The UKHO is looking to increase its in-house digital Inkjet production capacity further, switching completely to digital printing solutions, and switching off the lithographic presses which are reaching the end of their useful life. To capitalise fully on this, the UKHO wishes at the same time to move away from printing batches of charts for stock, and then picking from this stock when the customer orders them. Instead, the UKHO plans to operate the label printers as an integrated component of a production line which is able to print, label and fold charts in a dynamic and automated manner. These production lines will then manufacture charts to customer order for immediate despatch, thus removing the need to keep warehoused stock.

These production lines represent a significant technical challenge and investment for the UKHO, and this only makes sense if the solution can comfortably and reliably meet current demand levels across just 2 such production lines (i.e. each line outputting at least 750 charts per hour). These lines will have high demands placed upon them, operating regularly for a full 14 hours a day, 5 days a week.