McCormick Place, Chicago — MAN Roland’s exhibit at Graph Expo 2006 drew standing room only crowds consisting of visitors who were in the mood to buy presses. Among the major sales: - A 4X4 32-page commercial web press by Wisconsin’s Hi-Liter/Inland - A ten-color ROLAND 700 perfector by Maryland’s McArdle Printing - An eight-color ROLAND 700 perfector by The Sheridan Press in Pennsylvania - A five-color ROLAND 500 perfector by Minnesota’s Bang Printing “We provided our guests with a place where they could talk and relax,” said Vince Lapinski, COO of MAN Roland Inc. “The result was in-depth conversations where printers expressed their business needs directly to our MAN Roland experts. In turn, we were able to provide solutions that met the printers specific requests, rather than viewing a one-size-fits-all demonstration.” Sales Grow Stronger Meanwhile, MAN Roland’s record sales year continued to grow stronger. In a Graph Expo presentation to graphic arts journalists, Yves Rogivue, CEO of MAN Roland Inc., detailed an across-the-board rise in North America, with web sales up 21%, sheetfed rising 38% and total sales up 28%. A similar bright picture was presented for order backlog. The web sector was up 18%, and the sheetfed category up 22% for a total 18% rise, compared to third quarter figures for 2005. “What’s good news for us is great news for the graphic arts, because it means the profit freeze is thawing,” Rogivue said. “Printers are flocking to the pressmaker who can deliver the most effective automation, the most useful inline added-value enhancements and the most profitable printing experience overall. So as our more efficient presses come on line, profit margins are improving for printers at a faster rate.” Enabling Support The coverage provided by MAN Roland’s printservices was also presented at the MAN Roland exhibit. On interactive displays, showgoers explored the program’s pledge of total support for the life of their presses and reviewed specific offerings such as repairs and maintenance, training, project management, upgrades, parts and supplies and more. A related exhibit feature was printcom — MAN Roland’s consumables, parts and supply source. Its latest development: an eCommerce website called manrolanddirect.com. The interactive portal connects MAN Roland customers — sheetfed and web — to an inventory of over 80,000 spare parts and consumable components — 24/7. “It’s more than just technology; it’s the people and the process that determines productivity,” Lapinski said. “With printservices and printcom MAN Roland provides all the training, the support and the process-certified consumables a facility needs to get maximum return from their investment in a MAN Roland press.”