Crowson Stone Printing--Not A Stone Age Printer

BY DENNIS E. MASON

A search for a modern printing company is not likely to begin in Columbia, SC. But it should end there, with Crowson Stone Printing.

Founded in 1923 as Crowson Printing, Crowson Stone became the state's first offset printer in the 1950s. Still a family operation, it is led by John K. deLoach III, the third generation on the Stone side of the business. The 50 Crowson Stone employees generate annual sales of nearly $6 million.

deLoach experienced other sides of business before taking the reigns of the family print shop, including earning a degree in business and finance. He then spent eight years in management and technology consulting, before assuming control of Crowson Stone five years ago. At the time, the company, although moderately successful, was in need of modernization. Calling on a core group of committed employees and a nucleus of loyal customers, deLoach began to move the company solidly into the digital 21st century.

A sheetfed printer with half-size presses, Crowson Stone does short-to-medium runs for advertising agencies, corporate accounts and state and local government. They also do specialty work, including foil stamping and diecutting. "Agencies come to Crowson Stone because they know we understand the customer service and quality necessary to do their work. Our ability to handle prepress files makes us particularly attractive," deLoach says.

The digital upgrade began with technology investments designed to improve quality and turnaround time. Motivating this strategy is deLoach's belief that "quality is a given at today's printer. Speed is sometimes the only tangible thing that customers can use as a basis to really differentiate their printers."

Crowson Stone brought color scanning in-house, followed by four-up imagesetting. A recently installed Creo platesetter supports the strategy of producing quality, faster. In the pressroom, a six-color Heidelberg Speedmaster 74 with an aqueous coater is the centerpiece, complemented by a two-color Ryobi and a four-color Speedmaster 74.

The company is striving for a totally digital workflow and sees the integration of prepress, the pressroom and the bindery as key. CIP3 protocols are used to set ink keys and to communicate with Polar cutters in the bindery. Company officials maintain an online connection to their primary graphic arts dealer, xpedx, to check paper order status and view xpedx inventories.

According to deLoach, "By properly implementing digital workflows, we believe that we can compete successfully in short-run offset against printers operating Xeikon and Indigo machines. We might consider a (Heidelberg) DI press in the future, but with 15-minute makereadies on our presses today, it is hard to justify additional equipment to gain speed."

Shelley Magee, Crowson Stone's director of marketing and new business development, is charged with telling the company story to the outside world. Magee joined the company after a stint as a print buyer and Crowson Stone client, during which she simplified file handling for both organizations. "Our clients tend to be graphics professionals who are interested in streamlining the process," she explains. "Our goal is to return as much time as possible to our agency customers, so they can devote more to the creative process."

To shorten the time between file acquisition and shipping the printed page, Crowson Stone installed the Programmed Solutions Printing Management System in early 1999, scrapping an older system that could not provide the built-in procedures and workflows desired by deLoach.

With his background in systems and software consulting, deLoach had a good idea about how the integration should take place. He personally put in two weeks of 18-hour days to set up the system. And because everyone in the company, from the CEO down, is involved in operating and maintaining the system, deLoach sees no need for an actual systems administrator.

When the Programmed Solutions system was installed, so was Microsoft Office, and the entire office and sales staff received Windows training. Also, the company maintains its own Website to disseminate information to, and receive files from, creative professionals.

Estimators prepare most estimates using the Programmed Solutions system. "The system provides tools to assist in pricing and generating quote letters," deLoach explains. "When an estimate is prepared using the system, it is reviewed only if the size of the job exceeds a preset limit. We especially like the fact that we can look at the complete estimate on one screen before committing. Once an estimate is complete, the job ticket is ready."

Gather No Moss
Magee's strategy for the future is to market the benefits of the Crowson Stone workflow to customers. The idea is to demonstrate that the workflow offers distinct advantages by returning some of the time normally absorbed by printing to the design customer. "Most printers view workflow as strictly an internal issue, involving picking a job apart at every step through the printing plant," Magee says. "While our workflow—which we've branded I-Que—began as a means of handling the printing process internally, we came to realize that it had significant implications for our clients.

"Everyone involved with our system saves time, money and sanity," she adds. "Our page-based I-Que workflow simply makes it easier to do business with Crowson Stone, by enabling us to make last-minute changes without reRIPping the entire job." Putting the customer first also means structuring the company to respond to quick turnarounds and last-minute changes. Employees are taught to see these responses as welcomed challenges, not as hassles.

Crowson Stone is also updating its facilities. A new, 40,000-square-foot plant in a suburban industrial park is replacing the present 16,000-square-foot downtown facility.

Larger press formats are being considered, although deLoach believes, "It may be more difficult to differentiate yourself with 40˝ presses, so we may continue to focus on short runs in smaller formats."

Magee adds, "We plan to capture a larger share of our market while we strengthen relationships with individual clients." A new sales office in Charleston, SC, was the first step in providing more complete service. But it doesn't end with a new office. Magee sums up Crowson Stone's business strategy: "The printer that creates the least stress for the customer ultimately wins."