May 12, 2003 -- CHICAGO, IL - Dan Laity likes to take chances. When an opportunity to buy Action Printing & Photography came along in 1995, he did so. Today, the Ohio shop owner is doing well. With some help from the A.B.Dick service team, he has increased productivity since purchasing a new 9995 two-color press and a used DPM2000 digital platesetter. “I am familiar with A.B.Dick’s technology and comfortable with automated equipment,” said Laity. A marketing service manager for a local manufacturer, he decided to buy Action Printing from an owner who was retiring after 20 years. When he took over, Laity began at square one using A.B.Dick presses. “I went to school for commercial photography and business degrees. When I bought this shop, it was by trial and error until I learned.” He has learned well. Laity employs another person to help him with his Fremont, Ohio customers, 95 percent of whom are business-to-business clients with little walk-up traffic. He made the call on the 9995 two-color press because it will serve as his bread and butter for several years. Laity acknowledged the used DPM2000 is first generation technology (A.B.Dick released the new DPM34 SC/HSC on April 28), but the quality it generates and the other benefits it possesses were too good to pass up. “My goal is to do more true two-color work and I’m really happy with how both pieces of equipment are performing,” said Laity. “The 9995 was affordable and I was familiar with how it worked after talking with people who have one. The quality is genuine, the auto-mated features are impressive, and I like how it holds the ink. It’s also very easy to use, con- sistent, and takes the guesswork out of everything. I’m saving both time and materials.” Laity does a variety of work for local businesses, including those in the education, health care and real estate fields. The majority of his forms and business card jobs are runs of 500 or less, with some up to 5,000, so productivity carries a lot of weight with him. “I’ve plated and run 8-1/2” x 11” eight page newsletters in the same time it would take me to only do the camera work, stripping and plate the job under my old methods,” said Laity. “You can’t beat the quality the DPM2000 is producing, nor it’s ability to hold fine screens. I do rudimentary desktop publishing and use the 8 mil polyester plates.” Since his operation is a two-man show, any measure that can save time is a huge benefit. Laity credits the A.B.Dick service team for making it happen. “I am very happy with the level of training and support I receive, just one of the reasons why I carry a service agreement on the DPM2000,” said Laity. “The installers set up parameters from the beginning, so my short-run, two spot color work only requires minimal adjustments since everything is right on the mark. The half tones look wonderful.” Someday, Laity intends to learn enough in order to try four-color. “I’m afraid that’s not possible yet but I will do it at some point in the future. The DPM2000 and the 9995 press are both well suited for that kind of work. I’ll just have to learn how to do it. It helps that A.B.Dick offers this type of four-color training.”