Kennesaw, Ga. -- According to Rick Jacobs, taking the first step into mid-sized offset printing has been “better than I ever imagined.” The owners of Rick’s Printing in Portland, Ore. installed a new 4-color Heidelberg Speedmaster CD 74 press late last year, and have been singing praises of the new press ever since. “We now can compete with most of the 40-inch presses in our market and deliver better quality results at a lower cost than most of our competition,” Jacobs said.
 
With automated makeready and user-friendly operation, the Speedmaster CD 74 is a perfect complement to the pressroom at Rick’s Printing. The “unbelievably productive” half-size press has been running nearly 12 hours a day, six days a week, producing high-quality trade and commercial work.  “We’ve been buried in work on the new press,” Jacobs said. “Since the installation of the CD 74, we are able to take some of the pressure off of our existing Printmaster PM 52 press and be more strategic with our production methods.”  
 
An all-Heidelberg shop, Rick’s Printing also operates a Printmaster QM 46 press along with the Printmaster 52 and the CD 74 presses. All three presses are supported by a Heidelberg Prosetter 74 violet platesetter, which was installed last year to supplement the company’s existing Heidelberg Quicksetter. The Prosetter uses Heidelberg Saphira violet plates, while the Quicksetter feeds on Heidelberg Cristala polyplates. Rick’s bindery also houses a 78ED programmable POLAR paper cutter.
 
With just seven employees, Rick’s Printing has developed a solid reputation and a loyal client base in and around Portland. “When my wife Keri and I started this company with just the QM 46 press and one POLAR cutter from Heidelberg, we never imagined the growth we’ve experienced in just seven years,” Jacobs said. The truth is in the results – Rick’s Printing has experienced month after month of record growth. “We will continue our aggressive growth strategy using Heidelberg equipment.”