Zenger Group Prepares for Productive Future with Speedmaster XL 106 Perfector from Heidelberg

030514.zengerboncraftFrom left, Zenger Group owners John Zenger, Joe Zenger, and Steve Zenger.

Zenger Group, Inc. reports the installation of a Heidelberg Speedmaster XL 106 eight-color perfector with Prinect Axis Control at its new corporate headquarters and plant in Tonawanda, NY. The new press takes the place of an early-generation Speedmaster XL 105 at the Zenger Group’s Orchard Park, NY facility, one of three plants to be consolidated into the new facility.

“We wanted the fastest, most productive, most reliable full-size press available to serve as the centerpiece of our sheetfed operation at the new facility,” said Steve Zenger, president and CEO. “Heidelberg presses are the benchmark in terms of production speed, output, and print stability throughout the industry.”

Capable of production speeds up to 18,000 sph in straight or perfecting mode, and with effective quality assurance via the Prinect Axis Control color measurement system, the new Speedmaster XL 106 will significantly increase Zenger Group’s capacity and broaden the scope of its manufacturing capabilities. Central control of the pressroom is managed via Prinect Pressroom Manager.

Zenger Group has been a leader and an innovative force in the western New York’s printing industry for more than 30 years.

DG3 Blasts Off into High-Volume Personalization with the Debut of Its HP T230 Color Inkjet Web Press

022714.DG3.HPT230.1On February 27, with rocket ship imagery and the acrobatics of a pair of glittering aerialists as the backdrop, the Diversified Global Graphics Group (DG3, Jersey City, NJ) launched an HP T230 color inkjet web press into an orbit it hopes to fill with richly colored variable print.

There to celebrate the liftoff were about 100 customers who now can add high-volume digital web printing to the array of services they buy from DG3, one of the top providers print and visual communication products in the Northeast.

The press, installed last November and put through its first full-scale production run a few weeks ago, is DG3’s latest investment in technologies aimed at broadening the range of the digital and conventional marketing resources it offers to a high-end business clientele.

“For me, it’s about custom communication,” said Thomas Saggiomo, president and CEO of the $150 million company. With the HP T230 in place, he said, “the challenge is to get clients to think creatively” about how it can help them personalize the ways they communicate with their customers via direct mail, marketing collateral, documents, and other kinds of work the press will be used to manufacture.

022714.DG3.HPT230.2Thomas Saggiomo, president and CEO, Diversified Global Graphics Group (DG3)

The HP T230 is the new centerpiece of a digital pressroom that also features a pair of cut-sheet HP Indigo six-color devices. Connected to the web press are finishing units for inline perforating, scoring, and cutting—key assets for achieving the kind of high-speed, high-volume integrated workflow that is essential for ROI with a press of this capacity. Close by are additional resources for post processing, including saddlestitching and perfect binding.

The HP T230 is the enhanced-output version of the HP T200, one of three T-series color inkjet web platforms available from HP. Designed to run a 22″ web (20.5″ image area) at speeds up to 400 feet per minute in duplexed mono or full color, the press can print with full variability on standard uncoated offset web stocks and compatible coated media. The ink set is CMYK, augmented by a liquid bonding agent that improves ink appearance and durability when uncoated stocks are used.

All of these performance features came into play in the production of the HP T230’s first job for DG3, a 650,000-piece run for a healthcare provider in which every copy contained unique data. Guests at the launch party got a smaller-scale but no less personalized demonstration of what the press can do in printed keepsakes that displayed their faces, photographed when they arrived, in three different formats on the cut and perfed sheet.

Joseph Lindfeldt, DG3’s executive vice president for corporate development, said that the HP T230 would go a long way toward helping customers achieve “collateral virtualization”: DG3’s term for print-on-demand workflows that eliminate the need to over-run and stockpile printed matter. The ability of the press to print variably in whatever quantity and on whatever schedule the customer wishes will “make fulfillment extinct as it relates to print collateral,” Lindfeldt said.

The high-volume capacity of the web press—HP puts its duty cycle at 50 million letter-sized impressions per month—also enables it to achieve production economies in personalized long runs that cut-sheet digital presses can’t match, according to Lindfeldt.

“This widens the gamut of print on demand,” he said.

Although DG3’s enthusiasm for its HP T230 is intense, the passion wasn’t kindled overnight. Lindfeldt said that before the purchase finally was announced at Print 13, he and other DG3 personnel had spent “a year and a half in a room with HP” making certain that the press would be the right platform for the customized solutions that DG3 offers to healthcare and insurance companies,  pharmaceutical manufacturers, advertising agencies, and other corporate customers.

Now the priority for DG3 is to fill “the big gap” that exists in the way some of these customers think about personalized digital printing and the data management issues that go along with it, Lindfeldt said.

