Responding to customer needs
BPA Digital was formed as a clear response to industry trends and documented customer needs, reports Brett Turnley, Director of BPA Print Group. “Using the Océ VarioStream 7550 we can profitably print runs of 200 or 300 books”, he says. “It’s improved our competitive advantage by letting us produce at the right cost the product that publishers have been calling for.”

Building competitive advantage
Turnley says that the system’s flexibility has helped increase BPA Digital’s competitive advantage. “The obvious benefit is that we can offer publishers binding styles such as section sewn, burst bound and perfect bound”, he says. “Our competitors can only produce books constructed from loose leaves and therefore produce only perfect-bound books and other loose-leaf products.”

An end-to-end digital solution
Océ and its partners provided the end-to-end digital solution that makes cost-effective short runs reality. A Hunkeler reel unwinder and Hunkeler Cutting Unit prepare paper for production. The Océ VarioStream 7550 then prints the books, adding spot colour where appropriate. The books are finished on an MBO folder and Horizon BQ270 binder able to bind 500 books an hour.

Fully automated production with Océ PRISMA
The ‘brains’ of the digital solution is Océ PRISMA+POD, which automates the procedure from start to finish. “The process is reasonably simple if we choose to use it in its simplest form”, says John Stroud, BPA Digital Operations Manager. “PRISMA+POD can take pdf files and turn them into a print-ready product very quickly and efficiently. So we get printed product very quickly.”

Looking forward to further growth
The Océ system is already driving sales at BPA Digital, with long-term prospects that are equally promising. “We were attracted to Océ’s policy of future-proofing equipment, allowing systems to be upgraded with new technologies rather than replaced”, says Turnley.

“With the support of our customers and the best available digital book-printing system, we see nothing but growth for our digital book division.”

More about BPA Print Group
BPA Print Group consists of two long-standing entities, Brown Prior Anderson (BPA) and Jenkin Buxton Printers. It offers total print services with computer-to-plate technology, digital and conventional printing facilities, plus finishing equipment that includes both limp and case binding. When the company decided to invest in digital technology, it conducted interviews with customers, industry partners and other printing companies and suppliers.