Jackson Heights, NY - The corporate motto "Yes We Can" aptly describes the culture, organization and manufacturing capabilities of The Standard Group, one of the nation's leading independent folding carton converters.

"We bring entrepreneurial responsiveness and our 'yes, we can' attitude to make the entire packaging supply chain more efficient," said David Himmelein, corporate marketing/account manager.

Last year, The Standard Group made a significant investment in the company's future, installing several important pieces of machinery that included an eight-color Mitsubishi Diamond V3000LX sheetfed press. Equipped with an ultraviolet (UV) coater, the 41-inch press replaced a seven-color, 51-inch Mitsubishi 5FC at the Southern Standard Cartons facility in Louisville, Ky.

"No matter what the print run characteristics or specifications of the job may be, we can always say to our customers, 'yes, we can,' " said Joe Rebecca, vice president of manufacturing.

Since last September, the Diamond V3000LX has shared the pressroom floor at the 225,000-square-foot Louisville plant with two seven-color, large-format Mitsubishi carton presses: a 5FC with aqueous coater and a 56-inch 6FC with UV and aqueous coating capabilities. The Diamond V3000LX features a maximum sheet size of 29 1/2 x 41 11/32 inches. It prints on 0.0016-inch up to 0.040-inch stock at a rate of 16,200 sheets per hour.

"The press can accommodate thin paper all the way up to 40-point carton stock," Himmelein noted. "That is wide range of calipers. It also easily handles the other types of specialty paper that we run."

The Standard Group chose the 41-inch format after careful consideration of the market trends that have been under way over the past few years. Shorter run lengths combined with operational improvements in the Diamond V3000LX influenced the company's decision.

"The 41-inch size allows us more diversity in terms of what we can offer our customers," Rebecca said. "The smaller format allows us to have greater versatility when laying out a job for our customers, whether it is the 41- or 51- or 56-inch format. The press gets up to accurate and saleable color faster with fewer makeready sheets every time. It features the latest technologies from Mitsubishi, and we look forward to sharing those with our customers."

"The eight-color configuration and the interdeck UV coater on the Diamond V3000LX enable us to deliver more value in the products we print for our customers," Himmelein added. "Customers have been extremely satisfied and impressed with the look and output of cartons coming off that press. The print quality is unparalleled. While customers are on a plant tour, we enjoy showing off the great printing and coating capabilities of our equipment."

The Standard Group is a fourth-generation, family-owned firm in a highly competitive industry. Maintaining a technological edge is a must for meeting the high-quality carton needs of its clients. The Standard Group has catered to the private label industry for years. The company delivers cartons for household items, food, personal care products and distilled beverages.

"When the decision was made to purchase a new press, we found after much research that this press had everything we wanted in terms of capabilities from a company we know and trust," Rebecca said. "We have worked with Mitsubishi for years and have enjoyed a longstanding relationship in both sales and service. We are happy that we made the decision to buy the Mitsubishi press."