FAIRFIELD, N.J. -- Cooper Printing Co., Inc., a family owned, 30-employee commercial printer, added a Mitsubishi sheetfed press to its 32,000-square-foot facility. The 40-inch press, a six-color Diamond 3000S, is equipped with a Harris & Bruno anilox coater and will augment capacity for the $4 million firm. "Presses in general have improved dramatically over the past few years," observed Tom Cooper Sr., who started the printing company in 1975. "The new technology on the Mitsubishi press outperforms earlier models. The difference in print quality, makeready speed, time savings and materials usage is tremendous." Cooper Printing purchased a six-color, 40-inch Mitsubishi press in 1995 and another six-color, 40-inch Mitsubishi in 2000. The Diamond 3000S replaced the 11-year-old press. "We have been very impressed with the performance of Mitsubishi presses, so we were comfortable buying another Mitsubishi," Cooper said. "The learning curve for adjusting to the new-style blanket-washing system, computerized control console and other updated technology on the press was very short. The Mitsubishi instructors were excellent, resulting in zero '911 emergency' calls after they left our building, The new press also was available for immediate delivery to our plant, which made the decision even easier." With complete prepress and finishing capabilities, Cooper Printing produces ad sheets, catalogs, pocket folders and collateral for clients in the pharmaceutical, fashion, jewelry and manufacturing industries. Cooper cited quicker makereadies as a major advantage of the Diamond 3000S. "We can send makeready data directly from the prepress department to the press console to set the ink keys," Cooper said. "The mechanical part of the makeready is more streamlined, too. The semiautomated plate-changing system changes six plates in less than six minutes, without tools. The tensioning of plates is automated and consistently precise. Blanket washing is much faster. That saves a lot of time." Cooper also pointed to savings of printing-related consumables. "The press wash-up uses considerably less cleaning materials," he said. "The Harris & Bruno coating unit lays down a more even coat, so we have reduced the amount of coating needed for jobs. The Harris & Bruno washes up automatically and requires only about 10 minutes a week of attention." The Delta dampening system helps reduce makeready times while improving print quality on the finished projects, according to Cooper. "The Delta dampener provides a better ink-water balance and control," he explained. "It removes paper lint and prevents hickeys. We print smoother, denser solids." Additionally, the temperature-controlled ink oscillating rollers maintain proper temperature for improved ink distribution on the plate. "The chiller unit provides a constant temperature of water circulating through the oscillator rollers," Cooper said. "The result is consistent print quality. This unit requires a new filter once a year, and that's it as far as maintenance."