LED Archives - Graphco

Graphco Announces the Successful Installation of RMGT 790 with LED Curing at K&M Printing

jesikieler — Fri, 21 Feb 2025 20:43:30 +0000

SOLON, OH – February 24, 2025 – Graphco, the Exclusive Distributor for RMGT’s most popular 970, 920 and 790 offset presses throughout the Midwest and Southeast, is proud to announce the successful installation of a 5-color RMGT 790 press with LED curing at K&M Printing. Based in the greater Chicago area in Schaumburg, IL, K&M Printing is a family-owned commercial printing and signage company with over 51 years of industry expertise. Known for its commitment to high-quality print solutions, K&M Printing caters to a diverse range of industries such as education, healthcare, finance, and pharmaceuticals.

“We’ve relied on Heidelberg presses for decades, but maintaining our older six-color Heidelberg, which was over 20 years old, had become increasingly costly,” shared Rich Stobart, Co-Owner of K&M Printing. “After evaluating options in the marketplace, including a full transition to digital presses, we determined that the RMGT 790 with LED curing would be the best solution to bridge the gap until digital technology advances in increasing speed and lowering operating costs. It has turned out to be a fantastic decision.”

The RMGT 790 press brings a new level of efficiency, flexibility, and quality to K&M Printing’s operations. With a setup time of approximately 10 minutes and LED curing technology, the press allows for faster drying times across a broad range of substrates, including uncoated papers, plastics, and metallics. “One of the most significant advantages we’ve seen is the drying time,” said Keith Stobart, Co-Owner of K&M Printing. “With conventional inks, we had to handle uncoated papers with extra care, often relying on aqueous coatings for drying. Now, with LED curing, we can immediately handle jobs turning them, running them back through and sending them off to finishing. The process is faster, cleaner, and more efficient.”

The addition of the RMGT 790 has expanded K&M Printing’s substrate capabilities and improved production efficiency, especially for short- to mid-run jobs. “This press replaced our workforce press, which handled a large volume of short- to mid-run jobs,” observes Rich Stobart, Jr., Co-Owner of K&M Printing. “The ease of setup and the performance of the LED curing system have been game-changers. We’re now able to confidently print on materials we were previously hesitant to use. We also invested in the RMGT inspection system and our operators rave about the system’s ability to flag and auto-correct issues at high speeds.”

K&M Printing’s decision to embrace LED curing technology reflects their forward-thinking approach and commitment to staying at the forefront of industry advancements. “While it was initially daunting to move away from the conventional inks we’d used for 50 years, it became clear that LED printing is the way of the future,” concludes Rich Stobart. “The RMGT 790 has exceeded our expectations in every way, from print quality and efficiency to the versatility it provides.”

“We’re thrilled to see K&M Printing embrace the future of printing with the RMGT 790,” said Derek Gordon, Vice President of Sales at Graphco. “This press, with its advanced LED curing technology and exceptional performance, is a perfect fit for their business. It’s been exciting to watch them enhance their capabilities, and we look forward to continuing to support their growth and success.”

If you would like to learn more about how Graphco can provide your company The Unfair Advantage^TM, please fill out this form and a Graphco representative will contact you.

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Graphco to Showcase LED Curing Technology at PRINT UV 2025 in Las Vegas

Dan Cerrato — Wed, 12 Feb 2025 14:44:23 +0000

Empowering our customers with The Unfair Advantage™ by facilitating the production of instantly cured print jobs at a significantly reduced manufacturing cost.

SOLON, OH – February 10, 2025 – Graphco, the Exclusive Distributor for RMGT’s most popular 8-UP+ 970, 8-UP 920 and 6-UP+ 790 offset presses throughout the Midwest and Southeast, is excited to announce its sponsorship of the PRINT UV 2025 Conference, taking place in Las Vegas. As a leading advocate for LED curing technology, Graphco has successfully installed over 69 RMGT presses equipped with LED curing throughout the territory, totaling an impressive 100+ LED lamps. This achievement underscores the company’s commitment to delivering cutting-edge printing solutions that drive efficiency, quality, and profitability.

“We believe LED curing technology gives our customers “The Unfair Advantage^TM” by enabling them to produce print jobs that are instantly cured, that have more pop and run through the press and finishing at a much lower cost of manufacturing,” said Chris Manley, President of Graphco. “In addition to faster turnaround times, LED curing results in reduced energy consumption, 0 VOCs and lower waste. Our extensive success in placing so many RMGT presses with LED curing proves that this technology is not just the future—it’s the present. PRINT UV 2025 provides the perfect platform to showcase how our large customer base has leveraged LED technology to revolutionize their operations.”

LED Curing Technology Advancements

PRINT UV 2025 is the premier event for printers looking to stay ahead of the curve in UV printing technology. One track at the event has the theme: “Expanding the Gamut: Mastering 7+ Color UV Printing for Brand-Perfect Results”. Attendees will learn how leading printers are hitting 90%+ of PMS colors with fixed ink sets while dramatically reducing makeready times and boosting efficiency. UV printing innovators on the panel will share why UV and LED-UV technology is the perfect match for extended gamut printing.

“Graphco has been a major force in advancing LED curing technology in the offset printing industry, and we’re thrilled to have them sponsor PRINT UV 2025,” said Steve Metcalf, Organizer of PRINT UV 2025. “With their deep expertise and proven success in the field, attendees will gain valuable insights into how LED technology is transforming print production. It’s great to welcome them back for their 11th sponsorship.”

