KENNESAW, Ga. – September 2, 2003 – Colorado Printing Co., a commercial printer that specializes in high-end four-color and eight-color work, plans to install the Heidelberg Speedmaster SM 74 10-color perfecting press that will be on display in the Heidelberg booth during Graph Expo/Converting Expo 2003. Immediately following the show, the new press will be shipped to Colorado Printing’s shop in Grand Junction, Colo., and installation should be complete by November. Colorado Printing President Michael Antonucci said he expects the SM 74 to help double sales at the company to $20 million by 2006. The new 10-color perfecting press can print up to four colors plus a spot varnish or PMS color on each side of the sheet in one pass. This will allow Colorado Printing to grow its current client list as well as go after new accounts that are using competitors that have to use two press passes, which is more expensive and not as fast as perfecting the job in one pass. “Our success can be attributed to aligning ourselves with powerful partners such as Heidelberg and to embracing the newest technologies that allow us to get jobs done faster, regardless of the price tag of that technology,” Antonucci said. “We want to put in new technology because I don’t want the gap to narrow between Colorado Printing and our competitors.” The new press is the second of its kind in the state of Colorado and Colorado Printing owns both of them. It is also only one of the few 10-color perfecting presses in the western United States. The new press will supplement an eight-color SM 74 that Colorado Printing installed less than two years ago and already is maxed out at running three shifts a day. The 10-color press will pick up the overflow from the eight-color press, which has contributed to Colorado Printing’s rapid growth, and create capacity for new business growth. “We always believe in the philosophy of having excess capacity,” Antonucci said. “If I don’t have excess capacity, how am I going to sell? It’s necessary for a company to think that way so that it can grow and stay ahead of the competition.” The SM 74 will be one of 10 presses Heidelberg will have on display during Graph Expo. Located in booth #1000, the press will run two separate jobs – one a multiple-color poster and the other a 2004 calendar that will highlight perfecting using the four-color process plus the varnish on each side of the sheet. The jobs will demonstrate the flexibility and versatility of the press. The Speedmaster SM 74, the leader of the half-size press market, is extensively automated so that even very short runs can be printed on it profitably. A CP2000 console with an open interface enables the operator to control the entire press using a touch screen. This results in greater productivity and cost-effectiveness as well as integration to the digital workflow. The SM 74, also regarded for its high precision and stability, provides uncompromised quality on both sides of a job in one pass. Other key features include: - A suction-tape feeder that allows fast stock changes regardless of format size or substrate and high production speed - Printing units with high automation for fast plate changes, ink settings and wash-ups - A powerful inking system and Alcolor Vario -- Heidelberg's hickey-picking dampening system that combine to allow high stablility and superb print quality - Automated changeover from straight printing to perfecting and vice-versa - High-pile delivery with venturi sheet guidance that results in reliable production on a wide variety of stocks “The Speedmaster SM 74 embodies the state of the art in modern press engineering,” said John Dowey, vice president of sheetfed product management, Heidelberg USA. “It offers the flexibility and productivity that printers like Colorado Printing need to efficiently and effectively put their ideas into practice.. When a company can count on a long perfector to finish the job in one pass and the same machine can also be used for straight printing of high-end collateral pieces, it gives them a tremendous competitive advantage.” Colorado Printing was founded in 1947, and is in its second generation of family ownership. Chairman Dan Thurlow took over the company from his grandfather and father. Antonucci joined the company 11 years ago. Colorado Printing specializes in high-end four-color and eight-color commercial print work, including brochures for the Denver Broncos and Dell Computer, catalogues for the region’s hotel, dining and resort community and direct mail.