Timsons
Encyclopedia
Timsons Ltd is a family-owned company which manufactures
bespoke book
and flexible packaging printing presses. Timsons was founded in 1896 by Arthur Richardson Timson and employs over 200 people at its Kettering
, UK headquarters. A sales subsidiary in Milan
covers southern Europe, and a sales and service operation for the Americas is based in Schaumburg, Illinois
.
Timsons Limited has specialised for over 50 years in the niche market
of presses to print books. The variability of book sizes, and hence machine specifications, creates a need for flexibility in design and manufacture. Each press is custom built enabling the printer to select the print circumference, web width and folder to meet their own individual requirements and minimise excess trim waste.
The book printing presses typically use a lithographic web offset printing
process, with Servo drive
s, and tailored to print and fold substrates for bibles and dictionaries on very lightweight paper
s, through to paperback
s, novel
s, reference books and computer manuals. In recent years, Bungay
-based Book printer Clays used its Timson presses to produce the complete series of Harry Potter
adventures including Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
, which sold more than 2 million in the first 24 hours . With a stable of 15 presses covering A and B format paperbacks as well as Demy and Royal sizes, Clays have Britain's
largest installation of Timson presses.
The new Timson T-Flex series use a flexographic process designed to print flexible packaging with water
based or UV
(cationic or free radical) inks. The Welsh Centre for Printing and Coating at Swansea University
purchased the first T-Flex 508 flexo press which was built originally as a ‘testbed’ for the development of the new T-Flex 600. This University
use their press as a research
tool.
On 1st July 2006 Timsons celebrated its 110th anniversary
. The event was a triple celebration marking the opening of a new 10000 sq ft (929 m²) high bay press assembly shop, and receiving the Queen’s Award for Enterprise
for outstanding achievement in innovation
. The Queen’s Awards for Enterprise are the UK's most prestigious awards for business performance and this honour recognises the development and commercial success of the Timson ZMR book press.
The Timsons premises in Kettering comprises a foundry
and pattern
makers, machine shop, assembly shop, research bays and offices for departments from sales and design, through to service and administrative duties. Timsons also has its own Training School and prides itself in providing Mechanical
and Electrical Engineering
apprenticeship
s for approximately 6 people each year. Training has always been a high priority of the company and the first official apprenticeship training scheme was introduced in 1950 by Ernest Arthur Timson who succeeded his father Arthur Timson as Managing Director in 1940. The current Managing Director Jeff Ward joined the company as an apprentice in 1979 and was appointed to MD after the retirement
of Peter Brown (son-in-law
of Ernest Timson) in 2007.
Manufacturing
Manufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to produce goods for use or sale. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale...
bespoke book
Book
A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of hot lava, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf or leaflet, and each side of a leaf is called a page...
and flexible packaging printing presses. Timsons was founded in 1896 by Arthur Richardson Timson and employs over 200 people at its Kettering
Kettering
Kettering is a market town in the Borough of Kettering, Northamptonshire, England. It is situated about from London. Kettering is mainly situated on the west side of the River Ise, a tributary of the River Nene which meets at Wellingborough...
, UK headquarters. A sales subsidiary in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
covers southern Europe, and a sales and service operation for the Americas is based in Schaumburg, Illinois
Schaumburg, Illinois
Schaumburg is a city located in Cook County in northeastern Illinois. A common misspelling of the city name is Schaumberg, a spelling which persists on some modern maps. Schaumburg is located just under northwest of downtown Chicago and approximately northwest of O'Hare International Airport. As...
.
Timsons Limited has specialised for over 50 years in the niche market
Niche market
A niche market is the subset of the market on which a specific product is focusing; therefore the market niche defines the specific product features aimed at satisfying specific market needs, as well as the price range, production quality and the demographics that is intended to impact...
of presses to print books. The variability of book sizes, and hence machine specifications, creates a need for flexibility in design and manufacture. Each press is custom built enabling the printer to select the print circumference, web width and folder to meet their own individual requirements and minimise excess trim waste.
