Heidelberg Installs Raise Bar for Performance Across the Process

The Little Print Shop Trades 38 Million Impressions for New QM 46

It was 38 million impressions and counting on an aging Printmaster QM 46 when its owner, The Little Print Shop in Rapid City, S.D. replaced it with a new machine, also a QM 46 2-color press.

Said Alan Sewell, president and owner of the self-described “quick printing” company, “The new machine feels and runs tighter. Adjustments stay put and the pressmen don't have to fight as hard to get the ink balance where we need it to be. We loved the old machine and knew it well, but it definitely was time for an update.” The company uses Heidelberg Saphira consumables, including inks, blankets and rollers.

Like its predecessor, the new QM 46 is deployed turning out 1- and 2-color commercially printed products in short-run quantities for a primarily local clientele that includes corporations, small businesses and retail customers. Sewell applies a simple yardstick to the performance of his new press: “If it will produce the quality I want and need, that’s the biggest issue. Second, the press and its features need to help the pressmen get the jobs out quickly. Productivity is the name of the game in the pressroom. The old Quickmaster never let me down, and while I am thankful for that, I am counting on the newer Printmaster to do even better.”

The history of The Little Print Shop dates back to 1976, when Sewell, then only 16 years old, began printing horse racing programs with a used press placed on the dirt floor in the basement of the Central State Fairgrounds in Rapid City. The company now owns its own building, complete with kitchen, gym, and 10,000 square feet of production space. The Little Print Shop markets itself as Rapid City’s premier "Digital Printing and Copying Center." Over the past two years Sewell has had to cut back to a staff of seven, but says he is ready to start hiring again.

Good things come in small packages: Printmaster QM 46.