October 22, 2007 -- The nation's capital is teeming with trade associations, and District Creative Printing knows how to keep them satisfied with high quality and fast turnaround production. That's why when the company wanted to expand the scope and services it provides to association clients, it installed a new five-color ROLAND 700 HiPrint press with an inline coater. The acquisition makes District Creative Printing the first in the mid-Atlantic with the recently launched midsize model from MAN Roland.
Located in the DC-suburb of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, District Creative Printing operates a fleet of five MAN Roland presses in addition to the new HiPrint. A full-service bindery and digital printing round out the full range of capabilities it delivers.
The production profile of the ROLAND 700 HiPrint is a perfect complement to District Creative Printing's can-do approach. The new press line is designed to help printers add value to their work to make their applications more attractive and more useful to their customers.
District Creative Printing's Jimmy Van Wie sees broader advantages to be gained too. "For one thing, the ROLAND 700 HiPrint is going to increase our quality capabilities," he says. "It will make us more productive as well. HiPrint will speed things up to enable us to provide faster turn times for our clients. That's the main reason we selected this MAN Roland press."
Jimmy Van Wie co-owns the facility with his father, James Van Wie, Sr., and his uncle, William Van Wie. The business was founded by James Sr. back in the 60s and hasn't stopped growing since.
Growth Plan
Jimmy Van Wie purchased the new HiPrint specifically to be a business builder. "It's not replacing anything in our pressroom," he explains. "So it is providing us with all new capacity that we can offer to our clients and to new prospects."
District Creative Printing's proximity to the nation's capital puts the company in marketing range of a new business bonanza. "The federal government attracts a lot of trade associations into the area, and they require a lot of printing," Van Wie says. "So there's quite a bit of volume here to go after. Unfortunately, trade associations attract other printing companies, so the competition is quite fierce. That's why we have to stay on top of technology with systems like our new ROLAND 700 HiPrint."
District Creative Printing's trade association business requires production of a wide variety of materials, ranging from brochures and stationary to newsletters and magazines.
"Convention programs are another major item," Van Wie adds. "We do a lot of conference and convention work. That often amounts to large lots of time sensitive material that need to be produced very quickly. HiPrint will be of value there, helping us complete jobs more rapidly for our clients."
Family Favorite
Partnering with MAN Roland to acquire the latest technology is somewhat of a family tradition at District Creative Printing. "My dad bought his first MAN Roland press in 1972," Van Wie recalls.  "He had such great success with that first Roland press that he has just stuck with them."
Jimmy Van Wie is following in his father's footsteps as a MAN Roland fan. "We've had an occasional Harris or Heidelberg in here," he notes. "But the MAN Rolands always work better and last longer than those other presses."
District Creative Printing relies on that high degree of longevity to grow its production strength. Its pressroom is now home to four 41-inch MAN Roland presses, ranging from a six-color with coater to two-color models, in addition to a 28-inch two-color MAN Roland, and a 50-inch two-color press.
"I rarely trade my old presses in when I get a new one," says Van Wie. " So we have some new presses in here and some older ones too. But even the oldest ones still produce quality work. MAN Roland presses hold their value and they work well over the long term. Until someone gives us a reason to change, we're not going anywhere."
Service Sightings
The level of service District Creative Printing receives from MAN Roland is another key element that keeps the two companies close. "MAN Roland has always helped us when we needed it," Van Wie remarks.
Meanwhile, District Creative Printing is gearing up to use the installation of the new press as a marketing point. A direct mail campaign is in the works, and a newsletter detailing the advantages of the new press will be forthcoming. After all, it's not every day you're first in the mid-Atlantic with the latest pressroom technology.