BROOKLYN PARK, Minn. — For Printing Arts Inc., 2006 is turning out to be another busy year, coming on the heels of a very eventful 2005. The Brooklyn Park, Minn.-based commercial printer continues to see its print volume increase significantly thanks to its expanded sales force and enhanced pressroom capabilities. Tom Lundberg, vice president, points to a new Mitsubishi Diamond 3000S sheetfed press — Printing Arts' second six-color, 40-inch model with coater purchased from Mitsubishi in six months — as both the response to a substantial influx of jobs and a vehicle for additional growth. The new press was put into operation in February. "We replaced a six-color, 40-inch machine that was purchased from another press manufacturer 12 years ago," Lundberg said. "When we saw the difference between the performance of that press and the performance of the Diamond 3000S we had installed in 2005, adding an identical Mitsubishi press made perfect sense." Founded in 1973, Printing Arts exclusively runs sheetfed presses at its 35,000-square-foot plant. Seventy-two employees currently work for the company. In addition to the Mitsubishi presses, the pressroom houses a 22-inch press (two colors), a 28-inch machine (six colors) and two 40-inch presses (two colors). The fleet of presses runs around the clock; the bindery follows an 18-hours-a-day schedule. Annual sales for 2005 reached $12.8 million, up from $8 million the previous year. With the ability to produce more work in less time, the company expects to take in $15 million in revenues in 2006. Printing Arts produces advertising pieces, catalogs, sell sheets and direct mail materials. The bulk of its work consists of four colors to six colors. With run lengths ranging from 3,000 sheets to 25,000 sheets, Printing Arts performs lots of makereadies in a day. The new Diamond 3000S has cut makeready times in half, compared with the press it replaced, according to Lundberg. "Makeready speed is just one area in which Mitsubishi presses excel," he observed. "They are easier to operate than other presses. The overall running speed is 30 percent faster. The feeder design makes it a breeze to switch from one size form and one weight of stock to another. The presses get up to full color quicker, and they hold color better throughout the run." Although ease of operation and technological sophistication were key factors, Printing Arts' pleasant experience installing the first Diamond 3000S made press shopping that much easier, Lundberg added. "Mitsubishi is an extremely easy company to work with," he said. "It has a good reputation within the industry for after-sale support. The first press was up and running on schedule and producing saleable sheets right away. The company was very responsive to any issues we had, the minor problems that can crop up during the initial four to six weeks of operation. Everything was ironed out without losing production time."