SOLON, OH - Graphco, the Exclusive Distributor for RMGT’s most popular 970, 920 and 790 offset presses throughout the Midwest and Southeast, announces the positive results of the installation of an eight-color full-size RMGT 920PF-8+LED perfecting press to Verdant Graphics in Wyoming, MI, six miles south of Grand Rapids. The 8-UP press, which features LED instant-curing technology, SMART RPC (2-minute plate changing), and the full Insta.Color makeready suite, is enabling the firm to churn out greeting cards at least eight times faster than its previous workflow from 2022.

“Our previous print production was on a 20” Ryobi/Presstek DI press,” states Don Kallil, Owner and Chief Vision Officer at Verdant Graphics. “We had to print two-up greeting cards on one side, let them dry for two days, then run the other side. It took us four days to print two cards. Now, not only is the RMGT 9 Series perfector a larger format press, but it prints both sides in a single pass. We are printing eight cards at a time. They dry instantly and are ready for finishing.” Verdant’s in-house postpress/embellishment capabilities include die-cutting, embossing and foil-stamping for special effects.

Kallil figures that, when UV curing time is equated, the speed increase could be by a factor of 8 or even 10 times faster overall. Such dramatic performance improvement means that Verdant is producing cards quicker and in much larger volumes, freeing up press time for other commercial print work. Their 15,000-square-foot production facility in western Michigan employs 15 full-time workers, “mostly working one shift,” according to Kallil. However, he sees that changing. “We’d like to be running two shifts by the end of 2024 and grow to three down the road. That’s my goal.” To stimulate sales, the management team hired a dedicated account representative this spring and plans to soon hire two more people in similar roles.

Eco-friendly with designer roots
Kallil’s creative roots stem from the graphic design and marketing side of the business. He also presides over Design Design, which started up in 1987 as a wholesale greeting card company. Don’s company was recently featured on Inkish TV, and Don’s explanation of his company’s history and future makes for very interesting viewing: https://inkish.tv/?s=verdant

“Verdant,” the rebranded print arm, denotes “green,” and Kallil admits to being extremely conscious of printing sustainably. “We are all about having a minimal environmental footprint,” he explains, adding that the LED-UV technology first caught his eye six years ago in Chicago at GRAPH EXPO ’18. He contends that employing the high-tech drying process “is much cleaner than operating an IR hot air and [spray] powdered system.”

One Pass Printing Solution Became a “No Brainer”
Still, adopting RMGT’s one-pass solution was a major, multimillion-dollar decision for the Verdant leader. Coming from a quarter-size DI press, “it took us a little while to get our ‘groove’ on,” Kallil admits. After 18 months of operation, the RMGT 9 Series perfector is running smoothly, “like a Lexus,” so it’s full steam ahead for his new salesforce.

On plant tours, Kallil proudly calls the RMGT press his “command center for spaceship printing.” Despite looking like a UFO, its benefits are easily identifiable. On-press registration is virtually infallible, he notes, adding that installation of the full-size machine was relatively painless in early 2023. “A six-inch concrete pad is all it requires,” Kallil confirms. “It’s built on metal rails, and there’s no bouncing.”

For Kallil, the automation built in by RMGT’s engineers is a major bonus. “These days, machinery can’t be too technically challenging to operate,” he says. “You don’t need a lot of people to run this press. It’s actually really fun . . . and exciting to see what it can produce! The end products give our people a great sense of pride in their work.”

Derek Gordon, Graphco’s Regional Vice President, Sales, reflects: “This was a very rewarding sale for me, personally, because of the timing. I contacted Verdant only four days after the country shut down in response to the COVID-19 health crisis and then the purchase was made in February 2002. That now seems like a long time ago – when the company was basically an inplant producing greeting cards. If the visionary Kallil has his way, Verdant Graphics will position itself very differently as evolution transforms it into a completely different entity. Watching a full-scale commercial printing company grow from an in-plant card printing operation has been fun so far, and I can hardly wait to see how far Don’s vision can carry Verdant Graphics.”