ATLANTA - New 8-up offset presses that reduce consumables cost by 30%.  New-generation LED-UV instant curing that cuts power consumption by more than 80%.

These important technology advances from Ryobi took center stage at a recent open house that drew more than 100 printers from across the U.S. and Canada.  The event was held by Graphic Systems North America, the exclusive supplier of Ryobi printing presses, Oct. 28-29 in Atlanta.

Printers learned first-hand how Panasonic’s latest-generation LED-UV curing system on a Ryobi 8-up press can have big impacts across their business.  In addition to the large savings in power costs, LED-UV curing dramatically reduces job delivery time to the customer, eases bottlenecks in the bindery and greatly scales back environmental impacts.  It can even help accelerate job invoicing for improved cash flow.

The open house featured four separate standing-room-only demonstrations of a new five-color, 8-up RYOBI 925 press equipped with LED-UV curing units.  That press was sold to a Canadian commercial printer and is one of four RYOBI 920 series presses recently sold by GSNA.

Graphic Systems North America leadership is GSNA West: Print & Finishing Solutions; GSNA Central: Graphco; GSNA Northeast: G.E. Richards; GSNA Southeast: Paper Handling Solutions; GSNA Eastern Canada: KBR Graphics Canada and GSNA Western Canada: Canadian Printing Equipment.

Printing executives attending the Atlanta event said they were particularly impressed with the annual cash savings of the 36-inch, 8-up RYOBI 920 series press compared with a lesser-equipped 40-inch presses with coaters.  The savings come from reduced spending on plates, blankets, inks, chemicals and paper.

“An 8-up Ryobi LED-UV press running an average of two shifts, five days a week, can save between $25,000 to $50,000 a year on consumables and energy costs alone,” explained Don Barbour, co-founder of GSNA and owner of Paper Handling Solutions, Marietta, GA.  “These savings can directly translate to improved profitability. 

Printers attending the open house at Barbour’s headquarters facility also said the print quality from the RYOBI 925 LED-UV press was flawless, including high-impact spot and flood varnishes that rivaled aqueous coating.  They were also impressed by the ability to pull a fully dried, ready-to-ship printed sheet from the Ryobi press mere seconds after it arrived in the delivery.

Ryobi Graphic Systems executives from Japan, including general manager Hideki Domoto, attended the event.  GSNA also demonstrated the newest Cron computer-to-plate system and Toyo Ink executives discussed the latest in UV ink technology.

GSNA told visiting printers at the open house that it has expanded factory training on RYOBI 920 series presses for selected GSNA technicians.  Between GSNA and its dealer-partner network in the U.S. and Canada, more than 50 Ryobi-specialist technicians are available for quick response and support 

The RYOBI 920 series press—with its highly competitive pricing, extreme reliability that assures continuous uptime and specialized local technical support—delivers printers the lowest total cost of ownership of any 8-up press on the market today, GSNA said.

Panasonic’s new LED-UV drying system is available on selected RYOBI 920 and 6-up RYOBI 750 series presses.  It instantly dries print, enabling quick delivery to the bindery and customer.  It draws 80% less power than conventional lamps, requires no powder spray or ductwork, and substantially cuts VOC emissions.  Highly compact, energy efficient chillers and lamp controllers further reduce footprint requirements.