Enhancing brand identity to drive consumer engagement

We can’t thank Steve and his Team enough for over a decade of producing PRINT UV. Over the years so many of our customers have benefited from the educational programs and networking opportunities this event offers. We won’t miss PRINT UV, as the investment in time is paid back many fold,” states Manley.

Graphco will highlight real-world applications of LED curing technology in offset printing, showcasing how commercial, packaging, and specialty printers are benefitting from enhanced print quality, instant curing, and significant cost savings. Visitors to the PRINT UV 2025 Conference can expect to learn firsthand how Graphco’s RMGT installations are helping businesses thrive in today’s competitive print market.

The Print UV Conference is the premier all-in-one conference event for leaders in the global UV printing industry, and the only conference dedicated to UV and LED-UV printing. PRINT UV 2025 will be held at the Wynn Encore Las Vegas Resort on March 10-12, 2025. To register for this event, visit https://bit.ly/PRINTUV2025.

If you would like to learn more about how Graphco can provide your company The Unfair Advantage^TM, please fill out this form and a Graphco representative will contact you.

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Quick Reliable Printing Installs RMGT 970 Press with LED Curing Technology

jesikieler — Tue, 04 Feb 2025 19:06:45 +0000

46-year-old company in Michigan is growing with a new, full size, four-color RMGT sheetfed-offset press highlighted by LED technology.

SOLON, OH - February 18, 2025 – Graphco, the Exclusive Distributor for RMGT’s most popular 970, 920 and 790 offset presses throughout the Midwest and Southeast, announces the installation of the full size 8-up RMGT 970 four-color press to Quick Reliable Printing (QRP). Based in Midland, MI., QRP serves clients across diverse sectors, including education, finance, healthcare, manufacturing, and non-profits. This advanced piece of equipment represents a significant technological upgrade, replacing legacy sheetfed offset presses that had faithfully served for two decades.

We realized we were relying on outdated technology, operating an ‘ancient’ press that lacked many of the automation tools available today,” explained Hal Grunwell, a Solutions Specialist at QRP since 2006. Grunwell highlighted the enthusiasm of the entire team for the new press, particularly its advanced features, such as automated ink management and skid loading. Among the most impactful innovations during the first four months of operation have been the LED lamps from Benford.

“The automation is impressive, but the instant curing of UV ink with LED curing has been a game changer,” he remarked.

Speed and efficiency are critical for this print service provider (PSP), located in Michigan’s Great Lakes Bay Region. “2024 has been an incredible year of expansion and growth”. The family-owned company operates a 20,000-square-foot facility on a single shift, employing over 30 full-time team members. The team produces a variety of commercial print materials, including corporate brochures, newsletters, postcards, and other direct-marketing pieces.

Accelerating Production

The RMGT 974 press has proven to be a game-changer for QRP. Its impressive running speed of 16,000 sheets per hour, coupled with 30% faster makeready times, significantly enhances productivity. “We achieve optimal color much more quickly now,” Grunwell stated. He also emphasized the benefits of G7 compliance from Idealliance, which ensures consistent color matching with reduced paper waste. The press’s ability to “learn” during color calibration has been particularly noteworthy. Additionally, the automatic skid-loading system streamlines workflow, enabling faster paper handling. “We can flip and feed paper much more efficiently,” Grunwell reported.

Celebrating Success

In recognition of its growth and the capabilities of the new press, QRP hosted an Open House on October 16, 2024, which attracted over 150 attendees, including Michigan State Representative Bill Schuette. Visitors toured the facility in small groups, observing the production process and the quality of printing firsthand. Employees showcased sustainable production features such as the LED ink curing process, which reduces the need for chemicals and other caustic substances. The use of Sentinel canisters from Pamarco, which maintain ink consistency on the press, further minimizing waste and environmental impact.

“The Open House was an outstanding event,” praised Derek Gordon, Regional Vice President, Sales for Graphco. “There was tremendous energy and a strong pro-print atmosphere that was truly inspiring,” added the seasoned 37-year industry veteran.

Grunwell concluded with high praise for Graphco’s support: “We can’t say enough about the Graphco team. Their post-installation service has been exceptional. They are always just a phone call away, and their technicians are on-site the next day if needed.”

If you would like to learn more about how Graphco can provide your company The Unfair Advantage^TM, please fill out this form and a Graphco representative will contact you.

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Discover How DPS Transformed Their Workflow with Advanced Printing Technology

jesikieler — Fri, 24 Jan 2025 20:15:35 +0000

SOLON, OH – January 20, 2025 – Graphco, the leading provider of the most popular 8-up sheetfed offset press in North America, is proud to announce the sale of an 8-UP RMGT 920PF-8+LED eight-color Long Perfector to DPS, Inc. in Winter Park, FL, near Orlando. While the acronym of the company features Digital Printing Solutions, DPS prints a large volume of its work in offset.

A key highlight of this installation is the press’s advanced LED Curing Technology, which has revolutionized DPS’s printing operations. The full-sized 8-UP press has already proven its value, enabling high-speed, high-quality production for the company’s busy political direct-mail season.

