CHICAGO, IL. 3/01 Printing franchises did very well in 2000 and Signal Graphics is living proof. Steadily adding new stores to their network each year, Signal recently decided to include the A.B.Dick Digital PlateMaster (DPM) 2340 direct-to-plate device and ScanMaster digital scanning solution as part of their standard equipment package. One shop enjoying enormous benefits from this decision is store no. 6 in Denver, which serves as the Englewood, CO-based franchise's flagship operation. "We are very pleased with how the DPM2340 and ScanMaster have worked for us since October. The quality of both units is excellent and have required zero maintenance," said Chuck Moon, general manager of the franchise's top store, which produced sales of $1.7 million last year. "We have received good support by telephone and that tells a lot about the simplicity of these devices. That's how easy it is to use them." The decision to purchase the DPM2340 and ScanMaster resulted after two years of research and installation at corporate headquarters for training and demonstration purposes. "We saw the industry going in the direct-to-plate direction and the technology available today made it affordable for us," said Tom Peck, President of Sampa Corp., the franchiser of Signal Graphics. "We like to be on the leading edge and we figured it was the right time to do it. The DPM2340 is the primary unit for our system. Six stores have it now and we have targeted all 55 of our stores to have this equipment in the next two years."