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Ripon heating up new markets with North America's first stacked ROTOMAN

Press release from the issuing company

Ripon, Wisconsin — Ripon Community Printers has ordered a two-web 16/32 page ROTOMAN with eight units that will work in a stacked configuration. The press will be delivered at year’s end and be up and running by next spring. Ripon’s ROTOMAN represents two milestones: First, it is Ripon’s first heatset web. Currently, the company is known as one of the leading coldset printers in the nation. Second, it is the first stacked ROTOMAN in North America. Asked why he chose MAN Roland and ROTOMAN, Andy Lyke, the company’s owner, responded that he and his team took the time to conduct extensive first-hand research before arriving at a decision. “We felt they had the best press out there after looking at all the other competitors,” Lyke said. “MAN Roland is highly respected in the industry.” “We also talked to some other printers who said they had considered MAN Roland and thought the company’s presses were the best but that they couldn’t afford a ROTOMAN,” he continued. “That to me is a good sign.” With the competitive edge his new ROTOMAN will provide, Lyke foresees no problem in building a market for the heatset products the new press will produce. “We have the market infrastructure in place to support heatset,” he said. “And we anticipate some of our coldset customers will move into heatset printing.” Generating annual sales of more than $38 million with a staff of 350, Ripon Community Printers is capping its current round of expansion with an addition to its building to provide room for three web offset presses. It will eventually house two stacked web offset presses and an inline cover press. The new ROTOMAN will be the facility’s first production system.