Offset Printing - Sheet-Fed

Focusing on customers and providing one-stop service hardly qualify as revolutionary marketing philosophies. They are about as fresh and original as the covers of hit songs performed by American Idol contestants. In both cases, proper execution is what makes the difference between falling flat and ending on a high note. Building on its base in Mount Pleasant, IA, the top management of Direct Mail Holdings is pursuing that straightforward business proposition. It's positioning the organization as a one-stop shop for direct marketers across the United States and is seeking to exploit the latest digital technology in order to help customers target names better with

IRVINE, CA—A 10-color Komori Lithrone S40P sheetfed perfector operating at Precision Offset, based here, served as the star attraction during a recent open house sponsored by Komori America. Printers came from as far as Florida, Texas and Maine to attend the event. Before touring the 26,000-square-foot printing plant, Komori America President and COO Stephan Carter welcomed the attendees, followed by a detailed overview on Komori perfector technology by Doug Schardt, product manager. Schardt highlighted the key components in a perfector press design, including the turning mechanism, impressions cylinders, delivery sheet control, transition to slowdowns and the slowdown mechanism. Unique to the Komori design, according to Schardt,

RADEBEUL, GERMANY—Customer demands, technology developments and market pressures are leading printers to think about pressroom productivity and efficiency in new ways. Format and substrate flexibility—along with a continual drive for makeready gains—have become part of a more complicated formula for determining the right production platform. In the sheetfed printing segment, two production alternatives that have been getting greater attention of late are long perfectors and large-format presses. Koenig & Bauer AG recently held an open house at its sheetfed headquarters to give some 300 participants an opportunity to compare examples of each platform. A select group of U.S. commercial printers and trade press editors made

Despite all of the changes afoot at Applied Printing Technologies (APT), there is something very familiar about this full-service, general commercial printer. For example, APT President and CEO Carl Grossman has been on the job a little less than two years, yet is a very familiar figure in the printing industry. Jack Egan, executive vice president, has been with the company for roughly one year, but was recently with a very large, well-known national printer. Even Joe Rondone, vice president of sales and marketing, has been on board less than a year. Want familiarity? The Moon-achie, NJ-based printer is owned by Morton Zuckerman,

by Kristen E. Monte Associate Editor The adage, "The customer is always right," may seem a bit outdated, but the core of this mantra is still relevant. At BFC Printing, the philosophy of a customer-driven company proves that this business tactic can still be successful. Joe Novak Sr. founded BFC Printing in 1974. Novak and his partners began as print brokers, concentrating mainly on financial institutions as their key business. As the banking industry began to feel a squeeze, which coincided with the promotion of Novak Sr.'s sons, BFC Printing began to re-evaluate the focus of its business in the late 1980s.

In the not-so-distant past, it was easy to look at small- and medium-format sheetfed offset presses (29˝ and smaller) as the less-coordinated sibling to large-format units. While small-format machines could print with similar quality, they lacked some of the automated features and bells and whistles of their larger counterparts. Today’s generation of smaller-format presses refuse to be overshadowed—most features offered on large-format presses are now available on smaller machines. “For the past few years, equipment manufacturers of sheetfed presses have been adding the same automation that can be found on their larger 40˝ presses to their mid-size and smaller sheetfed presses,” says Thomas Goecke,

The world of commercial printing can be a cruel one. Just ask Gene Hamrick, president and CEO of the UBS Printing Group located in Corona, CA, just outside of Los Angeles. When the market shifts, no one mails out a postcard to the affected parties—they find out the hard way. That was the case with Hamrick's company, which he started in 1984 as a printing, packaging and label brokerage before delving into commercial print production in 1989. Founded in Orange County, UBS Printing was ideally situated to print manuals, company brochures and direct mail for the surrounding computer

by chris bauer Managing Editor Printers live by the mantra that time is money. As more steps can be cut out of the prepress, printing and binding processes, more profit can be achieved. Large-format (40˝ and larger) perfecting presses ensure faster printing results by printing both sides of the sheet in one pass through the press. Many printers have put two and two together, and like the sum that sheetfed perfectors provide. "The drive towards large-format perfectors is stimulated in a large degree by the need for process time reduction," explains Doug Schardt, product manager, Komori America. "In other words, why do in two

by chris bauer Managing Editor It's no longer necessary to buy a behemoth press to get all of the big automated features that come along with them. Small- and medium-format (up to 23x29˝) sheetfed presses also boast a bevy of bells and whistles. "The main features required by today's press buyer (are based on) automation," notes Mike Dighton, vice president of Hamada of America. "Auto plate loading, blanket washers, color consoles, including CIP3/4, are almost always asked for by our customers. The automation carries into prepress, as well." Hamada's new Impulse 452P is a 14x20˝ perfector. The Impulse runs at 13,000 iph and will

By W.P. Jaspert European Correspondent OFFENBACH, GERMANY—In these days of economic stagnation it takes a lot of courage to launch a major new product. But that is exactly what MAN Roland, headquartered here, has done with the recent launch of the Roland 900 XXL sheetfed offset press. While initial production will produce only 12 to 18 presses a year for the world, the people responsible in Germany look forward to selling more presses annually very soon. The only serious rival is KBA-Planeta. MAN Roland claims by its technology to be the world leader now with the Roland XXL, based on the successful sales of the Roland