Debenhams print department buys Durst machines as part of £800,000 investment

Magenta Print and Display, Debenhams’ in-house print operation, has bought a Durst P10 320R and Rho 320HS as part of a £800,000 investment programme. The move coincides with a major rebranding across the Debenhams chain, including a £30m revamp of its Oxford Street store in London, and an ongoing plan to increase the 168 UK/Ireland Debenhams stores to 220.

Chris Tester, Magenta’s director of print operations, and Lee Hutchinson, production manager, signed for the two new Dursts on stand at Fespa 2013, where they confirmed that the new machines will replace a roll-fed Nur machine, and together with new finishing kit (including a Fotoba slitter, Seal laminator, sewing machine) and workflow automation software, will increase wide-format production capacity by three times.

Magenta, based in Taunton, has a staff of 90 and handles all Debenhams’ print requirements. Tester explained that investment in the in-house print operation, which acts as a profit centre within the parent company, means Debenhams can “react to market conditions more quickly, be more cost effective, and benefit from more integrated system” than if the print was outsourced.

The Durst machines will be installed within the next three weeks and are expected to be fully operational by the end of July. It is anticipated that they will be used to significantly increase the amount of textile printing undertaken by Magenta in line with the understanding that larger size fabric print will be easier to get in stores, and that the migration will reduce costs

Other new Durst signing include the Rho 1030 for McGowan, and a Rho 1012 for Speedscreen and another for Image Data.