LINCOLNSHIRE, Ill. -- Mitsubishi Lithographic Presses (MLP U.S.A., Inc.) announced that its technology lineup for Print '09 will emphasize recent advances that enable printers to profit even with a weak economy and an increasingly competitive printing market.

"The entire six days of the show will reinforce the message of Mitsubishi's commitment to helping print providers overcome the challenges of this business climate," said Marke Baker, president.

Presentations in booth #1146 will showcase the exceptional productivity, operational cost savings and low environmental impact of the Diamond V3000LX sheetfed press. Mitsubishi will demonstrate superfast press makereadies and job changeovers on the six-color Diamond V3000LX with ultraviolet (UV) coating capabilities through live printing jobs performed several times daily.

Demonstrations also will highlight Diamond Color Navigator, recipient of the 2009 InterTech Technology Award from Printing Industries of America. Mitsubishi's ground-breaking color-adjustment system enables faster and easier fine-tuning of colors, a procedure that conventionally has been a highly skill-intensive operation.

Wide stock range
Engineered to deliver outstanding performance on various media across a thickness range of 0.0016 inches to 0.040 inches, the Diamond V3000LX is ideal for high-end commercial work, labels, packaging and point-of-purchase materials. It easily accommodates paper, plastic and board up to 29 1/2 x 41 11/32 inches. The press will print four collectible posters at the show.

Makeready automation
The Diamond V3000LX is loaded with systems to slash makeready times, including SimulChanger. The fully automated, simultaneous plate-changing system represents a giant leap in time savings related to makeready tasks, which is critical for small-lot printing, where frequent job changes are required.

Improvements in every unit and print process
Key features of the Diamond V3000LX include scratch-proof transfer and delivery skeleton cylinders, air showers above impression cylinders, a gripper height adjustment device and an individual air chamber at each printing unit. Improvements in air management prevent scratches and smudges when printing on thick sheets. Other features, including the Eco-Drive motor, lower power consumption and running costs.

Advanced mechanical components minimize problems -- such as imperfections caused by excessive powder, oil stains, scratches and misalignment -- before they occur. The cumulative effects are increased production availability time and a safe, stress-free and less-skill-dependent pressroom environment.

Measurable savings
Mitsubishi equipped the Diamond V3000LX with hardware and software innovations to decrease maintenance and makeready times. This sophisticated package includes an operation-combining cleaning mode, automatic grease-up positioning maintenance mode, automatic plate nip checking and simplified roller nip settings functions, improved automatic batch preset sequencing and multifunctional control touch panel at the delivery.

The maintenance mode feature facilitates adjustments and lubrication around rollers. An oil-less gripper shaft torsion bar and oil-less bearings on gripper shafts of impression and transfer cylinders shorten annual lubrication time by 75 hours. The cleaning mode function accelerates washing of ink rollers, blankets and impression cylinders. A powder-recovery unit in the delivery reduces cleaning tasks.

A newly developed plate-clamping system eliminates the need to bend the plate edge, saving 100 hours annually that would otherwise be spent bending plates. The upgraded impression pressure preset trims five minutes from stock thickness changes. The blanket washing system utilizes solvent-impregnated cloth that contains no volatile organic compounds, making washing safer for the environment.

Celebrating 25 years of excellence
Throughout 2009, Mitsubishi Lithographic Presses is celebrating 25 years of providing innovative press technology to advance printing excellence. Historical retrospectives in print, display graphics and video in the Mitsubishi booth will commemorate this milestone.

"One of our goals for Print '09 is to complement oral presentations and press demonstrations with a multilayered picture of MLP U.S.A. and our organization's contributions to the printing industry over the past 25 years of doing business in North America," Baker said.