“Our new press makes high-volume, fast-turnaround work possible, and LED instant-curing technology is one big reason,”

said Terry Sutton, Owner of DPS. The firm recently completed a major project—printing 286,000 mailers within two days of receiving artwork. LED Curing Technology ensures printed materials are immediately dry and ready for the next production step, significantly speeding up workflow.

The use of UV inks from Toyo has further optimized DPS’s production efficiency. “Not having the printed product sit to dry is essential to keeping work flowing smoothly through the plant,” Sutton explains. In the past, DPS often used aqueous coating to expedite drying, even at additional cost. Now, LED Curing eliminates the need for such measures while delivering superior results.

Chris Manley, President of Graphco, highlights the aesthetic and operational benefits of UV inks: “LED inks are 8% to 10% glossier than traditional oil-based CMYK inks. Sheets coming off DPS’s new RMGT press almost have a sheen comparable to aqueous coating, without the energy-intensive drying process.”

Digital Printing Solutions: An All Ryobi/RMGT Shop

Founded in a garage in 2001, DPS begins its 25^th year in business in 2025. In addition to now having a color and monochrome digital printing line up, “we’ve been an all Ryobi/RMGT shop for about 17 of those years,” reveals Sutton. Its offset and digital presses are G7-certified by Idealliance for coordinated color calibration. The firm also features a full-service bindery. Its 35 employees work around the clock (two 12-hour shifts), Monday through Thursday. Within the 31,000-square-foot Florida manufacturing facility, press crews had been running a 6-color RMGT sheetfed-offset press with an aqueous coater. However, after six faithful years in service, Sutton says, some work was taking too long to produce.

The new 8-color RMGT 920 perfecting press can run 13,000 sheets per hour. “It was just time for better technology,” he notes, illustrating the example of 20,000 copies of an artist’s calendar that the company has been printing for four years. Before, press proofing took three days because of running two-up, one side at a time. This year that process was expedited by running four-up and printing both sides of the sheet simultaneously on the larger format (24x36-inch) perfector. “The job was out the door in five hours!” Sutton exclaims.

The addition of LithoFlash measurement and control technology ensures consistent color accuracy, while reducing makeready waste. “Every single sheet pull was perfect,” Sutton notes, praising the system’s ability to maintain color consistency across press runs.

With its proprietary job-ticketing system, DPS efficiently manages over 3,000 digital and offset jobs monthly, maintaining an impressive on-time ratio of nearly 90%. The company’s investment in LED Curing Technology and cutting-edge equipment positions it as a leader in high-speed, high-quality printing solutions.

“Graphco is extremely proud of our engagement with Terry and the DPS Team, and we absolutely love keeping our Ryobi/RMGT customers happy as their businesses grow and flourish,” states Manley. “It’s great to see Florida, and the Southeast, becoming Graphco/RMGT Country.”

If you would like to learn more about how your business can benefit from a RMGT Press, please fill out the form.

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RMGT 970 Perfecting Press Interview With Don Kallil, Owner of Verdant Graphics

jesikieler — Tue, 19 Nov 2024 15:45:47 +0000

By investing in the RMGT 970 press, Verdant Graphics has significantly boosted both efficiency and productivity. The press allows them to print greeting cards eight times faster than before. Previously, using their older DI press, they could only print two cards at a time, with long drying times between each side. Now, thanks to the RMGT's perfecting press and LED curing technology, they can print eight cards at once, front and back, and they're ready for finishing immediately.

"Our efficiencies and productivity have been well worth the additional investment to make that big jump. We're printing greeting cards eight times faster than we were previously."

-Don Kallil, Owner of Verdant Graphics

If you would like to learn more about the RMGT 970 Perfector for your business, please fill out the form.

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EMBRACING PRINT’S ART & SCIENCE: RMGT 9 Series Perfector Helps Business Flourish at Verdant Graphics

jesikieler — Fri, 12 Jul 2024 19:13:25 +0000

Michigan printer of wholesale greeting cards adds LED cured sheetfed-offset to expand their commercial print business.

SOLON, OH - November 11, 2024 – Graphco, the Exclusive Distributor for RMGT’s most popular 970, 920 and 790 offset presses throughout the Midwest and Southeast, announces the positive results of the installation of an eight-color full-size RMGT 920PF-8+LED perfecting press to Verdant Graphics in Wyoming, MI, six miles south of Grand Rapids. The 8-UP press, which features LED instant-curing technology, SMART RPC (2-minute plate changing), and the full Insta.Color makeready suite, is enabling the firm to churn out greeting cards at least eight times faster than its previous workflow from 2022.

“Our previous print production was on a 20” Ryobi/Presstek DI press,” states Don Kallil, Owner and Chief Vision Officer at Verdant Graphics. “We had to print two-up greeting cards on one side, let them dry for two days, then run the other side. It took us four days to print two cards. Now, not only is the RMGT 9 Series perfector a larger format press, but it prints both sides in a single pass. We are printing eight cards at a time. They dry instantly and are ready for finishing.” Verdant’s in-house postpress/embellishment capabilities include die-cutting, embossing and foil-stamping for special effects.

