PhotoCraft, located in Portland, Oregon, is one of the leading producers of high quality creative in-store signage, pop-up displays, gift card carriers, and commercial graphic images for major retail manufacturers for over 20 years. Major athletic shoe manufacturers and retail clothing store chains depend on PhotoCraft for their quality of print and their efficiency in long-run printing jobs.
 
When starting their search for a new press to join their pressroom, they had a laundry list of requirements – automation, color, and value-added printing features were key factors in the decision. They decided to go with an 8-color ROLAND 700 press from one of their sister companies within their parent corporation, Taylor Corp. The press features full automation, perfecting, coating, and the patented InlineFoiler Prindor cold foil system.
 
"Automation was really the main factor in choosing the press. We were ready for something more in that area, and once we saw the press in action, and talked to the people using it, we knew it would be a good fit for us," stated Dan Hunter, PhotoCraft's Product Realization Manager.
 
"The installation and move of the press went great. The press came in on schedule, and our installation team from manroland spotted and solved any previous maintenance issues during the install," said Hunter, "The installation and training teams were very proactive, and didn't brush-off any of our questions or ignore any possible issues."
 
After the installation, PhotoCraft's team continued their relationship with manroland by choosing to utilize the PRINTVALUE portfolio of services, including Telepresence, manroland's remote service option, and printcom, manroland's line of consumables.
 
"We don't have our own maintenance crew onsite. With manroland, we get immediate support and such a quick response on parts and consumables, it's not really necessary. We know that if we have a problem, we have a person on the other end of the line who can help us," Hunter said.
 
Upgrading to the newer press technology wasn't a strain on PhotoCraft's current workforce. Dan Hunter confirmed the value of manroland's extensive training program. "The learning curve for our press crews to update from older technologies wasn't as steep as I thought it was going to be. Our trainer from manroland did such a good job, our crew was able to make the change without a problem," stated Hunter.
 
Since the installation of the press in the Summer of 2010, PhotoCraft's production volume has already increased substantially. "Downloading the information from prepress through the printnet system has been a major upgrade for us," said Hunter, "And with the decreased make ready times for wash-ups and plate changes, the press has made dramatic improvements to our productivity."