Sheetfed Presses--Big Performance, Small Packages

The concern is when to forsake a traditional offset press and, instead, run the job on a color copier, digital duplicator or digital press, Gierlach says. "This puts offset in the position to turn toward automating the press just to stay ahead of digital."

Swaneck's two-color TOKO-R2S machine has gone leverless and will become a completely automated press by 2001, according to Gierlach, and a four-color version is targeted for 2001-02. Another offering, the Proprint Series, allows printers to replace a worn out small offset press with a unit priced in the same range as a rebuilt/remanufactured product. The Proprint models are available in both direct-feed and register-board versions.