The book printing presses typically use a lithographic web offset printing
Offset printing
Offset printing is a commonly used printing technique in which the inked image is transferred from a plate to a rubber blanket, then to the printing surface...
process, with Servo drive
Servo drive
A servo drive is a special electronic amplifier used to power electric servomechanisms.A servo drive monitors the feedback signal from the servomechanism and continually adjusts for deviation from expected behavior.-Function:...
s, and tailored to print and fold substrates for bibles and dictionaries on very lightweight paper
Paper
Paper is a thin material mainly used for writing upon, printing upon, drawing or for packaging. It is produced by pressing together moist fibers, typically cellulose pulp derived from wood, rags or grasses, and drying them into flexible sheets....
s, through to paperback
Paperback
Paperback, softback or softcover describe and refer to a book by the nature of its binding. The covers of such books are usually made of paper or paperboard, and are usually held together with glue rather than stitches or staples...
s, novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
s, reference books and computer manuals. In recent years, Bungay
Bungay, Suffolk
Bungay is a market town in the English county of Suffolk. It lies in the Waveney valley, west of Beccles on the edge of The Broads, and at the neck of a meander of the River Waveney.-Early history:...
-based Book printer Clays used its Timson presses to produce the complete series of Harry Potter
Harry Potter
Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by the British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...
adventures including Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is the sixth and penultimate novel in the Harry Potter series by British author J. K. Rowling...
, which sold more than 2 million in the first 24 hours . With a stable of 15 presses covering A and B format paperbacks as well as Demy and Royal sizes, Clays have Britain's
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
largest installation of Timson presses.
The new Timson T-Flex series use a flexographic process designed to print flexible packaging with water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
based or UV
Ultraviolet
Ultraviolet light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays, in the range 10 nm to 400 nm, and energies from 3 eV to 124 eV...
(cationic or free radical) inks. The Welsh Centre for Printing and Coating at Swansea University
Swansea University
Swansea University is a university located in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom. Swansea University was chartered as University College of Swansea in 1920, as the fourth college of the University of Wales. In 1996, it changed its name to the University of Wales Swansea following structural changes...
purchased the first T-Flex 508 flexo press which was built originally as a ‘testbed’ for the development of the new T-Flex 600. This University
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
use their press as a research
Research
Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...
tool.
On 1st July 2006 Timsons celebrated its 110th anniversary
Anniversary
An anniversary is a day that commemorates or celebrates a past event that occurred on the same day of the year as the initial event. For example, the first event is the initial occurrence or, if planned, the inaugural of the event. One year later would be the first anniversary of that event...
. The event was a triple celebration marking the opening of a new 10000 sq ft (929 m²) high bay press assembly shop, and receiving the Queen’s Award for Enterprise
Queen's Awards for Enterprise
The Queen's Awards for Enterprise is an awards programme for British businesses and other organizations who excel at international trade, innovation or sustainable development. They are the highest official UK awards for British businesses...
for outstanding achievement in innovation
Innovation
Innovation is the creation of better or more effective products, processes, technologies, or ideas that are accepted by markets, governments, and society...
. The Queen’s Awards for Enterprise are the UK's most prestigious awards for business performance and this honour recognises the development and commercial success of the Timson ZMR book press.
The Timsons premises in Kettering comprises a foundry
Foundry
A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal in a mold, and removing the mold material or casting after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals processed are aluminum and cast iron...
and pattern
Pattern (casting)
In casting, a pattern is a replica of the object to be cast, used to prepare the cavity into which molten material will be poured during the casting process.Patterns used in sand casting may be made of wood, metal, plastics or other materials...
makers, machine shop, assembly shop, research bays and offices for departments from sales and design, through to service and administrative duties. Timsons also has its own Training School and prides itself in providing Mechanical
Mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering is a discipline of engineering that applies the principles of physics and materials science for analysis, design, manufacturing, and maintenance of mechanical systems. It is the branch of engineering that involves the production and usage of heat and mechanical power for the...
and Electrical Engineering
Electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is a field of engineering that generally deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after commercialization of the electric telegraph and electrical...
apprenticeship
Engineering apprentice
An engineering apprenticeship is an apprenticeship in mechanical engineering or electrical engineering. A typical example is the apprenticeships formerly available at the BTH and EEC at Rugby in England...
s for approximately 6 people each year. Training has always been a high priority of the company and the first official apprenticeship training scheme was introduced in 1950 by Ernest Arthur Timson who succeeded his father Arthur Timson as Managing Director in 1940. The current Managing Director Jeff Ward joined the company as an apprentice in 1979 and was appointed to MD after the retirement
Retirement
Retirement is the point where a person stops employment completely. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours.Many people choose to retire when they are eligible for private or public pension benefits, although some are forced to retire when physical conditions don't allow the person to...
of Peter Brown (son-in-law
Son-in-Law
Son-in-Law was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and an influential sire, especially for sport horses.The National Horseracing Museum says that Son-in-Law is "probably the best and most distinguished stayer this country has ever known." Described as "one of the principal influences for stamina in...
of Ernest Timson) in 2007.