022714.DG3.HPT230.3
Also on hand for the launch was Aurelio Maruggi, HP’s vice president and general manager, who noted that other T-series customers have been successful with the same applications that DG3 plans to run on its HP T230. He said that one of every three color digital web presses currently sold by HP goes to a printer who already has one or more of the machines. Repeat customers know that the flexibility high-speed inkjet web printing gives them will be essential to keeping up with changing print market demands, according to Maruggi.

As DG3’s director of digital operations, Larry Durso shepherded the HP T230 from initial setup to readiness for full production. He praised the press for its ability to handle a wide range of stock weights with full ink coverage at or near full rated speed. The press is crewed by two operators who also tend the inline finishing equipment while runs are in progress, Durso said.

The HP T230 takes its place in a general production environment where high-speed, high volume-printing is routine. In addition to its digital printers, DG3 has one of the largest concentrations of offset litho equipment in the tristate metro area, including two eight-color and two six-color sheetfed presses and six webs. The company also has extensive capabilities for binding, finishing, mailing, and fulfillment.

Transitioning from offset to digital printing was not a factor in the decision to install the HP T230, Saggiomo said.

Prospect Printing Adds Digital Capacity with Linoprint 751 from Heidelberg

022714.prospectprinting

From left: Dan Dibble, Angela Halloran, Matt Pryor, Michele Muccino, Mark Deloia (owner), Anthony Bracco (owner), Mike Ambrose (owner), Frank Segui, and Daryl Canuzzi.

Prospect Printing, LLC (Prospect, CT) has installed a Linoprint C751 with inline bookletmaker from Heidelberg to take advantage of higher margins on the short-run and variable data jobs it hopes to attract, based on the new machine’s fast turnaround and less expensive setup capabilities. “Being able to say ‘yes’ with confidence to short-run, quick-turn job requests alleviates a lot of stress for us,” said Anthony Bracco, a founding partner of the business. “Plus, our operators love it.”

Already running static jobs from one to 1,500 sheets on the new digital press, the company is quickly ramping up its variable data expertise. With annual sales in the $2.3 million range, Prospect Printing serves customers throughout the Northeast. The Linoprint C751 is the company’s first digital machine.

 

Ryan Printing Moves from 29″ to 40″ Production by Installing a Speedmaster CX 102

022614.RYAN_PRINTINGAl Ryan, president of Blauvelt Printing, at the company’s new Heidelberg Speedmaster CX 102 offset press.

The installation of a five-color Heidelberg Speedmaster CX 102 press with Inpress Control, aqueous coater, and extended delivery earlier this month marked a watershed moment for Ryan Printing (Blauvelt, NY). The new press heralds the one-shift operation’s transition from a half- to a full-size shop with competitive firepower to spare.

“Before the installation, we were thinking of adding a second shift based on rising volume, but the speed (16,500 sph) and productivity of the CX 102 has made that unnecessary,” said Al Ryan, president. “We’ll be sticking with a five-day, single-shift operation with occasional weekend work. We’re confident we’ll be able to compete effectively by doing what we’ve always done: expanding our capabilities, extending our print market with the 40″ press, and providing great customer service.”

Ryan said that the new Speedmaster CX 102, which takes the place of a five-color, 29” Speedmaster CD 74, had its work cut out from the moment it went online. “We already had enough work for it, so keeping it busy isn’t a problem.”

At the same time, he said, “we’ve realized savings on the order of 50% to 70%, thanks to the Prinect Inpress Control inline closed-loop color management system which drives down our makeready time to 10 minutes, enables us to get to precise LAB matching color in under 200 sheets, and substantially reduces our consumption of ink and paper. Our bindery operations have been streamlined by being able to cut larger sheets of printed material and folding larger signatures.”

Thanks also to the cartridge-based InkStar ink supply, the company enjoys the benefits of fully automated ink feeding and reduced startup times by eliminating the need to skin ink cans prior to filling the fountain. The additional benefits of less wasted ink and continuous monitoring of ink levels through the Prinect Press Center Console ensure the highest quality without sacrificing the ability to change inks flexibly.

The addition of the Speedmaster CX 102 also will enable Ryan Printing to expand its packaging business. Not only will the company gain tremendous flexibility in handling substrates from lightweight paper to 40-pt. board stock, but Prinect Inpress Control will keep brand colors consistent and reduce waste to a minimum, advancing the company to a higher level of production capability.

“We’ve always manufactured some packaging materials like boxes, bottle-neckers, and window signage,” Ryan said, “but we are now into it seriously and consider folding cartons a strong growth area. The Speedmaster CX 102 is a robust, flexible press for the wide variety of high-quality commercial and packaging printing jobs our customers demand.”

In choosing the Speedmaster CX 102, Ryan Printing also has strengthened its commitment to environmental protection, based on the low energy usage, resource efficiency, and long service life that make the Speedmaster CX 102 the most environmentally friendly press in its class.

