Westmont, IL — An overwhelming majority of visitors to MAN Roland’s exhibit at Print 01 are ready to move into the next phase of the press-buying cycle, according to an onsite survey conducted by the company. The poll recorded the purchasing and production plans of a sampling of about 2,000 printers who visited the MAN Roland pavilion last month. Over 35 percent said they would like to hear from a MAN Roland representative within 30 days of the show, while an additional 24.3 percent requested to be contacted within 60 days. "It’s encouraging that despite the economic slowdown, printers realize that their best investment right now is in advanced technology," said Yves Rogivue, CEO of MAN Roland Inc. "And we’re even more pleased that when printers are ready to buy the latest innovations, they turn to MAN Roland." Almost 38 percent of the survey respondents requested that MAN Roland follow-up their Print 01 visit with a personal call. An additional 28.9 percent requested an appointment with a sales representative, while another 10 percent wanted equipment demonstrations. Asked what capabilities were most important in the presses they were considering, more than a third of the survey participants responded "production speed." "That finding puts a different perspective on the conventional wisdom within the industry, which says that makeready automation rather than press speed is at the top of a buyer’s wish list," said Christian Cerfontaine, the MAN Roland Marketing Director who designed the survey. "Automation had a surprising second-place finish in our poll, with 23.2 percent of the printers selecting it as their top choice." A total of 19.3 percent of the participants chose perfecting as their feature of choice, 14.5 percent selected networking, 7.3 percent picked inline finishing and 3 percent went with material handling. Printers are also in the market for longer presses to add value to their work, the survey results indicted. Five to six color jobs topped the printers’ list, with a smaller percentage saying they’re ready to move into work that calls for seven colors or more. Similarly, inline coating units were also on the radar of the survey participants. UV coating, hybrid coatings and double coating were all mentioned as desirable value added offerings. A survey question on job volume had medium run lengths of from 5,000 to 25,000 sheets grabbing the number one slot, and short run lengths of 5,000 sheets or less placing second. Runs greater than 25,000 sheets were third on the printers’ tally. Profiles of the printers who responded to the survey indicated that the MAN Roland exhibit attracted decision-makers from a wide range of printing companies. Over 56 percent described themselves as commercial printers, 13.6 percent selected packaging as their main vocation, 10 percent were publication specialists, and 5.5 percent said labels were their main product. More than 58.5 percent said they run sheetfed presses, 19.7 percent web offset systems, 5.1 percent flexo and 2.6 percent gravure. Significantly 9.6 percent of the respondents described themselves as digital printers. Over 5 percent of the survey participants selected 1-up as their major format, 11.5 percent chose 2-up, 28.1 percent said 4-up, 34.9 percent picked 8-up, and 20.5 percent went with 16-up. Respondents were also asked the number of printing units they operate. Over 31 percent run five units or less, 35.9 percent produce on 6-10 printing units, 19.4 percent operate 11-20 units, and 16.1 percent print with 21 units or more. "We’re proud to see that MAN Roland innovations appeal to such a broad cross section of the industry," noted Rogivue. "It’s an indication that the continuing expansion of our range of products is being well received by our industry. From digital solutions to sheetfed presses to web systems, MAN Roland gives printers a lot of alternatives, so they can choose the innovations that work best for their customers."