ROLLING MEADOWS, Ill. — Colonial Press International, Inc. has become one of the largest minority-owned commercial printers in the United States by keeping its quality high and its prices low. Over the past four years, the Miami-based firm has been aggressively expanding its production capabilities to ensure value for its customers, while meeting its own rigorous quality standards. “We’re the 25th-largest print vendor for the U.S. government, so pricing is a critical issue,” explained Jorge Gomez, CEO of the combination sheetfed and web printing operation. “As a result, we’re very competitively priced. However, with all the new equipment and all the automation that takes the human element out of the equation, we’ve also evolved into a very high-quality shop.” Colonial Press celebrated its 50th anniversary this year — a year distinguished by several major acquisitions, including one of the fastest thermal computer-to-plate devices available, a PlateRite 8600 from Screen USA. The eight-page platesetter images up to 20 plates per hour and features Screen’s MA-L multi-cassette autoloader. “We spent a considerable amount of time and effort researching platesetters,” recalled Gomez. “We were looking for a CTP device that would produce punched plates in a completely automated environment. At the time, the PlateRite 8600 was the only fully automated CTP device with a proven track record.”