May 6, 2003 -- CHICAGO, IL - Time is money to George Kolotorous at Hermes Graphics in New York City. The difference now compared to a year ago is that it takes him less time to do a job, meaning he makes more money. That’s because he was the first printer in New York City to acquire and co-link an A.B.Dick automated 9995A-ICS (Ink Control System) two-color press with Ink Volume Setter, with a DPM2340 digital platesetter with ScanMaster. He also invested in an OpenProof proofing solution. Hermes Graphics operated as Hermes Litho for 20 years before Kolotorous changed the name in 2000. He went to work for his father as a pressman in 1988 and later learned about pre-press before assuming control of the business, which is located on West 36th Street. Having developed strong relationships with customers in the fashion district, Kolotorous needed to find a way to do more affordable two and four-color work. “Since we bought this equipment from A.B.Dick, life is a whole lot easier,” remarked Kolotorous. “We needed to bridge the gap and after looking at several four-color units, we determined that an automatic, two-color press was a more affordable and wiser choice. We’ve been very pleased with the quality and the units are well built, but it’s not just the product that influenced us. Service is very important and the personal relationship that’s been established with Bob Morelli at A.B.Dick made this a comfortable decision.” Kolotorous estimates he is saving 1-1/2 hours per project, the equivalent of six to eight hours or almost one full work day per week, with his new equipment. “The automation is terrific because there is no down time now in make ready, which is where a profit can be killed,” said Kolotorous. “I’ve been able to reduce my time from 60 or 90 minutes down to 20. If you average three jobs a day, it adds up.” With the type of clients they have, everything is a specialty. Kolotorous, who employs two others in the business, handles projects from fancy letterheads to four-color, 5” x 7” postcards for designers and advertisers. Most of the work is in the 2,000 to 5,000 run range. “The DPM2340 is the first image device I’ve owned and is light years ahead of what I did before when I sent work to a pre-press company,” said Kolotorous. “The 8 mil poly plates I’ve been using have performed very well. The quality is consistently outstanding.”Kolotorous expected the 9995A-ICS to perform well based on his press knowledge. “I knew all about the independent dampening system and it has delivered everything it promised. The automated plate loaders improve consistency and image register. The Ink Control System (ICS) and Ink Volume Setter software helps our product by automating the ink density settings. These enhancements translate into less waste and time savings when a customer requests a repeat job order at a later date.” Kolotorous is finding OpenProof to be a simple, cost-effective and easy-to-use digital proofing system. Using it with an Epson 3000 printer, he can specify a custom separated proof in any combination between one and four process colors once the job is RIPped to the DPM2340. The result is precise and greater color accuracy.