CTP FIELD REPORTS -- Set to Compete

"Longevity was very important to me as a small owner," Gust continues. "In a digital environment where platforms and associated software sometimes become obsolete within a year, keeping up with technology has become a significant cash-flow issue."

Gust viewed not having CTP as cost to the company in the form of a lost business opportunity. "No other shop in our market has an eight-up CTP solution in place yet. I could see the benefits just by crunching the numbers—the debt service I had for a previous machine, the labor expense I was incurring for stripping and platemaking, consumables expense for film, etc. I didn't want to wait any longer."