Sitting in his New York City office surrounded by the headquarters of many commercial printers, Jack Davis had a decision to make. The third-generation publishing executive needed to choose a new printer to produce his family’s venerable Moon Phase poster, a popular 40-year-old calendar depicting each day’s moon phase for the entire year. He certainly had ample nearby print shops available. But the 10.5-inch-by-4-foot Moon Phase poster for his family’s publishing company Davis-Delaney Arrow had not only a unique size but very intricate trapping, metallic inks, and gloss and matte varnishes. Rather than turn to a local printer, Davis chose Concord Litho, one of the country’s largest independent printers located in Concord, NH. What did Concord Litho have that other printers did not? High-quality printing, service, and a large format KBA Rapida 162 64" seven-color large-format sheetfed press with perfector and inline aqueous coater that could handle this difficult job. “Using our KBA 64-inch large format press, we were able to print the poster calendar three-up on a sheet,” explains Richard Bean, sales representative for Concord Litho. “We were able to exactly match the client’s previous calendars printed on older multi-pass presses but we printed the job faster and more economically. While the Moon Phase poster has a standardized design, it requires tight registration, a contrast in varnishes, double hits of black, and silver ink to outline the moon shapes. Davis-Delaney Arrow was elated.” Best in Show honors Later that fall, the Moon Phase poster as well as 12 other entries from Concord Litho garnered top honors at the 24th annual Tyler Awards sponsored by the New Hampshire Graphic Arts Association. Concord Litho also captured the Best in Show honors -- and first place in the Posters & Art Prints category -- for its production of a 38-by-40-inch poster titled “Mandarin” for Vermont-based Applejack Art Partners and its Posters & Prints division. Featuring a striking orange flower, the poster was printed with fade-resistant inks on the seven-color KBA large-format sheetfed press. “Applejack Art Partners has been a customer of ours for at least eight years,” says Tom Cook, Concord Litho’s president. “We produce high-end oversize posters for their customers. Last year, they came to us with a pretty particular job—a 500-run reprint—that required the use of fade-resistant inks for hanging. We had to match the original print. It required us to manipulate the KBA Rapida 162 but we knew the press would give us the same high quality corner-to-corner tight registration that a 40-inch press would. We’re very good at what we do. We know that you’re not taking a step backward in quality when you give us a job for our 64-inch press.” Key marketing tool Ever since Concord Litho installed its KBA Rapida 162 64-inch large format press in 2002, the firm has used the press as a key marketing tool to win business. The KBA Rapida 162 64-inch seven-color sheetfed press with perfector and inline aqueous coater is loaded with semi-automatic plate changers; CIP3 digital interface; automatic blanket, plate, impression, and roller washing; and a KBA closed loop densitometry system. “We have very demanding clientele up and down the East Coast,” says Peter Cook, Concord Litho’s CEO. “We’re catering to ad agencies, high-end designers, and fundraising firms. These customers have printers who are of closer proximity to them but they make the choice to come to us in New Hampshire. Having the highly-automated KBA Rapida 162 large format press producing high-quality work allows us to compete effectively and bring in new business that we weren’t able to win before. We’ve developed real working relationships with very knowledgeable print buyers who give us work for the KBA. Plus, our press operators love the KBA; they know exactly how to achieve the client’s wishes on press.” Presently, Concord Litho caters to both the fundraising industry as well as commercial market. The fundraising industry, representing 1/3 of the firm’s market, is primarily made up of designing and printing over one billion greeting cards per year for such groups as the American Lung Association and St. Jude Shrine. These boxed cards are sent to potential individuals to solicit funds for the organizations. Two-thirds of Concord’s market is general commercial, including direct mail campaigns, point-of-purchase displays, posters, maps, brochures, booklets, and inserts. Concord also receives work from other printers who are not equipped with a large format press and produces their over-size work on the Rapida 64-inch press. Large format Rapida differentiates them “The KBA Rapida 162 64-inch press has been an advantage for us because it differentiates us from our competitors,” says Dave Grisa, Concord’s senior vice president of sales. “It allows us to produce work more efficiently for our clients with higher quality. For example, we’re producing in-store signage in different sizes and quantities. The KBA press gives us the fast makeready to efficiently produce very-short-run signage in different sizes and different versions for our customers.” “We’re looking at new markets and want to continue to expand and broaden our marketplace,” says Peter Cook. “A lot of work, such as the greeting card business, has begun to be printed overseas. But we’ve become very competitive in new markets, such as point-of-purchase. And we’re adding new services, such as fulfillment and mailing to our roster.”