Kennesaw, GA - Any graphic communications company that can point to an average annual growth rate between 20 and 40 percent certainly commands attention. Established as a 1,000-square-foot quick print shop with two employees in 1986, Triangle Communications Group (TCG), Raleigh, NC has established a record of growth and innovation that is at once a point of corporate pride and the source of its forward momentum.

TCG president Jeff Majewski is among those company owners who sought to broaden their company offerings as a hedge against the soft commercial market of the past several years. The ambitious printer has systematically upgraded its all-Heidelberg pressroom to include machines in every format size, as well as made key MIS and prepress software improvements designed to promote faster, more efficient production. Key to TCG's success is a farsighted investment strategy, which saw the November 2009 installation of an ultra-productive Heidelberg Speedmaster XL 105 6-color hybrid UV press with extended delivery, DryStar dryer, FoilStar cold foil module and Image Control color measuring system, which the company shares with its Speedmaster CD 74 5-color perfector.

"In preparation for our step up to 40-inch format, we decided to upgrade our prepress workflow by installing a Suprasetter 102 with Prinect Prepress Manager, Meta Dimension RIP and Signa Station imposition station," Majewski said. "Shortly thereafter, we also switched to Saphira Thermal aluminum plates, yielding an increase in efficiency from 70 to 100 percent over the competitive plates we had been using, even now that we're burning plates 24 hours a day."

Critical improvements have also included the installation of Heidelberg's Prinect Prinance MIS system and Prinect Pressroom Manager workflow to handle the urgent demands of a diversified print shop. Among other benefits, Majewski said, TCG's revamped prepress workflow "has cut our proof output time to less than 24 hours."

"Now that we're Prinected," he continued, "everything is connected and accessible via computer terminal. The integration between software and hardware is just tremendous. Now we deal with facts and actualities. There's no guesswork involved." Best of all, Majewski said, "Heidelberg is the company that knows it all. The support they offer is tremendous. They make it all work."