2/8/07 -- “Our current 8-color ROTOMAN is the fastest, most responsive printing press ColorGraphics owns. With two, we will be twice as responsive.” So says Craig Evans, Vice President of Sales at ColorGraphics, Inc., one of the West Coast’s leading high-quality commercial printers, with full-service facilities in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and Orange County, California. Accelerated Activation The company has purchased its second 8-color, 16-page ROTOMAN in four years. The new heatset web press will join ColorGraphics' existing ROTOMAN in Los Angeles in record-setting time, scheduled to begin this summer. The accelerated activation is necessary because customers are already lining up with work for the new high-speed high-quality web press. “Our expansion matrix requires that we have the business prior to buying new equipment,” Evans explains. “This acquisition will allow us to honor current commitments, and support our customers that plan to grow with ColorGraphics.” That growth rate should be rapid, capitalizing on ROTOMAN’s top operating speed of 60,000 copies per hour. “All aspects of our customers’ business revolve around time,” Evans observes. “ColorGraphics’ message to our customers is: ‘We will be the most responsive and easiest to do business with printer in the marketplace.’” The new press will further enhance ColorGraphics’ responsiveness by reducing makeready time. “The ROTOMAN we are purchasing will have all available automation, including Power Plate Loading, MAN Roland’s PECOM operating and networking system, closed loop color control and preset commands for stock, ink and folding configurations,” Evans says. “This technology will enable ColorGraphics to reduce downtime and control paper waste, which will help keep our manufacturing cost low and our pricing competitive.” Vince Lapinski, CEO of MAN Roland Inc., agrees that the new ROTOMAN’s technological edge will complement ColorGraphics’ marketing and production philosophies. "ColorGraphics has demonstrated that their innovative approach to the high quality/high quantity print market is a huge factor in their growth and success,” he notes. “MAN Roland is proud that ColorGraphics has chosen us as their pressroom partner." A Strategic Search ColorGraphics conducted an exhaustive review of 16-page web offset production systems before selecting the ROTOMAN. “The other press manufacturers all produce very good presses,” notes David Carns, Vice president of Manufacturing. “But head-to-head, the MAN Roland organization, along with its proven track record at ColorGraphics, helped us make this significant decision an easy one.” MAN Roland’s relationship with the West Coast-based printer might best be described as world class. “Their organization has demonstrated a strong commitment to ColorGraphics. From management to sales, and through to service, they have always been very proactive and responsive to our needs and requests.” This time, speed of installation was a key stipulation. “Our commitments to our customers required that the press be printing by mid-year,” says Carns. “MAN Roland was very supportive and creative in its approach to satisfy our installation requirements.” Space Program A second special request involved positioning the mega amount of equipment — including eight printing units, a MAN Roland jaw folder, a VITS sheeter and a MAN Roland pinless cutting system — in a restricted amount of real estate. “The MAN team was very helpful with planning the location of our press,” Carns reports. “We have significant space constraints and the MAN Roland engineers created an excellent plan for us.” In-depth training on the new ROTOMAN will be easily accomplished, thanks to ColorGraphics’ ongoing association with MAN Roland. “Our pressmen have been crossed trained on our current eight-color ROTOMAN. That will result in a very fast and predictable start up.” In fact, the new ROTOMAN will be ColorGraphics’ sixth heatset web press, and none of its existing systems will be affected by the upcoming installation. Evans indicates that the core structure of the company promotes such resilience: “ColorGraphics’ philosophy of one company/four locations is a very powerful business model. Our regional manufacturing facilities — Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and Orange County — support local markets with complete prepress and printing capabilities, allowing ColorGraphics to provide superior service and value to our local customers.” The Los Angeles plant provides 16-page heatset web solutions for ColorGraphics’ high-volume customers on the West Coast and throughout the nation. Supporting that coverage is the fact that all ColorGraphics locations are linked via high-speed data lines, and operate under common workflow and manufacturing guidelines. Evans sees the installation of the company’s second ROTOMAN as the continuation of a natural progression. “ColorGraphics has been a high volume, high quality printer for over 30 years, beginning with four sheetfed presses and one 8-page web,” he says. “Today our press equipment lineup is twelve 40-inch sheetfed presses and six heatset web presses. We have learned to embrace new technology that enables ColorGraphics to provide consistent product quality, and cost effective pricing to our customer base.” Paul Pirkle, Vice President of Commercial Web Sales at MAN Roland, points to the significance of ColorGraphics selecting a second ROTOMAN. “It’s clear that ColorGraphics carefully measures their investments in equipment on the basis of how a new system can benefit their customers,” he says. “That makes it particularly gratifying that they chose another ROTOMAN to expand their capacity.”