Kennesaw, Ga. -- Facing budget constraints, the Hawaii State Department of Education (DOE) recently instructed its various departments to funnel the majority of their printing work to the DOE’s 35-year-old in-plant reprographics operation rather than outsource it. The challenge was to upgrade the shop’s existing capabilities to accommodate an influx of work from more than 250 public schools across all seven Hawaiian Islands, including an increased demand for more color printing. Anticipating the increased workload, the DOE shrewdly replaced an aging competitive single-color press with a Heidelberg Speedmaster SM 74-two-color perfector. Now, said Administrator Jason Seto,  “I can’t see how we did without a perfecting press. We already are showing that we can do many more jobs in-house, which makes for a better bottom line for the entire Department.”
 
The automated features of the new Speedmaster 74 have earned the enthusiastic unqualified approval of Seto and his staff of 16. “It’s a pleasure to run. Program controlled wash-up and automatic plate changing mean no more wrenches or manual adjustment, the ease of switching from straight 2-color printing to perfecting is amazing, and the print quality is fantastic,” Seto said. “We run full solid bleeds on 20x26” sheets with no streaking or ghosting, and the register is dead accurate. We all love it.” The shop continues to “run the heck” out of its existing Heidelberg GTO and QM 46 single-color presses, and utilizes Saphira blankets, packing materials, ink foils, rollers, wash-up cloths and other consumables, Seto adds.
 
Because postpress operations were not exempt from the DOE edict to limit outsourcing, Seto’s department also purchased a Stahlfolder B20 with right-angle attachment and Eurobind 600 hotmelt machine to handle the bulk of its finishing needs. “We no longer have to outsource our perfect binding,” Seto said,” and we’ve dramatically reduced the amount of GBC binding we used to do. The results are much more durable and professional looking,” he said.
 
Having worked previously in the commercial sector, Seto and his staff are well acquainted with Heidelberg’s reputation for quality, service and a “no baloney” approach to its customers. “The service people are knowledgeable and responsive, and I can get parts when I need them,” Seto said. “That’s why we prefer Heidelberg, and why we will continue to work with them.”