SARASOTA, Fla. -- Just five weeks after Mitsubishi Lithographic Presses introduced the Diamond V3000 to the North American market at Graph Expo 2008, Coastal Printing, Inc. installed the first model in the new sheetfed press line in the United States. The Sarasota, Fla.-based commercial printer added a six-color Diamond V3000LS with tower coater to boost productivity and quality. The press arrived at Coastal Printing the first week of December 2008.

"The Diamond V3000LS is an entirely different machine," said Jack Palmer, operations manager of Coastal Printing. "Mitsubishi totally reengineered its Diamond 3000 series press line from the feeder to the delivery. The Diamond 3000 was a good press, but this new press represents a quantum leap in technology. It is virtually maintenance-free. The print quality is second to none."

The Diamond V3000LS prints a maximum sheet size of 29 1/2 x 41 11/32 inches, compared with the 28 3/8 x 40 1/8-inch maximum sheet size of its predecessor, the Diamond 3000LS. It has a sheet thickness range of 0.0016 inches to 0.024 inches.

Numerous design enhancements throughout the press minimize downtime. Operators save 75 hours per year in lubrication time thanks to the oil-less gripper shaft torsion bar and oil-less bearings on gripper shafts of impression and transfer cylinders. A new maintenance mode feature facilitates adjustments and lubrication in and around rollers.

Other production-enhancing features include a powder-recovery unit in the delivery that reduces cleaning tasks. The cleaning mode function saves time on end-of-job cleanup.

The Diamond V3000LS is loaded with automation technology to improve the task of press makereadies. Palmer said SimulChanger, Mitsubishi's newest plate-changing system, is most impressive at slashing makeready times.

"The ability to change all six plates at the same time within a minute and six seconds is unheard of," he said. "We can achieve true 15-minute makereadies. When you hang eight or 10 sets of plates in a day, the savings you gain put your competitors at a major disadvantage in pricing jobs."

Sheetfed presses operate with a phase differentiation between printing units in order to prevent shock marks. Positions of the cylinder are different for each printing unit when the press comes to a complete stop. For this reason, each plate cylinder must be positioned individually during plate changes.

"Mitsubishi discovered a method for synchronizing the phase differentiation so the plates at all units can be changed at the same time," Palmer said. "Plate cylinders at each unit automatically turn and stop at the optimum position for changing plates. Once the plate change is completed, the cylinders return to their proper phase for printing. SimulChanger is an incredible tool as far as makeready speed and accuracy. There is not another press manufacturer in the industry that can match it."

To aid in the press selection process, Coastal Printing devised a difficult print test for press manufacturers vying for the firm's business.

"Mitsubishi outperformed the other presses," Palmer said. "The test was designed to create failure. It should have resulted in severe ghosting. The Diamond V3000LS handled the printing flawlessly."

As part of the print test, Coastal Printing had the presses print and coat 60-pound coated one side paper, running at 14,000 sheets per hour and using an aqueous coating.

"That doesn't happen in a commercial environment, but we wanted to see if the delivery could handle the coated sheets without problems," Palmer said. "The Mitsubishi delivery did it easily. The delivery features a slow-down bar that runs the entire width of the sheet. Holes in the bar are drilled on a spiral. The sheet is smoothed out as it travels across the bar so it settles into the delivery more easily. There is less possibility of marking the sheet. Frankly, I was surprised to see any press handle the sheets as easily as the Mitsubishi press did."

Coastal Printing was established in 1971. Operating from a 34,000-square-foot facility staffed by 57 employees, the printer specializes in full-color books, magazines, product catalogs and brochures. The company utilizes both full-size and small-format sheetfed presses. Its capabilities include trimming, folding, die cutting, embossing and foil stamping. In addition to complete digital prepress services, Coastal Printing offers online submission and review of print projects.

"We have a reputation for being a very high-end commercial sheetfed printer," Palmer noted. "The Diamond V3000LS will enable us to print a much better product for the different types of work we do every day. The Color Navigator system will be a huge plus with our customers."

Diamond Color Navigator, Mitsubishi's revolutionary color adjustment option, automates the fine-tuning of colors to match color proofs. It reduces dependence on the color knowledge of press operators and eliminates complicated ink key moves. It also simplifies remote-controlled operations related to adjustments, such as register, water fountain and ink fountain rotation speed and ductor roller on/off timing.

"We were extremely impressed when we saw Color Navigator at Drupa 2008," Palmer pointed out. "Mitsubishi covered up the keys on the press console and ran the demonstration press using just Color Navigator. It showcased what an excellent system it is."