VALHALLA, N.Y. (June 2004) – “For me, it came down to more of a human element than a machine element,” says Michael Rink, owner and president of Rink Printing Company in South Bend, Ind. Rink recently made the decision for his company to move to a computer-to-plate workflow and he looked to Enovation Graphic Systems for help. “Everyone can build a box,” he adds. “It really comes down to Enovation’s people and their proven support.” With the installation of Fujifilm’s 8-page Javelin Luxel T-9000 thermal computer-to-plate device in March, Rink Printing moved from an analog workflow to an all-digital one. “We stopped doing film within a few days of installing the Javelin,” Rink explains. “We’re now completely direct-to-plate on all of our presses.” And, Rink says, the new Fujifilm Javelin has meant big changes for his company. “It is probably the most impacting piece of technology I’ve ever put in,” he notes. For Rink Printing, the new ultra-fast Javelin has meant an increase in the amount of work employees are able to complete, additional time for making changes to jobs and a savings for his bottom line. “It really has enabled us to print a lot more jobs and we don’t even need to plate jobs until it’s almost time to put them on press,” Rink says. “We don’t have to plate them early because the Javelin can output one so fast, and that gives us and our customers more time to make last minute changes.” In the two months that his company has had the Javelin, Rink says he’s walked through the prepress department thinking, “There’s not much going on right now.” “But, that’s not really the case. We’re as busy as we’ve always been, but with the speed of the Javelin, it’s almost impossible to seem busy and,” he laughs, “it’s even harder to look busy.” In terms of bottom-line improvement, Rink credits the Javelin with increasing plant production by at least 30 percent and says he was able to eliminate two positions because of the work the Javelin now does. Rink adds that he’s also pleased with the quality he’s seen with the Fujifilm Javelin. “The quality of the plates are amazing and the pressmen seem to be very happy with it. The registration, the cleanliness, dot sharpness, it’s all been great.” The prepress department has undergone quite a change at Rink Printing. Not only is the workflow different, but also “the whole look of our department is different.” Boasts Rink, “Now we’ve got a high-tech look about us and, when I give a tour, it’s nice to take customers through that area.” Rink Printing now has extra floor space available since converting to a CTP workflow and is planning to create a “digital room,” installing two Xerox DocuTech devices through Enovation. “This is one machine that hasn’t been oversold in what it can do,” Rink concludes. “It’s incredible.”