case study

Screaming Colour chooses Watkiss to help impress clients

Since this case study was written, Screaming Colour have installed further Watkiss equipment: a Watkiss DigiVAC collating and finishing system, an Automatic SpineMaster and a Lamibind perfect binder.

City based digital print and repro specialists Screaming Colour works for a number of leading global marketing and design agencies for whom it produces high quality communications collateral including brochures, reports, booklets and newsletters. It also has an impressive list of publishers amongst its client list.

Having got into digital print early on, Screaming Colour had already been through the somewhat steep learning curve before many other companies even entered this arena. Although its work schedule is demanding, the company and its reputation for quality are consistently growing.

Production director Tim Maddox says:

"Unlike many of our competitors, we don’t sell on price, but on the excellent service we provide. Our agency and direct clients know that they can rely on us to provide the very best quality with the fastest possible turnaround. I know of many examples where our clients have striven for larger budgets just so that they are able to use us rather than cheaper printers."

Now employing over 30 staff, Screaming Colour boasts an extensive range of digital print hardware from Indigo, as well as image setters and scanners. In addition, Screaming Colour completes most of the finishing side of its business on-site too. One of the key components in this department is a Document Finishing System from Watkiss Automation. This professional off-line finishing solution with automatic stitch-fold and trim facilities was purchased by Screaming Colour around two years ago and has been used heavily ever since.

A typical day at Screaming Colour can see more than 30 jobs on its presses, so efficiency is critical to survival. If the company had chosen an online finishing solution, it would have slowed down the whole production process, which would have knock on effects across the business. So, Watkiss’ off-line system was more suited to Screaming Colour’s requirements than any of the competitors’ products.

Tim Maddox explains further:

"Obviously Watkiss is a well known company that has been around for a long time. The fact that it is an English company that designs and manufactures its own machines also attracted us because we knew that spare parts would be more readily available than if they had to be imported."

However, it was more than speed and stability that sealed the deal. From his own print business Tim fully appreciates the need to be flexible when dealing with clients and recognised a similar approach from Watkiss. He continues:

"Above all, Watkiss was open minded about what we needed and its people were prepared to discuss our priorities and tailor the solution to meet our exact requirements."

In common with all Watkiss equipment, the Document Finishing System is a modular system that can be provided in a variety of configurations to meet changing business needs. It is easy to use and offers high-speed production. Furthermore it is designed to pack all of its significant functionality into a small footprint device, again an important consideration when office space is at a premium.

Screaming Colour has also added a Watkiss SpineMaster™ booklet finisher module to its finishing department. The SpineMaster™ takes saddle-stitched books and re-forms the spines into a square shape giving them the appearance of perfect binding. This eliminates the common problem of gaping that often occurs with stitch-fold materials.

Tim Maddox again:

"The Watkiss SpineMaster™ enables us to provide our clients with another superior product which helps them to improve the service to their own clients."

So what does the future hold for Screaming Colour?

Tim Maddox concludes:

"Like most of the print industry our clients are becoming ever more demanding. However unlike many of our competitors, our business is constantly growing so we are obviously pitching our service right. Naturally we keep a keen eye on what Watkiss and other suppliers are bringing out and will probably look to NorthPrint again to review what we need to invest in to maintain our successful position."