Hanover Park, Ill. – Fujifilm’s SUPERIA ZD no-process thermal plate technology doubles UV printing production at The Watkins Printing Company, a Columbus, Ohio-based print service provider.

Established in 1923, The Watkins Printing Company is well-known as a publication printer. This certified G7 Master Printer manages monthly and quarterly magazines for universities, fraternal organizations, honor societies, niche publications and catalogs for clients in more than 20 states. Their services also include prepress, pressroom, binding and mailing, all within their expansive 65,000 square foot facility. The Watkins Printing Company is celebrating 95 years in 2018, Tamara Watkins Green, president and third generation, is proud to be an integral part of this family-owned organization, started by her grandfather. The company includes her husband William Green, VP strategic partnerships; and fourth generation Emily and Brock, Tamara and William’s adult children.

Having converted to Fujifilm’s SUPERIA ZD no-process plate less than one year ago, The Watkins Printing Company is already experiencing a positive impact to their bottom line.

“With regard to chemicals, labor, and water, we are saving upwards of twelve thousand dollars thus far with SUPERIA ZD,” said Watkins Green. “Our cost has greatly diminished per plate because we don’t process them; and the water savings is significant.”

SUPERIA ZD Features

• Improved durability for longer run length capability on press that enables the plate to be used in a wider range of press applications, including UV print applications

• True processless technology that allows the plate to be imaged and mounted directly on press, for immediate use

SUPERIA ZD performance is maximized with FUJIFILM HUNT premium fountain solutions, including SUPERIA PressMax JRDC, compatible with UV/LED-UV/H-UV or conventional inks; along with the single-step SUPERIA PressMax PPF-DC, a versatile fountain solution with calcium control additive, also suitable for UV/LED-UV/H-UV or conventional inks. ?

Since the introduction of SUPERIA ZD, The Watkins Printing Company is also seeing improvements in UV print production. SUPERIA ZD provides superior performance when printing under UV ink conditions, and also allows for improved run length.

“With SUPERIA ZD, we’ve more than doubled impressions compared to our previous plates,” says Watkins Green. “We recently achieved more than 220,000 impressions with SUPERIA ZD, and our previous plates would start to break down at 150,000 impressions.”   

Ease of use is another advantage of these innovative no-process plates.

“The plates are ready to use, to mount onto press, immediately,” said Watkins Green. “Our operators say they are also much more consistent compared to our previous plates.”

Upon converting to SUPERIA ZD, “the whole process was seamless,” adds Watkins Green. “The sale is one thing, but the follow-through and the day-to-day managing of the sale are equally important as well. If you’ve got the best product in the market, and if the support is not there, it’s worthless to me. For as large a company that Fujifilm is, their employees do a really good job in all these areas.”

To find out how Fujifilm Graphic Systems Division can help businesses meet future challenges, improve quality and reduce costs, please visit: www.FujifilmInkjet.com.

To learn more about The Watkins Printing Company, please visit: www.watkinsprinting.com.