Tulsa, Oklahoma - The 500th Quickmaster DI press in the United States is now at work at a specialized digital printing facility here, which is growing its business at the rate of 80% annually, thanks in large measure to Heidelberg's Direct Imaging technology. The milestone machine has been installed at the "bursting at the seams" pressroom of Odyssey Digital Printing, founded four years ago by John Roberds, president and Jan Fairless, vice president. The 500th QM DI in the U.S., like all new Quickmasters, comes with an improved RIP and other enhancements that speed processing of a customer's digital files. Odyssey has first-hand experience with how well the next generation QM DI, called the Plus, performs. It has been running one of the newer machines since January. "We're cutting 10 extra minutes from the makeready of every job," says Fairless. "That adds up to extra capacity that we need because our customers keep supplying us with more and more work for our Quickmaster DIs." Roberds and Fairless describe Odyssey Digital Printing as a boutique facility. In addition to the two Heidelbergs, they run a toner-driven digital printing system and three large-format sign printers. "We specialize in short-run extremely fast turnaround work, and we do it quite well," notes Roberds. "Odyssey is the only facility between Kansas City and Dallas that can deliver the quality we do, as quickly as we can on these types of projects. We have Heidelberg to thank for that." While Odyssey is equipped to handle virtually any digital print project, four-color newsletters are a mainstay assignment for the Quickmaster DI. For one national retailer, the printer produces anywhere from 65 to 75 different newsletters every month. Each has an average run length of 1,200 copies. Odyssey's new Quickmaster DI is keeping pace with that ongoing project and with the mountain of other work the company's six-person sales force is bringing in. However, things are getting tight. "That's why we're negotiating to construct a building that will be custom designed for the work we do and will accommodate our continued expansion," Fairless says. Once construction is underway, Odyssey plans on ordering a third new Quickmaster DI that will join the milestone machine and its mate in the expanded facility. "We've been growing an average of 80% annually during our first four years in business," adds Roberds. "Our larger new facility and the Quickmaster DIs that we'll be running in it will give us the room we need to maintain that growth rate."