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COVER STORY: PRINT & PACK INSTALLS KOMORI A1 LITHRONE G437 HUV-L PRESS
Print & Pack installs Komori A1 Lithrone G437 HUV-L press at WHO Printing in New South Wales
Ahead of its 40th anniversary this year, Newcastle-based WHO Printing has upgraded to a Komori A1 Lithrone G437 HUV-L sheetfed press, sold and installed by Print & Pack.
WHO Printing has expanded its operations with the purchase of a Komori A1 Lithrone G437 HUV-L 37-inch sheetfed press – the fourth Komori press in its history.
Founded on Christmas Eve in 1985 by husband-and-wife team Wayne and Helen Ogle at their family home in Macquarie Hills on the NSW Central Coast, as a simple laminating and photocopying service, WHO Printing has evolved into a dynamic print group, delivering services across the Hunter region.
WHO Printing has remained family-owned and operated throughout its history, with Wayne and Helen’s son Daniel joining the business in 1991 as a laminator.
In 2017, Daniel and his wife Melanie took over the business. In October 2024, Daniel and Melanie’s daughter Keziah also joined the team.
Over the decades, WHO Printing has worked with Komori offset printing machines and enjoyed a long-standing relationship with Komori’s local distributor, Print & Pack.
“We’ve been in offset printing for 27 years, and this will be our fourth Komori press,” Daniel Ogle, Managing Director of WHO Printing, told ProPrint
Installed in August 2024 by Print & Pack, the A1 Lithrone G437 HUV-L replaces an older 5-colour Komori A2 press.
“Our very first Komori press was secondhand. However, since then we have purchased two brand new Komori presses: a 4-colour Komori A3 press and a 5-colour Komori A2 press,” Ogle said.
“Our most recent machine prior to the G437 HUV-L, the 5-colour A2 press, was 18 years old when we decided to replace it. The machine was still printing well, and we were still winning national print awards, which is a testament to the longevity of the machine, but it was starting to date.
“The main efficiencies we were looking for from a new press was decreased makeready time, decreased makeready waste, decreased overall job time, and increased colour consistency. These were all the main deciding factors to go with the A1 Lithrone G437 HUV-L.
“There were other brands that we looked at before purchasing the A1 Lithrone G437, but I wasn’t confident in the resale value or the longevity of some of the other machines in comparison to Komori. Also, the fact that we had purchased two other turnaround. The Lithrone G437 HUV-L offers a 640 x 940 mm maximum sheet size and is also equipped with UV printing for on-demand jobs. The press can print at 15,000 sheets an hour and with HUV-L it provides instant drying.
“I was initially hesitant about UV machines. I wasn’t sure of the quality of them,” said Ogle.
“However, prior to purchasing, we visited the team at Prism Imaging in Victoria. They are also a small operation like us, and they had recently upgraded their A2 Komori to the G437 HUV-L. Talking to them and seeing the quality of work produced put my mind at ease about UV.
“We have a regular job that is a short turnaround. We print it, let it sit for 24 hours, and then fold it and stitch it – all within a week – so timing can be quite tight on occasions. With the new machine, we’re able to halve the printing time, halve the folding time, and we can fold it straight away. We don’t have to wait for it to dry like before.”
The purchase of the new printing machine is not only a significant milestone for WHO Printing, which will celebrate its 40th anniversary in December this year, but it’s also a testament to the company’s commitment to staying at the forefront of the printing industry.
With the added capacity and improved efficiency, the company is now poised to handle more business and expand into new markets.
“Before, with the A2 machine, we could print four A4s on a sheet. Now, with the new A1 Lithrone G437 HUV-L we can print eight A4s on a sheet. Because of this, we now don’t require an afternoon shift to produce the same amount of work,” Ogle said.
“There’s also scope to print on other materials as well as produce larger-sized prints. Before, we would outsource A1 posters as we previously couldn’t do those in-house but we’re now able to do those with this new machine. We also recently produced some wrapping paper for a customer before Christmas. Previously, we were limited to around A2 size, but they wanted A1, which we able to do for them with the new machine.”
WHO Printing initially began discussions regarding the purchase of a new Komori with the Print & Pack team three years ago.
The installation was led by Print & Pack’s national Komori demonstrator, Steve Harper.
“We always had a good long-standing relationship with Steve,” said Ogle.
“Before we bought the new machine, we were talking to Steve for about three years. I knew we needed a new machine at some stage, it was just a matter of when. We worked together with our other Komori presses as well, so we had a lot of confidence in Steve and in the product itself.
“Peter Tidswell, who was the chief engineer for the install, was also excellent throughout the entire process, as well as Greg Johnson. Nothing was a drama. It was a smooth process the entire way through.”
According to Print & Pack sales manager Miro Williams, the Komori range offers a wide range of options for specialists in the printing and packaging category looking to invest in an offset solution.
“The beauty of Komori is its broad range of products that are suited to all types of printing businesses – whether you are a multi-site large organisation, or a small print shop working with small to medium suppliers, Komori has something for you,” Williams said.
Williams also credits the experience and knowledgeability of the Print & Pack team.
“Steve Harper has been with the company for 35 years and he is an integral part of the Print & Pack business. His experience with Komori is just invaluable and there’s not too many guys out there now in the industry with that type of experience,” he added.
“The automation and the technology in the machine is also second to none and is key to Australian business at the moment. Return on investment in today’s climate is critical. Everyone is wanting to decrease the manpower while increasing productivity – and Komori offers that.
“Businesses are also looking to be kinder to the environment and minimise waste, so the environmental benefits of Komori are also significant.
“For printers that are wanting to grow their business, Komori is a great solution to deliver a return on investment while also offering quick makeready times and stable running capacities. We have seen a larger number of companies investing in Komori offset printing solutions as we can offer everything printer needs.”