Kallil figures that, when UV curing time is equated, the speed increase could be by a factor of 8 or even 10 times faster overall. Such dramatic performance improvement means that Verdant is producing cards quicker and in much larger volumes, freeing up press time for other commercial print work. Their 15,000-square-foot production facility in western Michigan employs 15 full-time workers, “mostly working one shift,” according to Kallil. However, he sees that changing. “We’d like to be running two shifts by the end of 2024 and grow to three down the road. That’s my goal.” To stimulate sales, the management team hired a dedicated account representative this spring and plans to soon hire two more people in similar roles.

Eco-friendly with designer roots

Kallil’s creative roots stem from the graphic design and marketing side of the business. He also presides over Design Design, which started up in 1987 as a wholesale greeting card company. Don’s company was recently featured on Inkish TV, and Don’s explanation of his company’s history and future makes for very interesting viewing: https://inkish.tv/?s=verdant

“Verdant,” the rebranded print arm, denotes “green,” and Kallil admits to being extremely conscious of printing sustainably. “We are all about having a minimal environmental footprint,” he explains, adding that the LED-UV technology first caught his eye six years ago in Chicago at GRAPH EXPO ’18. He contends that employing the high-tech drying process “is much cleaner than operating an IR hot air and [spray] powdered system.”

One Pass Printing Solution Became a “No Brainer”

Still, adopting RMGT’s one-pass solution was a major, multimillion-dollar decision for the Verdant leader. Coming from a quarter-size DI press, “it took us a little while to get our ‘groove’ on,” Kallil admits. After 18 months of operation, the RMGT 9 Series perfector is running smoothly, “like a Lexus,” so it’s full steam ahead for his new salesforce.

On plant tours, Kallil proudly calls the RMGT press his “command center for spaceship printing.” Despite looking like a UFO, its benefits are easily identifiable. On-press registration is virtually infallible, he notes, adding that installation of the full-size machine was relatively painless in early 2023. “A six-inch concrete pad is all it requires,” Kallil confirms. “It’s built on metal rails, and there’s no bouncing.”

For Kallil, the automation built in by RMGT’s engineers is a major bonus. “These days, machinery can’t be too technically challenging to operate,” he says. “You don’t need a lot of people to run this press. It’s actually really fun . . . and exciting to see what it can produce! The end products give our people a great sense of pride in their work.”

Derek Gordon, Graphco’s Regional Vice President, Sales, reflects: “This was a very rewarding sale for me, personally, because of the timing. I contacted Verdant only four days after the country shut down in response to the COVID-19 health crisis and then the purchase was made in February 2002. That now seems like a long time ago – when the company was basically an inplant producing greeting cards. If the visionary Kallil has his way, Verdant Graphics will position itself very differently as evolution transforms it into a completely different entity. Watching a full-scale commercial printing company grow from an in-plant card printing operation has been fun so far, and I can hardly wait to see how far Don’s vision can carry Verdant Graphics.”

If you would like to learn more about how the RMGT 970 Press could benefit you, fill out the following form.

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JD Graphic’s RMGT Roll-to-Sheetfed Offset Perfector Piles Up Millions Per Month & Cuts Paper Costs by 35%

jesikieler — Tue, 11 Jun 2024 21:11:28 +0000

3rd generation, Chicago-area commercial print firm rolls through some 125 tons of paper weekly, printing direct mail and books on its four-year-old RMGT sheetfed-offset press.

SOLON, OH - October 28, 2024 – Graphco, provider of the leading 8-up sheetfed offset press in North America, announces that JD Graphic, a third-generation, Chicago based commercial printing company, created a new dynamic when they elected to add a roll sheeter to their 8-UP 8-color RMGT 920 Long Perfector. Installed by Graphco during the early days of the Corona outbreak, the configuration was the first of its kind in North America featuring a roll sheeter from Quantum Design that converts rolls to sheets inline on the press. The four-over-four perfector also is equipped with LED technology for instant curing, SMART RPC for two (2) minute plate changes, along with all the other features of RMGT’s InstaColor Technology.

With four-plus years of history to date, JD Graphic’s team reports doing double the makereadies compared to their earlier vintage sheetfed device that the newer model replaced. Getting up to color faster translates to less paper waste. “We are saving 35% in paper costs,” explains Nick DeBlasio, Vice President, JD Graphic Co. “When spending between $3 million and $4 million annually on paper purchases, that savings is huge – amounting to somewhere between $1 million and $1.4 million per year!”

“We store four million pounds of paper on the floor at any given time,” explains DeBlasio, whose grandfather (James, Sr.) started the company 61 years ago on Chicago’s historic Printer’s Row. In the early 1970s, James, Sr. and Nick’s father Jim moved JD Graphic’s web-offset presses to the northwest Illinois suburb of Elk Grove Village where the business flourished under the “Father & Son” leadership of James Sr. and Jim. Today, JD Graphic is a third-generation family run business, and with the recent arrival of Nick’s daughter Lena and another due in a few months, the future looks bright of a fourth generation of DeBlasios in the printing business. The current team of 49 full-time employees work three full shifts to keep up with all the work that their amazing customer service, high print quality and fantastic pricing brings to the company’s shop floor.

“Last year, we mailed more than 125 million pieces,” DeBlasio reports proudly, adding that they go through approximately 250,000 pounds of paper per week. That high volume represents literally tons of direct-mail printing. But self-mailers and postcards are not all that JD Graphic prints. Thanks to the newer press, the firm’s business has been propelled into competing for more book and booklet printing. “Producing book work is much more efficient now,” DeBlasio notes, “because we can run 16-page signatures that are instantly cured and ready for processing as they roll out of the press.”

