December 9, 2008 - The old adage about 'timing is everything' probably is true some of the time.  You won't get an argument from Bernie and John Lacy at Litho Press Inc. in      Indianapolis.  Business is up nearly 10 percent for the second half of 2008, due largely to its new manroland 900XXL 73-inch, 6-color press with UV coater that enables them to take on jobs they couldn't do before.

"We had to farm out large format work with our previous KBA 64-inch press," said Bernie Lacy.  "Now we can do it all in-house and also do printing to the trade, for printers with smaller presses who get large format jobs."

That's just the beginning.  "We've definitely been able to take on new accounts," said Lacy, who started to impact his bottom line when the ROLAND 900XXL      became fully operational in August.  "It is a much faster press; we can absolutely get more work done, every day.  We added a lot of automation with this press, which shortens make-ready time and reduces waste."

It's a triple advantage that couldn't come at a better time for this third-generation family-run firm, which opened the doors for business in 1953.

Three-press manroland shop delivers diverse client needs

Two other 6-color manroland presses - a 41-inch ROLAND 700 and 56-inch     ROLAND 900, both with UV coaters - handle a wide range of commercial and package printing applications.  The goal of expanding their shop's overall capacity, as well as wanting the ability to handle larger format jobs, prompted the Lacy brothers' decision to invest in the bigger press.  After analyzing several options and brands, they settled on the 73-inch ROLAND 900XXL.

"Good experience with manroland in the past helped make our decision easier," recalled John Lacy.  "So did the overall 900XXL package."

The package includes manroland's printnet operating and workflow integration system, power plate loading (PPL), automatic adjustment of blanket-impression cylinders for substrate thickness, and more.  Litho Press proudly promotes its     ability to print on onion skin flysheet paper all the way up to 48 pt. MicroFlute board.

Since being installed, the new ROLAND 900XXL turns out everything from box wraps, top sheets and maps, to large in-store signage and POP displays, large folding cartons and general commercial print jobs.  Litho Press also is a G7        Certified Master Printer, further ensuring consistent print quality to its clientele.  The advanced features of the new press allows the well-trained production crew to return to their roots as printing craftsmen to handle the toughest color demands, even with multiple images on the larger forms.

"We are a customer-focused company, and more customers need the large-format output this press provides," said Bernie.  "We can also be more competitive on 36-inch x 50-inch configurations, by running them two-up.  We saw plenty of new      business opportunities when deciding on the manroland 900XXL.  Now those    opportunities are becoming a reality."