LINCOLNSHIRE, Ill. — Mitsubishi Lithographic Presses (MLP U.S.A., Inc.) hosted a highly successful technology open house June 28-29 at the company's headquarters in Lincolnshire, Ill. Billed as "Diamond Days," the event focused on the theme "New Technology Opening News Worlds," exemplified by the latest advancements in the Diamond series 40-inch sheetfed press lineup. Existing and prospective customers representing a cross-section of U.S. commercial and packaging printing companies were given hands-on demonstrations of the Diamond 3000LX wide stock range press and Diamond 3000TP Tandem Perfector. Complete makereadies and job changeovers showcased the individual strengths of a six-color Diamond 3000LX and a four-over-four Tandem Perfector. In addition, Mitsubishi unveiled several new products, including a Mabeg Model RS 104 inline reel sheeter engineered for use with Mitsubishi Diamond series presses. Wide stock range, diverse products The Diamond 3000LX is available with up to 10 printing units, and can be outfitted with an inline aqueous or ultraviolet coating unit. The press effortlessly prints on 0.002-inch thick paper up to 0.040-inch board at 16,000 sheets per hour for high-speed production of folding cartons, posters and point-of-purchase displays. An optional plastics package incorporates special features to eliminate marking, warping and static problems that are common when printing on plastics and synthetic paper. The enhanced printing capabilities open the door to restaurant menus, recipe books, credit/gift cards and other high-priced niche products. Printing perfection The Tandem Perfector can be configured with any combination of reverse-side and front-side units up to a total of 12 printing units. The press prints both sides of the sheet without reversing the sheet. The patented three-cylinder transfer system, called the Translink unit, maintains the same leading edge gripper throughout the run, ensuring accurate register on both sides of the sheet. Mitsubishi offers the Tandem Perfector as a paper press or a carton model, with associated stock ranges of 0.0016 inches to 0.024 inches or 0.008 inches to 0.032 inches. Inline tower coaters or chamber coaters and fully integrated drying packages for aqueous, ultraviolet (UV) or hybrid applications meet the diversified range of value-added product requirements. Four special jobs Print jobs designed specifically for Diamond Days demonstrations emphasized the two presses' ability to handle changeovers, different substrates and variable ink coverage. The Diamond 3000LX printed a portfolio folder on 12 -mil. synthetic paper and a folding carton utilizing 36-point solid fiberboard, both with UV coating. The Tandem Perfector printed a two-sided poster on 18-point board with aqueous coating applied to the front side and a 16-page color brochure on 80-pound text. "The demonstrations were great," commented Dan Lay, pressroom supervisor for CJK, a Cincinnati-based printer of multipage bound documents. "Everything came together nicely. We are always looking at technology that may offer a better way of doing things." Carter Printing Co., one of the largest commercial printers in Virginia, installed a six-color, 56-inch Diamond 6000LS press in 2005. The press helped boost sales by 30 percent. "Our print volume has been growing so fast that the large-format Mitsubishi press is basically at capacity," noted Wayne Carter, president. "The increased capacity from adding a perfecting press would free up the larger press and accommodate more jobs." Kevin McCarthy of commercial printer Spectragraphic Inc. in Commack, N.Y., said he came away impressed with the Tandem Perfector. "Spectragraphic is exploring perfecting presses that can print four-over-four or even six-over-six, possibly using UV inks," McCarthy said. "The Tandem Perfector prints very well. I definitely liked the way the press operated with an inline sheeter." Roll-to-sheet conversion "The Mabeg RS 104 and the Tandem Perfector working together make a powerful combination," observed Ken Kodama, Mitsubishi's vice president of sheetfed sales. Inline conversion from roll to sheet provides a number of advantages, such as savings on paper costs, less paper waste and easier storage of paper rolls. Kodama points out that there can be as much as a 30-percent savings with rolls versus sheets. "Reel stock also allows you more flexibility in cutting sheets to the desired length and size before they are fed into the press," he added. "Changing over from reel printing to sheets takes only 10 minutes." Quality control technologies Mitsubishi also introduced two new technologies designed to improve print quality: Portable DRA and the Mitsubishi Color Control System V (MCCS-V). Portable DRA is the latest version of Digital Register Analysis, the exclusive system for measuring and analyzing press performance. Portable DRA is the only system that can identify the cause and location of complex mechanical problems in any size or make of press and recommend appropriate solutions. Mitsubishi service technicians can quickly analyze a press' mechanical performance at the customer site. The MCCS-V is a spectrophotometric system for color management. Unlike standard equipment that measures and controls print quality by scanning color bars on the printed sheet, the MCCS-V scans the entire print image. It records all the image data for a print sheet in a single measuring operation. Vendor representatives K.G. Katayama, president of Mitsubishi Lithographic Presses, delivered the official greeting for the open house. Guests had an opportunity to meet other senior Mitsubishi executives and vendor representatives as well. Dr. Jochem Tietze, president of Mabeg, and Dr. Daniel Burkhardt, assistant to the general manager, delivered presentations on the RS 104 reel sheeter. Vince Kowalski, vice president of technical sales for Graphix LLC, was on hand to answer questions about the Diamond 3000LX's UV drying unit. Kodak, which supplied Staccato screening technology and all prepress systems for the demonstrations, was represented by Joe Stein. Mitsubishi Diamond series sheetfed presses are available in a range of sizes, from the 28-inch Diamond 1000 series to the 56-inch Diamond 6000 series, and configurations up to 12 printing units. Fast job makeready, ease of operation and high throughput are hallmarks of the Diamond series. Mitsubishi is at the forefront of the implementation of the Job Definition Format specification, and is working with other vendors toward full integration of Mitsubishi presses into a JDF-enabled workflow.