September 3, 2002 -- A printing company’s success depends on many factors, and the correct choice of consumable materials is one of them. Many customers regard MAN Roland as a problem-solver and therefore the group’s range of goods and services has now been expanded to include consumable materials for the pressroom. This new range of products is called Printcom.   MAN Roland has developed beyond being purely a press supplier to become a provider of comprehensive systems and solutions for its customers. Experience has proven that this was the right philosophy to follow – after all, buyers of highly complex production systems these days need more than just the delivery and installation of machinery. As MAN Roland sees it, they expect to be taken care of in all respects for the entire life cycle of the equipment they have invested in, otherwise customer satisfaction and loyalty are endangered. And this is not too much to expect in view of the increasing complexity of the systems and the market. Printcom provides sustained care of the production process The new Printcom services package has thus been developed to provide sustained care of the production process in printing plants to ensure that problems are kept to a minimum and the printing system operates at maximum efficiency to produce consistently high quality. All printing systems require a certain amount of different consumable materials for the production process: items such as blankets, plates, damping solution additives, lubricants, washing agents, etc. And, with the multitude of materials on the market, printers cannot be expected to analyze and test them all to see which are most suitable for their machine and still find the time to earn money. Not to mention the interaction and possible incompatibility of these materials and the problems this can cause for the printing process. Quality assurance from the word go This is precisely where MAN Roland is now providing help to defuse the situation for printers so they can get into production much faster with the minimum of paper waste. More important still however is that the Printcom range of products provides assured quality over the life cycle of the press, considerably reduces the number of press stops, and contains competitively priced and reliable materials that are promptly available from the closest MAN Roland service partner. Printcom is based on a simple philosophy: What could be more logical than a printing press manufacturer thoroughly testing its own products with the objective of achieving the highest possible performance from the printing system? This is done anyway in the course of ongoing development work and the MAN Roland Graphic Center and Training Center, where all the consumables from blankets through to damping solution are tested to the same exacting standards as press components, provide the ideal facilities. MAN Roland makes its wealth of experience available to customers Through the many series of tests carried out under practical conditions with every press model, MAN Roland gains an unequalled wealth of experience and verifiable ratings on all manner of printing aids. So why shouldn’t MAN Roland share this knowledge with its customers? And there’s another benefit as well: the tests also lead to optimal matching of materials. Tested and approved by MAN Roland What makes Printcom an outstanding package of service products? The simple answer is that Printcom offers printers everything they need for trouble-free production. From a single source, printing companies can now obtain not only the complete printing system but also the necessary consumable materials. These have already been thoroughly tested, optimally matched to one another and to the press concerned, and recommended by MAN Roland. To get customers acquainted with the Printcom products, a package called “Get Started” can be ordered with new presses and included in the press consignment so it is available during commissioning. Because all items have been comprehensively tested and coordinated, the factory instructor and the printer are able to quickly set up the press and prepare to start production. If the printer has any questions about the individual products, the MAN Roland instructor has the know-how to provide the right answers. But Printcom is also a very convenient service system. Whereas the start-up package for all new presses is delivered from one central location (the MAN Roland subsidiary company Printcom GmbH, in Lauf near Nuremberg), printers can order subsequent supplies directly from the nearest MAN Roland service partner. They have all the products in inventory so prompt delivery is assured. Freedom of choice Yet another advantage: MAN Roland is devoted to the philosophy of open system architecture and accordingly no customer is in any way committed to exclusively using Printcom. This is why paper for instance is not included in the Printcom range. Printers are free to continue working with their trusted suppliers, but they are also free to ask the MAN Roland experts for their opinion and order from them as well. Printcom – another component of the MAN Roland competence package What Printcom provides is yet another component within the spectrum of MAN Roland’s problem-solving capabilities. Customers no longer need to conduct their own time-consuming product tests and order many different items from many different suppliers. Printcom offers top-quality products at competitive prices which assure stable production and, last but not least, make a considerable contribution to increasing profitability in a highly competitive environment.