Full Size Press with Compact Footprint

As Derek Gordon, Regional Vice President, Sales at Graphco, points out: “Keep in mind that the RMGT 9 Series is a full-size 8-UP printing press that delivers industry standard 16-Page signatures. Then, there’s the long perfector’s ability to print double-sided to consider. Running 13,000 full-color 16-Pagers per hour in only one pass through the press is a big competitive advantage, and our cost per sheet, cost per square inch and cost per signature can’t be touched by any other output device.”

The RMGT 8-UP format press has the industry’s smallest footprint, lowest energy usage, and most ergonomic user interface which all contribute to 9 Series worldwide popularity. The footprint played a key role in the choice of JD Graphics, which operates two production facilities totaling 55,000 square feet. “We have space constraints, and the RMGT footprint, along with the Quantum roll sheeter fits in our pressroom perfectly,” acknowledges DeBlasio, who hinted that another building may be added later this year. Post-press finishing work, including folding, gluing and binding, is performed at a nearby location.

Piling Up 3-5,000,000 4/4 Impressions Per Month with Very Few Service Calls

Despite starting up their press during the Corona outbreak, the RMGT 920PF-8+LED now has nearly 150,000,000 impressions on its counter, and the number of service calls required on the press numbers well under a dozen. “Running around the clock for 5 to 7 days per week has shown us just how tough this press really is, and the Graphco Technical Engineers are the best we’ve ever worked with in our 60 plus years in the business,” continues DeBlasio.

Nick DeBlasio concludes that he and his father could not be more pleased with the RMGT 9 Series performance. “We are producing at about half the cost of our old press, and our [profit] margins have never been better,” he says. “This press has exceeded our expectations by far. All the great things that we heard about it prior to 2020 have been validated.”

“Graphco is proud of our strong relationship with Nick, Jim and the JD Graphic Team,” states Chris Manley, President of Graphco. “Seeing this around-the-clock operation pile up over 35-40,000,000 impressions per year on their press is a joint testament to their excellent organization, and our extremely strong press.”

RMGT’s Roll-to-Sheetfed Offset Long Perfector Gains Traction

“We are also glad to see our second Roll-to-Sheetfed Offset Perfector coming online down at Walton Press in Monroe, Georgia. As more and more commercial printers begin to rethink the wholesale move to inkjet, this cost-effective, space-saving and super-efficient print production platform is being strongly considered as an alternative, or an adjunct, to inkjet because commercial printers don’t have to reconfigure their whole bindery to deal with roll-to-roll output from inkjet. With over 35,000,000, four over four, 16-Pagers per year as a comfortable output volume, one RMGT Long Perfector takes up the volume of many inkjet machines at a much lower CAPEX. We have also heard in the market that the cost of LED ink, and offset supplies, is 4 to 6 times lower than any inkjet. Cost matters in selling printing, and unless a job is true variable the RMGT 9 Series Roll-to-Sheetfed Offset process is the lowest by far, so we are proud to offer this compelling solution,” concludes Manley.

If you would like to know more about how the RMGT 920 Perfector can impact your business, please fill out the form.

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FROM GERMANY TO GEORGIA: Walton Press Purchases New RMGT 970 Long Perfector on Display at drupa 2024

jesikieler — Tue, 28 May 2024 18:26:18 +0000

SOLON, OH – May 28, 2024 – Graphco, the Exclusive Distributor for RMGT’s most popular 970, 920 and 790 offset presses throughout the Midwest and Southeast, is please to announce that an 8-UP+ RMGT 970PF-8+LED Long Perfector has been purchased by Monroe, GA based Walton Press. Scheduled for delivery in late July, this 38-inch press which features ASAP (Autonomous Smart Assist Printing) and LED instant-curing technology, will be showcased running live demonstration on the RMGT stand for the 11 days of drupa, the massive Global trade fair held every four years in Düsseldorf, Germany.

The 124-year-old company has roots planted firmly in long-run, heat-set and cold-set web-offset presses that produce in the range of 35,000 copies per hour. For smaller, lower-volume printing jobs, Walton Press has been using a top-of-the-line digital press for several years. However, as the demand for more short-run work continues to increase, technological limitations have impeded productivity. The ability to gang-run jobs is an attractive benefit of the RMGT. “We can run four up on a 25-by-38-inch sheet, compared to only one up now on our digital size sheet,” states Stuart Christian, President of Walton Press, sounding like a kid in a candy shop. “That’s a huge twist since our cost study shows runs as short as 500 sheets are actually produced on the new press more cost-effectively than on our digital.”

“We are excited to get back to offset for shorter print volumes, and of course at 15,000 4/4 sheets per hour the new RMGT meets our medium run length print volume as well.”

Situated 45 miles east of Atlanta, the printing firm employs 100 full-time employees who produce a variety of magazines: from newsprint weeklies, such as the Atlanta Business Chronicle (circulation: 23,000), to glossy community titles like Simply Buckhead, an upscale, 96-page lifestyle publication for the ATL metro area (24,000 copies printed eight times per year). Walton operates two to three shifts, five days per week, in its 70,000-square-foot facility. “We run three shifts as needed, and our book of business has been quite large since the end of the pandemic,” Christian reports.

