October 11, 2002 -- Westmont, Illinois — The Roland 700 heads the list of popular full-size presses in terms of optimizing a printer’s return on investment, according to a recently released study conducted by the research firm the Bridge Strategy Group. Based on analysis of real pressroom data from printers in North America and throughout the world, the study concluded that "MAN Roland has a superior return on investment, driven by makeready times, faster press speeds, lower waste and lower consumable costs." The study also asked printers for anecdotal comments. Rob Hasson, the Production Manager of Florida’s Fidelity Printing had his own ideas about determining ROI: "Here's how we quantify the benefits of the MAN Roland presses. We went from a 76 person shop to a 45 person shop and increased revenue by $500,000 to $1 million by using the technology and makeready features of the presses." The research was sponsored by MAN Roland to collect operating data for its Press Operating Profitability (POP) program. POP offers free ROI analysis to printers who plan to invest in a new full-size press. Operating data were amassed from research released by the press manufacturers and by trade associations, reflecting economic results from hundreds of printers. The Bridge Strategy Group also conducted in-depth interviews with these printers in the US, Canada, Australia, South Africa, and the UK. All of the presses were six-color models, newer than five years old, to establish a bench line for the analysis. "This study explores the real drivers of business such as actual average press speeds, waste, makeready times, and consumable costs," says Jamie Wilson, MAN Roland’s Press Profitability Analyst. "With printers facing the pressures of shorter runs, demands for better quality, and faster turnaround times, they cannot afford not to have this information." Makeready Momentum Average makeready time was the category where the Roland 700 experienced its biggest gains. It achieved a 38 minute total in the category, while its nearest rival managed a more leisurely 54 minute average. "MAN Roland has the fastest average makeready time, driven by faster job ticket entry, faster plate changes and faster times getting up to color and registration," the report stated. "In fact, CCI (Computer Controlled Inking) is the most valuable option on the press due to the significant reduction of makeready times it provides." Aaron Greebel, Prod Manager at AJ Images, concurred: "I usually have my color by my second pull. I can't remember a time when it took longer than three pulls. It holds color unbelievably. One advantage of CCI is when a customer is in to check color, we will save the pulls and read the best sheet back into the computer." The Roland 700 achieved over 10,000 iph, as an average operating speed while perfecting, 1,600 more than the closest competitor. Said one participant: "You can make money off that perfector. There's no planning — you don't have to gather up perfecting jobs. It's just a push of a button." Another hotly contested category was consumables costs. "MAN Roland has the lowest consumables cost, driven by fewer smashed blankets and the lack of transfer coverings," the report said. Waste Not The Roland 700 topped the competition for the fewest waste sheets. The report credited the 700’s transferters, air track system, ink train separation and QuickStart program as contributing factors. "We chose the MAN Roland because it has the quickest makeready and the fastest time to mark-free sheets, " said Joe Turner of Hagg Press, another study participant. The study indicated that its total package of automated features helped drive the Roland 700 to the top of the ROI charts. "Printers with fully-loaded MAN Rolands will have higher returns than those with stripped down models," it said. The researchers isolated 15 advanced features on the Roland 700 and determined how the automation combination contribute to a printers ROI. "Fully utilizing all 15 attributes would result in an annual benefit of approximately $445,000," the report noted. "Several of the standard features on a MAN Roland press also have significant bottom-line benefits." The study singled out the new makeready module JobPilot, which recently received a GATF InterTech Award. The advancement allows press operators to makeready PECOM-equipped MAN Roland presses while the machines continue to print. "Job Pilot should pay for itself in less than one year," the researchers noted. "It may seem counterintuitive, but this is a case of a premium-priced product delivering a faster and higher ROI, in spite of a higher upfront investment," noted Eric Belcher CFO of MAN Roland Inc. "The bottom line on this ROI research is that our superior technology rewards printers that use it with big returns," said Yves Rogivue, CEO of MAN Roland Inc. "The more features your press has to automate the printing process, the more efficient and cost competitive you can be." Printers who want to learn more about Press Operating Profitability or want to arrange for a POP analysis, can contact their MAN Roland sales rep or Jamie Wilson at 630.920.2000.