From Clean Slate to Direct-to-plate

"We could have bought a two-up imagesetter, but that wasn't where we wanted to be," Ashlock recalls. "We bought the equipment for where we were going, so we got an Avantra 44 and learned imposition."

While some printers may question the wisdom of taking such a leap, the results have been remarkable: McCord has a total spoilage rate of about 1 percent of sales. The reason, Ashlock and Singer maintain, has more to do with communications than technology. McCord employs teams comprising members from each department to manage production, ensuring that the prepress department generates flats that meet the needs of both pressroom and bindery. "Our interdepartmental communication is excellent," Singer enthuses.