The management team considered investing in another heat-set web press, or a newer model ink-jet device, but decided against both options. The pushback on digital printing was easy to justify, according to Christian, who has been at Walton’s helm for nine years: “Walton Press has reached a pivot point between our high-quality web press [Manroland ROTOMAN] and the digital press [Kodak NexPress] that we are selling.

We feel the sheetfed offset from RMGT will take the [shorter] volumes at a much better price point,” he concludes. “We will also be much more competitive on runs under 20,000 with the sheetfed perfector speeding along at 15,000 sph [sheets per hour], printing double-sided. Ink jet would never meet our customer’s quality expectations, and of course the lower cost of equipment, consumables and traditional paper stock made the RMGT offset solution very attractive.”

In addition, Walton Press just upgraded their bindery with new high-speed saddle binders and perfect binders that will will use the same signature formats that their webs produce. This is another huge advantage to RMGT’s traditional 16-page, 32-page signature format in comparison with ink-jet which typically requires huge additional investments in non-traditional finishing equipment that is typically captive to the short lifespan ink jet machines.

Less paper and more work

Walton Press has opted to add a Quantum Design QRS-106 roll-to-sheet converter to its RMGT sheetfed press. “Adding the roll sheeter just makes sense for us to be able to use the same paper stock, which we buy a lot of now,” explains Christian. With the 970PF, “we also can vary the cutoffs, which we cannot do now,” he adds. The new machine will provide in-house equipment redundancy, “giving us more control to meet customer deadlines,” he says of production support.

The same model RMGT 970PF-8+LED press being exhibited at the PRINTING United Expo last fall in Atlanta caught the attention of Patrick Judge, Walton’s Managing Director of Operations. “It was the only sheetfed press I saw at the show and it really caught our attention,” he recalls. Due to the quick job turnarounds that are rapidly growing within their heat-set-web workflow, he was particularly interested in the LED instant curing component, which is essential to avoid bindery bottlenecks. Plus, the two energy-efficient, LED lamps draw only 75 amps of power in comparison to the Rotoman’s long heat-set tunnel. Faster makeready start-ups are another lure. “Right now, changeovers are our biggest setback,” Judge notes, “causing us to slow down production. And with the new press, we won’t be losing 500 sheets to get up to color.”

Analyzing the numbers, he estimates that Walton will save literally hundreds of tons of paper annually with the new 970PF-8+LED. “We expect to cut waste astronomically,” he says. Obviously, trucking in far fewer tractor-trailer loads of paper is huge from a sustainability standpoint. While acknowledging the RMGT’s attractive price point, Judge adds that substantial paper-waste savings enhance the return-on-investment (ROI) proposition for the new press.

Christian is confident that expanding the firm’s capabilities with the new 38” 4/4 long perfector will attract other types of customers and titles to Walton Press. “We’d like to expand our line-up to include higher quality catalogs and magazines,” he shares, as well as organically enter new markets. For example, Walton presently outsources magazine components, such as inserts. “With this new press, we’ll be able to print and coat a couple hundred thousand high-quality inserts, in different versions, in-house every month rather than outsourcing. In addition, it can handle DAL [direct address label] cards for publishers,” he notes. These products represent entirely new revenue channels for the print service provider.

To help meet Walton customers’ demanding quality expectations, the RMGT press at drupa is demonstrating Autonomous Smart Assist Printing (ASAP), which deploys two cameras to control color, adjust registration and fully inspect every sheet. “This highly intelligent ASAP technology is becoming mainstream as we are now placing these intelligent cameras on many of our customer’s new presses,” believes Chris Manley, President of Graphco. “It brings the ability to evaluate every sheet, and then any non-compliant sheets containing even minute imperfections as small as 1 mm are removed them from the rest of the run. This goes for color fidelity as well, with a Delta E of .01 as the standard.” Judge likens such intense, quality-assurance measures to those seen on the high-speed, roll-to-roll flexographic presses that he employed earlier in his career.

“Graphco is honored to again partner with such a well-established and highly respected company like Walton Press. As we approach our 50^th year in business I am more in awe than ever of companies like Walton at 124 years, and Advertisers Printing at 100 years young. Let’s face it, that’s a lot of payrolls to make in a row,” observes Manley, “And for this press to mark our second RMGT Long Perfector to include our roll-to-sheet device tells me that properly done offset printing for publication houses, and other web offset concerns, has a very long runway for sure. And no one can dispute the higher quality and lower cost of this technology versus inkjet, and web printers are accustomed to buying machines that last, so our incredibly durable RMGT platform is a big positive. We are excited to see this press running live in Dusseldorf, and then making its home back in Monroe, Georgia.”

If you would like to learn more about how the RMGT 970 Press could benefit you, fill out the following form.

The post FROM GERMANY TO GEORGIA: Walton Press Purchases New RMGT 970 Long Perfector on Display at drupa 2024 appeared first on Graphco.

3 Dimension Graphics, Inc. Celebrates Amazing 1st Press-iversary with New 8-UP+ RMGT 970

jesikieler — Tue, 21 May 2024 20:11:13 +0000

SOLON, OH – May 28, 2024 – RMGT, manufacturer of the leading 8-UP sheetfed offset press in North America, announces that Graphco has installed an 8-UP+ five-color RMGT 970 press at 3 Dimension Graphics, Inc. in Doral, FL. Situated 14 miles northwest of Miami, the commercial print firm employs 34 full-time employees who produce flyers and folding carton work as well as brochures and magazines for travel/tourism customers and direct mail for Florida’s convention business. The RMGT 970 press features a coater as well as LED-UV technology for instant ink curing.

