Edison Litho Talks Leadership, Big Presses at GlobalShop; Draws Crowd with Former Bears’ Star Player

NORTH BERGEN, NJ—April 4, 2008—Edison Litho & Printing, one of the largest large-format litho printers in the Northeast and the only printer in the country with two of the largest sheetfed presses in the world, embarked on its new theme “The Future of Your Business is with Edison Litho” at the GlobalShop show at McCormick Place in Chicago in mid-March 2008 to promote its large-format printing capabilities and use of different substrates. The Edison booth attracted hundreds of show-goers.

“We’re here to proclaim our leadership in the large-format printing category by having two KBA Rapida 205 81-inch six-color sheetfed presses in our facility,” says George Gross, Edison’s president. “We’re the only printer in the United States that has this type of capability. Our newest KBA Rapida 205 goes even further because it is a six-color sheetfed press with coater and custom plastics package, allowing the press to print on plastics and styrene substrates. Having the additional capability of printing on substrates like plastic, vinyl, and styrene really rounds out our ability to service our customers with their entire large format printing needs. We’ve found that there are very few printers who have this ability, thus differentiating us from our competition.”

At the GlobalShop show, the largest retail design and in-store marketing event, Edison enlisted Dan Hampton, a retired Hall of Fame Chicago Bear football defensive tackle who played 12 seasons for the Chicago Bears from 1979 to 1990 and is now a radio host for pre- and post-game shows for the Bears. Hampton’s versatility at both defensive end and defensive tackle, which led to accolades and election to the NFL Hall of Fame, is similar to Edison’s versatility to produce large format jobs on a variety of substrates on its KBA Rapida 205 81-inch six-color sheetfed press and its KBA Rapida 162 64-inch six-color press. Hampton appeared at the Edison Litho booth to sign calendars depicting Hampton’s former teammate William “The Refrigerator” Perry, Edison’s celebrity endorser at last year’s GlobalShop show in Las Vegas. He attracted long lines of well-wishers and fans who were greeted by Edison’s management team.

GlobalShop show-goers were amazed at the variety of substrates that Edison’s new Rapida 205 press can handle. At its booth, Edison had on hand examples of plastic, canvas, lenticular, and styrene substrates that can be printed on huge sheets measuring 81-inches. Print buyers are increasingly turning to these new substrates to produce large-format campaigns to catch a customer’s eye.

In 2008, Edison will also be holding a huge celebration of its 50th anniversary in business. “We’re proud to be a family-owned and operated business,” says Joe Ostreicher, Edison’s vice president. “Our family includes not only our direct relatives but also our entire employee staff that is so important to the success of our business. Our family has seen so many changes in the print buying, large-format printing business. But we have kept our eyes on what our customer’s need and implemented equipment and technology that give them the best possible product in the fastest turnaround time. We’ve differentiated ourselves so that our customers can differentiate themselves.”

Edison has maintained its upward sales growth by turning to new press equipment from KBA North America. The New Jersey printer installed its first KBA press, the Rapida 205 81-inch, in late 2005. A second KBA large format press, the Rapida 162 64-inch six-color sheetfed press with aqueous coater, was installed in January 2007. A now Edison will be taking possession of its second KBA Rapida 205 press in the spring of 2008. Edison has been so busy that it has both presses on a 24 hour shift producing point-of-purchase, packaging, poster, retail signage, and other large format jobs.

“We’re proud to say that we have the largest presses in the world,” says Gross, referring to the Rapida 205. “And we feel we have made a great choice in technology, especially since the Rapida 205 won the prestigious PIA/GATF InterTech award in 2005.”

The KBA Rapida 205 81-inch six-color press features a maximum sheet size of 59.5 x 81-inches running at a speed of 9,000 sph. It gives Edison the ability to run paper and board stock ranging from 80 lb to 48 pt. Plus, it is the first press of this size to offer a wide range of features such as a fully-automatic plate changer, automatic blanket and impression cylinder washing systems, inline anilox coating system and drying options such as IR, UV, or hybrid. New technology and automation also includes KBA’s Densitronic quality control system, and inline perforating and slitting to the press. An automatic camera register control system provides an extremely efficient system for fast color registration on a press of this size.

Founded in 1958 in New York City, Edison Litho & Printing Corporation has grown to become a leading large format printer specializing in point-of-purchase displays and retail signage. The firm has an extensive client list of leading corporations and retailers who require point-of-purchase displays, in-store signage, brand marketing products, and custom, permanent retail displays and fixtures. The firm’s name has become synonymous with excellence in printing.

In 1989, Edison Litho moved its headquarters to a new state-of-the-art 40,000 sq ft facility in North Bergen, NJ. The firm operates large sheetfed presses, including 54 x 79-inch and 40-inch six-color presses plus inline UV and aqueous coaters. The KBA Rapida 205 81-inch press and KBA Rapida 162 64-inch six-color press are Edison’s latest additions. Recently, Edison Litho expanded its New Jersey plant in 2005 to a total of 80,000 sq ft and installed a new web press.