Color Craft’s first shift crew for both of their new Komori presses, as well as (front row, from left to right): Cody Brouchoud, Production Manager; Gregg Weber, President & CEO; and Kay Zimmer, Director of Operations (black shirt).

Rolling Meadows, IL—Komori America—Komori America announces that Wisconsin-based Color Craft Graphic Arts, a leader in folding carton packaging, has invested in a second 40-inch, six-color Lithrone G40 (GL640 advance) in less than a year. Color Craft offers structural design and sample-making, prepress and printing, die-cutting and finishing as a single source folding carton solution. Color Craft purchased its first GL640 advance in March 2023 as part of a company-wide strategic update led by its new president and CEO, Gregg Weber. The GL640 advance provided such an increase in capacity, speed and quality that the company was able to deliver its custom packaging projects in record time, resulting in customers substantially increasing their orders for Color Craft’s innovative packaging solutions.

“As an all-inclusive folding carton company that provides customers of every size with hands-on, individualized attention, we have nurtured a strong, loyal customer base. Since installing the first GL640 advance, we’ve been able to fulfill orders on time or earlier than expected because we can get products produced much faster. Because of that, our customers are ordering more frequently,” said Weber. “Prior to the purchase of the first press, we struggled to ship on time and meet our customers’ demands. The speed of our GL640 advance has allowed us not only to ship on time, but also to ship additional truckloads out each day with better quality and flexibility.”

With the advanced automation, intuitive technology and a maximum printing speed of 16,500 sheets per hour that the GL640 advance delivers, the company tripled its production speed, reduced setup time by 40% and experienced a 60% reduction in materials, impressive for a company focused only on packaging. Weber cites that the biggest benefit comes down to the speed of the press.

“By adding the second GL640 advance, Color Craft has been able to reduce total production throughput time from 8.5 days down to 5 days—this is an amazing improvement for our facility and we are grateful to have our second press up and running,” said Weber. “We bought the first press just to get ourselves to 100% on time delivery and achieve much better quality from a color control perspective. We achieved that and more, so I went to our Board and said I needed another press because, with the extra capacity, we will be able to grow the business even further, and we're already seeing that growth. Our ability to deliver projects in record time and still have the flexibility in our schedule that we like to give our customers increased our business by 20% in less than a year.”

“If there was ever a company that exemplified Komori’s mission of delivering “kando”—beyond expectations—it is Color Craft Graphic Arts,” said Lance Martin, vice president of marketing for Komori America. “We look forward to the results Color Craft will achieve for its customers and its business with two powerhouse Komori presses on its floor.”

Visit Komori America at https://www.komori-america.us/.