Running at 16,000 sheets per hour on the one-year-old machine, print quantities have ranged from as small as 500 pieces up to 60,000 or more. On the lower end of the volume spectrum, the RMGT 970 8-UP+ format allows the company to compete with digital devices, according to Jaime Cadena, Owner and President of 3 Dimension Graphics, Inc. Cadena says he appreciates the RMGT’s versatility:

“From 60-lb. text weight [paper] to 24-pt. board, synthetic paper to plastic; there’s no throughput limit. It’s very versatile and reliable.”

His 24-year-old firm occupies three buildings spanning nearly 40,000 square feet. The full-size 8-UP+ RMGT 970 sits in the same spot as the 28-inch offset press it replaced. “We don’t have a lot of space, and this machine is so compact that it fit where our L528C was located, but we are now producing double the sheet size,” Cadena points out. He normally runs three full shifts with a head pressman and helper – except when it comes to the new, automated full size 38-inch press, which is highly efficient and only requires one operator. “Our cost savings over 3 shifts is incredible.”

“Productivity is up, and labor cost is down,” reports Chris Manley, President of Graphco. “That formula is a win-win for any provider of printing services.

On a national average, a press helper adds over $53,000 in overhead cost per shift, so our 3-shift customers enjoy a $160,000 in annual labor savings versus a 40” press. We talk about The Unfair Advantage a lot at Graphco, and this savings alone pays for WAY more than half of the 9 Series press’s monthly payment. Add in a lower capex and much lower operating costs on a press that prints beautifully and runs full blast, and you can see why we are landing these machines in 28” and 40” shops all over the country.”

Consistent color & increased capacity

Cadena notes that, despite its high-end automation, the new press is intuitive and easy for semi-skilled operators to run. “There’s a little bit of an adjustment, like when you buy a new cell phone,” he says. With 12 months of press history now in the books, he confirms that plate changes are quick, with complete makereadies averaging 15-20 minutes.

Overall, “our efficiency and savings have improved by 25% to 30%,” he reports. “The RMGT is my dream machine . . . better than any other machine in the market, and buying it is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made!”

Such strong feelings stem from the consistently high level of performance he has witnessed. Cadena estimates that quality levels have jumped by a factor of 20%. “Our customers, especially those in the resort and packaging businesses, can be very demanding,” he notes. “We’re proud to receive many compliments about how amazing everything is looking.” Even leaders at other printing firms, for which 3 Dimension Graphics, Inc. produces trade jobs, have taken notice in the past year.

“We get up to color fast,” Cadena says. Not only do colors “pop” vibrantly, but the new press’ consistent output is what really has captured his attention. “Listen, every manufacturer can offer high quality [output] today, but consistency is the key,” he explains. “The registration and sharpness of the dot from this RMGT 970 press is outstanding. My operators can pick a sheet, any sheet, and the color is the same throughout the run.”

Also, the ability to “go from little to big” complements 3 Dimension Graphics, Inc.’s existing 40-inch sheetfed press on the floor, Cadena believes. “On the RMGT, we can easily switch from 11x17” format to full, 25x38” sheets,” he notes. In addition to flexibility, an added advantage is that consumables cost less for the smaller format press.

Cadena considered trading in his 40-inch press, along with the 28-inch model, for a new, faster, automated 40-incher from one of the other major Japanese suppliers. Losing capacity was a big issue in the other supplier’s proposal. “By going with RMGT and Graphco, I got more power with less investment,” he notes. In fact, capacity has doubled at 3 Dimension Graphics, Inc., which now can run 16-UP with both presses, versus only 8-UP with the alternative proposal. 3 Dimension Graphics, Inc. also has a complete finishing department, including a die cutter and inline gluer, for the packaging boxes it produces for cosmetic, food and vitamin products. The 970’s .024” board stock specification meets 95% of all folding carton requirements, and the great thing is that in 2-3 minutes time this highly versatile press is producing 80 lbs. text weight jobs as well.

American success story

Originally from the Dominican Republic, Cadena received a vocational scholarship to Universidad de Puerto Rico, earning a Graphic Arts associate degree in 1990. In 1994, he began a six-year stint at Colonial Press International (Miami), one of Florida’s largest printers, where he progressed to General Manager of its sprawling, 300,000-square-foot sheetfed and web-offset printing facility. As General Manager, Jaime directed all facets of this $60 million dollar operation, so his background includes management of pre-press, web and sheetfed pressrooms, and full service bindery operations.

Taking all the valuable experience he gained at Colonial, Cadena ventured out on his own in mid-2000 to start up 3 Dimension Graphics, Inc. For the past 23 years, he has worn many hats. “I do sales, production, estimating, you name it!” he says with a friendly smile – and he does it all for his wife, Jasmine, and their three boys, who joined him last year for a memorable trip to Japan to visit the RMGT factory.

