Westmont, Illinois — MAN Roland-equipped printers dominated the 2005 CIPPA Awards, which recognize the most effective use of the JDF standard to automate print production streams. The awards program is presented by the group responsible for the Job Definition Format — the International Cooperation for the Integration of Processes in Prepress, Press, and Postpress (CIP4). Two users of MAN Roland’s printnet PECOM press automation system — Kraft Druck & Bauer Druck — topped all other entries in two of CIPPA’s three award categories. Kraft Druck finished first for “Biggest improvement in efficiency and customer responsiveness.” Bauer Druck led all other competitors in the category: “Most innovative use of process automation technology.” And a third printnet-equipped printer, Druckhaus Berlin-Mitte (DBM), won honorable mention for “Best cost/benefit realization.” “This CIP4 competition is no popularity contest,” commented Hal Stratton, Director of New Technologies at MAN Roland Inc. “Kraft, Bauer and DBM had to achieve ROIs of 447%, 220% and 991%, respectively, to win their prizes. Those high levels of return on investment are indicative of how a printer can deploy printnet PECOM as part of a Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM) network that will increase his revenues and broaden his profit margins.” Located in Ettlingen, Germany, Kraft Druck integrated its three 41” ROLAND 700 presses, equipped with printnet PECOM, with a Kodak Creo Prinergy prepress workflow and a HIFLEX management information system (MIS) to streamline print production. The facility achieved a 447% ROI over one year, valued at $783,360. The gain included a 9.6% increase in press productivity and an extra hour of salable prepress time. Bauer Druck, headquartered in Cologne, networked its MAN Roland sheetfed presses to a HIFLEX MIS and a Muller Martini PrimaPlus saddle stitcher. Its 220% ROI in first year represented a net profit before taxes of $642,073. The benefits included reduced makeready time and the freeing up of more saleable hours. The honorable mention winner, Berlin’s DBM, links two ROLAND 700s, one ROLAND 900 and another sheetfed press to a HIFLEX MIS and a variety of finishing equipment. Its ROI over five years was 991.2%, representing $2,090,000. Included in the return are a $100,000 annual savings in labor costs and a 20% increase in productivity. “The three award winners are part of a rapidly growing group of 2,000 facilities around the world who are taking advantage of printnet PECOM automation,” Stratton said. “Here in the U.S. for example, we just completed an installation at Finlay Printing in Connecticut that linked the company’s MIS solution to its six-color and ten-color ROLAND 700s using printnet PECOM. So we might expect to see some American CIPPA winners in the near future.”