Knepper Press Acquires manroland Sheetfed Perfector

PITTSBURGH—Knepper Press has purchased an eight color Roland 700 Direct Drive sheetfed perfecting press from manroland. The Roland 700 with Direct Drive, which includes a coater, reportedly allows press operators to reduce prep times by up to 60 percent by performing blanket and impression cylinder washing, mounting plates, and digital file transfer tasks simultaneously.

"Our new investment in the press further solidifies our position as the top tri-state printer," said Chairman Bill Knepper. "The direct drive system will complement our current press lineup by enabling us to efficiently and effectively produce smaller runs as low as 500 impressions. The press will be fully networked through our two other sheetfed presses via manroland’s printnet, so we can switch jobs back and forth as needed and further standardize our production platform.

"So, where makeready issues continue to kill other printers on short-run jobs, with the Roland 700 we’ll be better positioned to bring more to our bottom line. It’s an ideal fit between our digital and conventional presses, and meets our expanding client base’s needs nicely."