October 24, 2007 -- LAS VEGAS - Ever since Haig's Quality Printing installed a new Mitsubishi sheetfed press in June for printing with ultraviolet (UV) inks and coatings, CEO Haig Atamian can look at a job and see any number of advantages to applying UV.
"It seems like every project could benefit from UV," Atamian said. "In the past, jobs would come in and I'd wish we had a UV press because of all the important functions that UV serves."
The high-end commercial printer's goal is to run only UV jobs on the six-color, 40-inch Diamond 3000S press. The company wasted no time trying out various energy-curable ink and coating methods.
"We have been experimenting with texturing of paper using different UV inks and coating," Atamian said. "We also have been experimenting and receiving orders to print on vinyl and other types of plastic substrates."
With 85 employees and two buildings in Las Vegas totaling 31,000 square feet devoted to manufacturing, administrative and mailing functions, the $15 million company caters to customers who are particular about achieving the best-suited solution for their specific applications. Six-, seven- and eight-color jobs printed for the entertainment and casino industries, nationwide companies and government agencies dominate the printer's workload.
To deliver the premium quality its customers expect, Haig's operates two 40-inch Mitsubishi presses - the new six-color Diamond 3000S and an eight-color Diamond 3000R convertible perfector with aqueous coater installed in 2003 - as well as a five-color, half-web press with inline folding, gluing and perforating units. The Diamond 3000S replaced a six-color, 40-inch press from another manufacturer.
Two Xeikon digital color printers and black-and-white laser printers round out the roster of printing equipment. Two Agfa Galileo computer-to-plate systems image thermal plates used by the pressroom. Postpress capabilities include die cutting, folding, foiling and stitching.
Haig's has a history of experimenting with techniques that enrich finished products. For example, the company began testing stochastic screening in 1993. Agfa's CristalRaster software has been its default screening technology since 1996.
Hexachrome is another atypical process that Haig's has championed. Introduced in 1994 by Pantone Inc., Hexachrome enlarged the printable color gamut by exchanging typical process cyan, magenta, yellow and black inks with brighter CMYK inks. Orange and green inks were added to complement the vibrant CMYK colors.
"Our experience with stochastic printing and the six-color Hexachrome process is well known to customers all over the world," Atamian said. "We have printed numerous record and CD covers for musical artists who want to achieve a look that is over and above the normal printing colors."
Atamian is keen on perfecting the UV printing technique to further satisfy customer demands.
"We are printing really awesome work on uncoated paper, which I have always dreamt of doing but was not able," Atamian said.
The Diamond 3000S is equipped with a Peak UV and infrared drying package from Air Motion Systems Inc. Peak UV cures the UV inks via interdeck UV lamps between each printing unit. Lamps in the final station cure the coating.
Many customers like the high contrast and very high gloss and dull matte finishes the UV press can produce. Other applications that Haig's employs to create unique end products include printing light colors on dark substrates and dry trapping varnishes.
"On a conventional press, varnishes required such a long time to dry," Atamian noted. "Now the varnishes come off the press dry. It looks great and speeds production."
In addition to UV's instant curing properties and its vibrancy and shine, UV printing eliminates the need for anti-offset spray powders.
"Spray powder is a nuisance," Atamian observed. "It makes the finished product rough and serves to smudge the ink in subsequent operations. It gets on the lasers when printing variable information on preprinted shells."
Determination to make Haig's the leader in both dynamic color and dramatic UV finishes drives the company in its technology decisions.
"To produce high-grade materials, you need high-grade equipment," Atamian stated. "We are very pleased with Mitsubishi presses. The quality of the dot structure is so much better than other presses we have operated."