CHICAGO, IL - For 49 years, Time Printers has operated as a family-owned community printer on Baltimore’s west side. The Maddox family has survived its share of trials and tribulations throughout the years, emerging as a strong two-color niche player. With elated clients building budgets for four-color work, it left them no option but to address how they would upgrade their shop. The response was to purchase from A.B.Dick Company the top-selling DPM2340 digital platemaker with ScanMaster, and the exciting new 4995A-ICS (with Ink Control System) four-color offset press. The DPM2340 direct-to-plate device replaced a first generation DPM2000 that performed extremely well for five years. Time Printers was one of the first shops to purchase a DPM2000 in the Baltimore area. The 4995A-ICS press represents the first installment of the revolutionarily new press, which made its debut only months ago at Graph Expo ’02 in Chicago. The digitally compatible press replaced a Century 3000 two-color press the shop was using for its two and four-color work. “We saved ourselves over $100,000 in costs by choosing the 4995A-ICS press,” said Al Maddox, Jr., President of Time Printers. “We looked at a Heidelberg Quickmaster DI and were ready to sign the papers before we learned of the 4995A-ICS press. We had prepared ourselves to find more money because we would have needed extensive building changes to accommodate the DI. Instead, we were convinced the 4995A-ICS was the better press for our needs and the results have proven conclusive.” Al’s grandfather, Gabriel B. Maddox, Sr., started the Maddox Printing Company in 1907. His father, Al Maddox, Sr., the founder of Time Printers who, at age 81 is still active in the business today, is a testament to the tremendous advances that have taken place in the graphic arts industry. Al’s brothers, Greg, Dan and Wayne, and sisters Brenda and Lisa, are involved in the day-to-day operations of the 15-employee company. Dedicated to providing high quality, quick turnaround work, they have accumulated a diverse client roster in the Baltimore and Washington D.C. markets. The National Aquarium, a popular attraction in downtown Baltimore, the University of Maryland, colleges such as Coppin State and Morgan State, and numerous religious and commercial organizations count on Time Printers to do one and two-color 11” x 17” work, and an increasing amount of four-color projects. But the bread-and-butter niche that is growing faster than anything else is printing funeral programs for nine establishments in the Baltimore area. “We bought the 4995A-ICS press and DPM2340 because they were exactly what we needed. They were the perfect fit for us,” said Al Maddox, Jr. “We needed equipment to satisfy customer demand for more four-color work while improving our high quality and quick turnaround priorities. Initially, we did one-color funeral programs but we’ve grown that business to where 40% is now four-color and is still growing.” Besides satisfying their customers, the new equipment has won followers in the pre-press room and on the press floor. “We have vastly improved throughput and our timeframe to produce work. Besides quality, it’s just as important to be able to shorten your production schedule,” said Maddox. “Having the DPM2000 before and the DPM2340 now allowed us to accomplish our goal of becoming a film-less shop in the last two years. We are an ecologically conscious company and by using the polyester plates, we were able to drop our metal plate work all together while achieving consistent color.” Time Printers improved its throughput because the newer equipment is faster. But they also realize the added value they are receiving from the new technologies that the 4995 press and DPM2340 have to offer. “We were running 5,000 impressions per hour on the Century 3000, but we are getting between 6,000 and 7,000 per hour with the 4995A-ICS and we are looking to improve those numbers soon,” said Greg Maddox, a company Vice President. “Obviously, we are saving time since we can do four-color work now in one pass instead of two, and the infrared dryer and the automatic plate loader helps quicken the process. The plate punching system saves us make-ready time and we are almost in register right from the beginning. And our screen values and imaging are sharper since we are at 2,400 dpi compared to 1,200 before.” “The ScanMaster is an added benefit and better than what we expected,” said Dan Maddox, the company’s Treasurer. “A customer wanted to reprint a four-color, two-sided 8 1/2’ x 11’ brochure with no changes. With ScanMaster, we simply scanned the document and gave him a finished product that was better than the original printed piece.” A.B.Dick Company is a leading worldwide supplier to the graphic arts and printing industry, manufacturing and marketing equipment and supplies for all stages of document creation -- prepress, press and post-press -- as well as continuing service and support. For more information contact Scott MacKenzie, Vice President, Marketing, 7400 Caldwell Ave., Niles, IL. 60714. Telephone (847) 779-1900, fax (847) 647-6940, web: www.abdick.com.