BOXBOROUGH, MASS -- October 15, 2008  Apollo Systems today entered the commercial printing marketplace with the launch of the industrys first press-side full-sheet inspection scanner for sheetfed presses. The Marksman scans full printed sheets and, by comparing the printed sheet to the approved proofsheets, identifies and highlights variances and defects. Using the Marksmans advanced digital-detection software, printers can now offer clients the comfort of digital inspection analysis, while benefitting from paper, ink, labor, and time savings. Apollo Systems will be showcasing Marksman with The Color Management Group in the La Crosse Litho Supply booth (#2819) at Graph Expo (October 26-29, 2008) at the McCormick Place South in Chicago. For more information, go to http://www.apollo-systems.com.  
 
Industry Data: Waste and Spoilage
 
A growing concern in the industry, both from an ecological and economical standpoint, is spoilage and waste. According to PIA/GATFs 2004-2005 Productivity Benchmark Report, the average sheetfed printer can expect to incur 4.3% waste (3% waste and 1.3% unexpected spoilage) of paper and ink on a typical 4-color, 10K print run. For print runs of 2000 to 5000, planned waste jumps to 16.7% (12.9% and 3.8%).
 
According to Ken Michaud, CEO of George H. Dean Company -- a family-owned, independent print shop since 1889 in Braintree, Massachusetts, If we can save 10% of 2 million dollars worth of paper, Ive paid for the Marksman three times over. From a printers viewpoint, this paper and ink savings alone marks a competitive advantage in any marketplace.

Marksman User Feedback
 
In addition to paper and ink savings, other users are realizing subsequent benefits. The level of accuracy is fantastic, notes Tom OBrien, Director of Printing and Laminating at Arthur Blank & Company. Theres no question that it does a very effective job of measuring color values and inspecting for print defects. Weve been using it for 3 months, and the Marksman has cut our on-press running inspection time by about 50%, and helped raise our level of quality. In our line of specialty printing, its all about quality, and the Marksman is an outstanding quality-assurance tool.
 
The time it saves my press team enables me to more efficiently allocate my labor. Based on our experience, we expect to realize even greater gains moving forward using the Marksman. Founded in 1934, Arthur Blank & Company has evolved into one of the largest worldwide (and the largest in North America) providers of plastic cards, serving government, financial and commercial retail customers worldwide.
 
Apollos Applied Science
 
With a history of providing high-end inspection technology to the worlds leading currency and bank note producers, Apollo has a long history of delivering when critical accuracy and reliability are demanded. Apollos Marksman is the only full-sheet/full-image color analysis and defect inspection systems in the commercial printing market. It offers todays time and cost-sensitive printers:
 
  Complete 40 sheet scans, analyzing over ten million pixel elements, in just 30 seconds, while capable of scanning up to two sheets per minute;
 
  Detection of hickies, streaks, voids, scumming, shifts, tinting, ghosting, spots, splashes, over-inking, under-inking, color variances, and much more;
 
  Digital display of a full-image negative mask with variances and defects highlighted, while enabling operators to quickly zoom in or out to view microscopic details or macro overviews;
 
  Two different sized scanners: a 40 inch scanner or a 25 inch scanner;
 
  Scanning of any color bars or controls, anywhere on the sheet, with pin-point accuracy of up to 500 operator-defined ink density patches.