleet of digital print engines across multiple centers, a new binding line in its North Carolina digital book center, new stacker/palletizer equipment at the Ann Arbor offset facility, installation of a shop floor data collection system, and a multi-year installation of business systems for improving overall processes and workflow.
