Hudson, NH – December 1, 2008 – Presstek Inc., a leading manufacturer and marketer of digital offset printing solutions, reported that Star Print & Mail has acquired a Presstek 52DI press. Star Print & Mail has been in business since 1906 and was acquired by the Swanson family in 1978.

"We installed a toner-based HP-Indigo about nine months ago," said Allan Swanson, Sr., co-owner of Star Print & Mail.  "We soon discovered that there was a significant production gap between the digital press and our 6-color 40-inch presses. The Presstek 52DI press is ideally suited for runs of 1,000 to 20,000 and nicely serves this high capacity production space. In addition, we recently became FSC certified, and Presstek as a company was very interesting to us based on its heritage of bringing environmentally sustainable printing solutions to market."

Presstek's 52DI press is one of the most efficient and effective solutions for producing fast turnaround short run, high quality color on a wide range of substrates. All plates are imaged on-press, in precise register, with fast makeready in as few as 20 sheets, especially important when using expensive stocks. Its waterless printing ensures fast drying and reduced water consumption, and its chemistry-free platemaking combined with reduced paper waste also ensures an optimum environmental footprint.

"Star Print & Mail is a terrific example of a hybrid manufacturing operation," said Mark Levin, Presstek's President of the Americas Region. "The company is leveraging a production blend of its new Presstek 52DI press, conventional offset and digital toner-based printing to optimize its capabilities and improve its competitive advantage.  We are pleased to be partnering with Allan, Kimberle and their team."

Star Print & Mail is producing both static and variable printing.  Swanson adds, "Today's buyers want one-stop shopping; that's what this production mix gives us.  We have drawn a line in the sand: For any job that comes in here requiring more than 1,000 sheets, barring very heavy personalization, we will give serious consideration to running it on the 52DI.  In addition, we believe that pre-printing offset shells on the DI for variable work is the most cost effective means of producing variable data, and our customers-as well as our own bottom line-will benefit from this strategy." Star Print & Mail does a significant volume of smaller mailings for colleges, hospitals and local businesses that are perfectly suited to this hybrid production approach.

Presstek 52DI: Profitability, Speed, Quality and Environmental Benefits
For companies looking for a faster and more profitable way to produce environmentally friendly, high-quality, short-run color printing, Presstek's 52DI digital offset press is the ideal solution.  This highly automated sheetfed, four-color DI press effectively bridges the gap between conventional offset and digital toner-based presses by offering one of the lowest costs per sheet for print run quantities ranging from 500 to 20,000. According to InfoTrends research, the Presstek DI delivers a 50 percent cost savings on average per letter-size page when compared to a high-volume production color toner-based device and job profitability is 13 percent higher on a DI press when compared to a conventional offset press.

Presstek's 52DI press offers the ability to print on a wide range of substrates from 0.06 mm to 0.5 mm (0.0024" to 0.02") thick. High quality is achieved with up to 300 lpi printing, as well as stochastic (FM) screening without incurring additional time or expense. Presstek 52DI is a 52cm landscape format press that operates at printing speeds of up to 10,000 sheets per hour, while supporting a maximum sheet size of 20.47" x 14.76" (510 x 360mm), one of the largest sizes in its class.