Greg Hutchby, managing director of The Digital Media Company, can place any number of items on a range of substrates at high speed and accurately

　　What does the machine do?

　　It accurately places a wide range of products, including credit cards, coupons, CDs, folded sheets, booklets and sachets to a base product or carrier piece.

　　Why did you choose this particular machine?

　　Because of its flexibility and the fact that it added value to our bottom line. The Maverick can be easily integrated into existing finishing and mailing equipment eliminating the need to run an additional operation for product attachment. It is also fast, accurate and easy to operate.

　　Did you look at any other similar machines?

　　We had considered similar machines but none of them offered the flexibility of integration that we required.

　　What features do you particularly like?

　　The machine is easy to set up and changeover between jobs is simple and fast. It has a unique separation system, which means that it can feed products of differing thickness without the need for adjustment. We have recently found this to be very useful for feeding liquid filled sachets.

　　Is there anything that you dislike?

　　We have found that with some products we have had to modify the infeed backstops to assist with product feeding.

　　How fast is it?

 
　　It is probably faster than is usually required.It is able to attach credit cards at 20,000cph, although we generally run this type of application at circa 15,000cph. We recently ran a sun cream sachet job at 12,000cph which had to run slower in order to allow the operator to keep up with feeding the product.

　　How reliable is it?

　　Very reliable. The technology is up to date so there is a high level of electronics involved, therefore, the level of regular maintenance applied will have an impact on long-term reliability.

　　What’s the quality like?

　　Very good. At worst the equipment will place most products at high speed accurately to within plus or minus 2mm, which is within most of our required tolerances.

　　How easy is it to use?

　　The machine’s operator interface is very user friendly. Set-up is fast and simple and a changeover between jobs can take as little as a couple of minutes. Operator training at the supplier’s factory was included within the purchase cost.

　　How much time or money has it saved?

　　With the Maverick we can be much more competitive in our pricing while ensuring we have the internal capacity to bid for greater volumes of work. We estimate that the addition of this machinery has provided us with an added value increase in the region of 35-40%.

　　Has it won you any new work?

　　Yes, purely from the point of view that we now have the capacity to confidently market a wider range of added-value print and media products.

　　What about the pre- and after-sales service?

　　Plant4Print provides an efficient and professional service. They have an extensive knowledge of our industry and this shows in the support, services and advice that is provided during the entire purchasing experience from initial enquiry through to installation and ongoing product support.

　　Who do you think the machine is right for?

　　Anyone who has a need to place a product onto a carrier substrate such as credit cards onto letters, sachets onto mailers, gift vouchers into gift cards or CDs into cereal packets etc.

　　CONCLUSION

　　User’s verdict   

　　Speed 5/5
　　Quality 5/5
　　Reliability 5/5
　　Value for money 5/5

　　Supplier’s response    

　　Richard Ogando, managing director at Plant4Print, says: “The Digital Media Company were an ideal customer as they needed an attaching system that was easy to operate with fast makeready and is suitable for both short- and long-run work. As well as using the feeder as part of a bespoke attaching system, it can be independently integrated into a wide variety of equipment including folders, folder-gluers, mailing systems, bindery systems, inline web press finishing and packaging applications.”

　　Price from under £20,000 for a base model feeder
　　Contact Plant4Print 0845 1213939