Manley concludes with this observation: “All of 3 Dimension Graphics’ departments – prepress, pressroom and post press – are so well organized. Graphco has sold over 50 of these machines in the United States, and the cohesion among staff is phenomenal. During the week that Jaime, his family, and I enjoyed in Japan, the deep understanding I gained of how a gentleman who came to the USA from another country can not only succeed, but thrive here in the USA was refreshing. We visited the RMGT factory, the Peace Memorial in Hiroshima, plus Kyoto and Tokyo during the trip, and Jaime’s young sons kept up with our tour 100%. I think 3 Dimension Graphics, Inc. truly embodies that same family achievement atmosphere, and Graphco is proud to play a role in making 3DG a great company.”

If you would like to learn more about how the RMGT 970 Press could benefit you, fill out the following form.

The post 3 Dimension Graphics, Inc. Celebrates Amazing 1st Press-iversary with New 8-UP+ RMGT 970 appeared first on Graphco.

BRD Printing Adds 50th RMGT 9 Series Press Sold by Graphco: 8-UP+ Size 970 Press Landing in April

jesikieler — Tue, 26 Mar 2024 16:53:47 +0000

CLEVELAND, OH – March 20, 2024 – Graphco, a leading graphic-arts equipment dealer/distributor in the midwestern United States, next month will install a full-size RMGT 5-color 970 press at BRD Printing. The general commercial print firm employs more than 30 full-time employees who produce brochures, catalogs and magazines in a 28,000-square-foot plant (Lansing, MI), which operates two shifts daily. Capable of running 16,000 sheets per hour (sph), not only is the new, 38-inch machine almost twice as fast as the 1996 vintage model it is replacing, but it has all the modern automation “bells and whistles,” including LED-UV curing and a Harrison Bruno coater.

“Some 98% of what we do is standard, CMYK four-color process work,” explains Dave Lee, President, and CEO. With makereadies happening 75% quicker on the incoming RMGT press, Lee expects ROI (return on investment) to come back in a big way, fast. “We project to save $335,000 in paper and makeready efficiencies over the next twelve months. Our waste sheets should drop by 75%, maybe more,” he factors -- savings that will help to defray eroding profit margins amid persistent paper shortages.

“David was blown away by the amount of paper spoilage they had in a year’s time,” states Chris Manley, President of Graphco. “He was convinced that once his operators hung the four printing plates, there had to be a better, more efficient way to get up to color. We demonstrated that way with RMGT technology. He talked to owners and press operators who consistently reported make-ready waste reductions going from 1,000 sheets down to 200 or 300 sheets on runs of 10,000. Those numbers captured his attention.” The RMGT 970 Series accommodates a maximum paper width of 38 inches. Job volumes at BRD range widely from 500 sheets up to hundreds of thousands. One recent project consisted of printing and binding 1,500 copies of a 228-page book.

Lee is hopeful that the new, eight-up press can help to get BRD back to its pre-COVID financial performance. He has run the numbers. “We printed 53 million pieces in 2019,” he reports, which equates to more than 60,000 pages. “Our sales five years ago were over $6.5 million,” adds Lee, who first began sweeping the shop floor as a high-school teenager back in 1984. He then learned how to run presses and, nine years later, was named GM. Lee, now 57, bought out Don Hough, who founded BRD in 1977, when Hough retired in 2015.

Using MIS-generated numbers based on 2022 data, Lee projects an annual cost savings of $165,000 in paper waste alone. “That’s going to represent a lot of tonnage saved between now and next spring [2025],” he notes. Instead of needing 11,000 to 11,500 sheets for a 10,000-run job, BRD will need only 10,400 to 10,500. In a real-world example, one job last year consisted of printing fourteen 16-page signatures. “There were 800 sheets per form,” Lee relates, and BRD amassed 11,200 sheets of makeready waste. “On the new press, that number should be around 2,500 [waste] sheets. When you multiply that level of savings for every job, it adds up quickly,” he points out.

On top of that figure, he calculates saving an additional $170,000 or so on elapsed makeready times, which should compress down to 10-15 minutes from 45-60 minutes. “Even if we save only 30 minutes per makeready, the savings still are substantial,” Lee notes.
The BRD team also is excited about the ability to expand into new market areas with the help of the RMGT 970ST. “We anticipate that we’ll be more competitive on existing work and able to go after stuff we don’t get today, such as bigger catalog runs with longer page counts as well as board work and packaging,” Lee says. “Since our other press could only handle an 18-point board, we were turning away work. With the RMGT 9 Series, we can print on up to 24-point boards. We have a lot of work in that sweet spot between 20- to 22-point board.”

If you would like to be contacted with more information on how the RMGT 970 can benefit your business, please fill out the form.

The post BRD Printing Adds 50th RMGT 9 Series Press Sold by Graphco: 8-UP+ Size 970 Press Landing in April appeared first on Graphco.

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FROM GERMANY TO GEORGIA: Walton Press Purchases New RMGT 970 Long Perfector on Display at drupa 2024

3 Dimension Graphics, Inc. Celebrates Amazing 1st Press-iversary with New 8-UP+ RMGT 970

BRD Printing Adds 50th RMGT 9 Series Press Sold by Graphco: 8-UP+ Size 970 Press Landing in April

EMBRACING PRINT’S ART & SCIENCE: RMGT 9 Series Perfector Helps Business Flourish at Verdant Graphics

FROM GERMANY TO GEORGIA: Walton Press Purchases New RMGT 970 Long Perfector on Display at drupa 2024