DRAABE, the world's leading manufacturer of humidification systems, is announcing the successful installation of its air humidification system at Battlefield Graphics, a large general commercial printer located in Burlington, Ontario, Canada. The system was installed in January 2005 after the installation of Battlefield's Heidelberg Speedmaster 12-color perfector sheetfed press. "To stay very competitive in the North American market, we have to produce consistent quality, without sacrificing delivery time," says Jerry Theoret, Vice President of Battlefield Graphics. "In order to create optimum conditions for our new12-color press, we chose a DRAABE high-pressure air humidification system." Even before installation of the new press, Battlefield Graphics had been researching air humidification and water purification systems. The problem: static electricity. Battlefield prints many jobs on plastic through its two six-color 40-inch CD presses. Press operators were always battling static electricity problems when handling the plastic sheets. Battlefield Graphics chose to install the DRAABE TurboFog system throughout its entire plant, from prepress to press to bindery. The DRAABE high-pressure air humidification TurboFog system features a pulsating hydraulic flow and special titanium nozzles that atomize the water to a micro-fine aerosol directly in the room. Not only is this procedure very energy efficient, it is also quiet and absolutely drip free. The air humidity is controlled by a precision hydrostat. The atomization is activated as soon as the air humidity falls below the set optimum value. Only highly pure, de-mineralized water from a reverse osmosis unit integrated in the DRAABE System is used in order to ensure hygienic and trouble-free operation of the air humidification system. The pure water produced in the reverse osmosis unit is also used as standardized process water to feed all printing presses at Battlefield. With the DRAABE TurboFog system, Battlefield now has a system in place which only incurs a fraction of the energy costs of steam or compressed-air humidification. In addition, the TurboFog 4, 8 and 32 atomizers adjust humidification to suit the different requirements in the pressroom and pre-press area. "Not only did we have static on press, but our employees in the prepress department complained of electrostatic charges generated from their computers," says Bob Smith, Battlefield's general manager. "They were getting nose bleeds and dry throats from the static. Having the DRAABE system installed in this department has eliminated all of these ailments. The prepress department is ecstatic!" Worry-free operation "We've been completely satisfied with the unique DRAABE Full Service Maintenance concept," says Smith. "Every six months, DRAABE comes to replace the filtration system with a new one and they've always responded very quickly when we have questions. Smith continues, "I believe the installation of the DRAABE system has been very beneficial for us. I don't think North American printers put enough emphasis on installing a humidification system in their plants but they should. I don't know how we lived without ours!" With over eighty years of print experience the Theoret family formed the foundation of Battlefield Graphics. Established in 1964 this high quality commercial printing company located in Burlington, Ontario celebrates forty-two years of printing excellence, from prepress right through to finishing. With 72 dedicated employees under one roof, clients quickly come to realize the importance of their final printed piece.