June 28, 2004 -- KBA North America, a leading sheetfed offset press manufacturer based in Williston, VT, has installed a 74 Karat digital offset press with coater at Zooom Printing, a five-employee shop located in the historic Shockoe Bottom area of Richmond, Va. The new 74 Karat digital offset press was installed in December 2003 and started to produce live jobs in Feb. 2004. Recently, KBA North America regional sales manager Dwight Squires presented Zooom Printing’s Jo Ann Rossi with a hand-made replica of the 74 Karat press. “In the three years that we’ve established our company, we felt we needed a new press to expand our business,”says Jo Ann Rossi, president of Zooom Printing. “The 74 Karat digital offset press has changed what we can produce. We wanted to be able to coat our jobs; we wanted to be able to reduce our make-ready times dramatically; we wanted abigger sheet size; and we wanted a press that would maintain our high-quality output. The only press we found was KBA’s 74 Karat. Since we’ve installed the press, we’ve been so busy that we haven’t had any breathing room” Prior to installing the 74 Karat, Zooom Printing utilized a smaller format size DI press. The firm found itself turning work away because of the smaller sheet size. Today, Zooom Printing produces general commercial work, such as brochures, annual reports, and posters for ad agencies and marketing firms in the Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. areas. Recently, Zooom Printing produced a unique job on the 74 Karat for The White House. First Lady Laura Bush was planning the annual Easter Egg Roll on the White House lawn and wanted to give away Easter baskets to special attendees. She commissioned an artist to produce a drawing of the view from the White House on to the lawn and gardens. Zooom Printing took the artist’s drawing and produced paper on the 74 Karat used to create custom gift boxes. The paper also said, “Easter at the White House 2004.” Zooom Printing produced only 250 of the original pieces.. At the dedication ceremony for the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., custom-made commemorative lapel pins were distributed to special attendees. Zooom Printing produced the pins’ packaging on the 74 Karat by printing small postcard-size cards, on which each pin was presented. The cards displayed photos of the new WWII memorial on the front and educational text on the back. “We are extremely pleased that Zooom Printing is using our 74 Karat digital offset press for high-profile jobs,”says Ralf Sammeck, KBA North America’s president and CEO. “Our 74 Karat’s high-quality and fast turnaround, as well as the possibility, to produce very short runs in a very cost efficient way, will allow Zooom Printing to grow and expand into new markets.” After working for several print shops in design and prepress, Ben Rossi conceived the idea of establishing his own print shop. He had a very specific niche, which he felt was underserved in the Richmond region: producing full-color, short-run, high quality offset colorwork. The company was established in 2001 by Jo Ann and Ben Rossi and produces run lengths from 500 to 20,000. Please find a downloadable version of this PR including photos at: www.kba-print.com/vt/headlines/digital/2004-06-28-00/