The CX 102 is ideal for reduced-alcohol and alcohol-free printing, while color measuring systems such as Prinect Inpress Control reduce paper waste on average by 200 up to 400 sheets per print job and lower the level of CO2 emissions. In addition, environmentally friendly cloth blanket wash-up devices use water and solvent to reduce the overall amount of solvent used, yielding savings of up to 90%.

Citing double-digit revenue growth from year-to-year and $7.5 million in current annual sales, Al Ryan attributes his company’s 20-year record of industry-leading service and quality to a combination of smart investment and top-notch customer service. “We give our customers what they want, when they want it,” Ryan said. “People are happy with us, and that yields more work for us as we add capabilities.”

Sandy Alexander Sets A World Benchmark by Installing Its Third HP Indigo 10000 Digital Press

Sandy Alexander (Clifton, NJ) has become the first print company in the world to purchase and install three HP Indigo 10000 Digital Presses.

Sandy Alexander was one of the first companies to install the 29″ HP Indigo 10000 Digital Press as a beta customer in 2012. After a successful beta test, the company decided to purchase the press to transform its offerings and provide the capacity needed to support new programs for its clients in the automotive, pharmaceutical, financial, and travel industries.

In June 2013, Sandy Alexander added a second HP Indigo 10000 Digital Press to meet growing demand for the larger sheet size and support its expanding capabilities in one-to-one marketing. Now, Sandy Alexander has purchased a third HP Indigo Digital Press to increase marketing and variable data printing capabilities.

“The success of several of our ongoing loyalty and acquisition campaigns led to increased demand for personalized print output in the larger sheet size,” stated Rob Mayerson, general manager of Sandy Alexander’s Digital Solutions Division. “In a few cases, we found our agency clients designing communications specifically for the HP Indigo 10000, further leading to increased demand and a call for capacity.”

Sandy Alexander is a leading direct marketing and commercial print provider for companies across the U.S. Sandy Alexander has an unwavering focus on color consistency and quality, making the HP Indigo 10000 a perfect match. With three digital presses the company will increase its digital output, offering faster turnaround to customers, and providing more digital print with high-quality color matching and effects like white ink and raised print.

“In this competitive marketplace, we strive relentlessly to help our clients maximize the effectiveness of their marketing efforts,” said Mike Graff, CEO and president of Sandy Alexander. “The ability to leverage the larger sheet size in combination with superior quality and data driven personalization has been a true differentiator. It has opened the door to even deeper relationships with Fortune 500 clients in the automotive, retail, luxury goods and travel industries.”

Book Manufacturer G&H Soho Stays Sharp with New Accutrim HD1680 Three-Knife Trimmer from Colter & Peterson

021414.g&h_sohoJim Harris, president of G&H Soho, and lead operator Lynley Bernstein with their new Accutrim HD1680 three-knife trimmer from Colter & Peterson.

Now in their 29th year at G&H Soho Inc., Jim Harris and Gerry Burstein have experienced all the highs and lows of owning a business in the printing industry. The Elmwood Park, NJ, shop has always operated in the New York City metro area, and today, business for the niche book printer is certainly on the upswing.

Last month, to better handle the influx of hardcover, paperback, spiral, and saddlestitched work, G&H Soho became one of the first shops in the metro market to install a new Accutrim HD1680, a fast, efficient, and flexible three-knife trimmer from Colter & Peterson. They also bought a POLAR 66 reconditioned paper cutter from C&P to cut book covers and jackets.

“Since we purchased the three-knife trimmer and paper cutter, we’ve booked so much new work,” says Harris, president of G&H Soho. “After nearly 30 years, we know the book business. It’s in our DNA.”

Harris also knows how important it is to seize the moment when business is good. His father and uncle began the business as Ganis and Harris in 1946. Burstein started Soho Studio in 1971. Harris and Burstein decided to combine companies in 1985, becoming one of the first providers in the metro area to use digital information for producing bound galleys on the Xerox DocuTech production publishing system. Business was booming, and the company moved to Hoboken, NJ.

Belt-tightening and DocuTech work helped G&H Soho to survive tough times in 2001 when, on the same day, two major clients informed Harris that they were taking advantage of cheaper rates in India for typesetting books. The company survived the recession of 2008-2009 only to see the bottom fall out in 2010. The turning point for today’s renaissance came in May 2102 with a decision to move from Hoboken to the company’s present 12,500-sq.-ft. facility in Elmwood Park. Five months later, Hoboken was devastated by Hurricane Sandy.

G&H Soho is now a complete digital shop. An HP Indigo press handles color books, color inserts, and both paperback and hardcover covers. There’s also an Océ press for black-and-white text and a Horizon 270 perfect binder. Harris says the average run length is 100 to 300 copies with the occasional longer run of 2,000 copies. The work consists primarily of 6″ x 9″, 7″ x 10″, and 8″ x 11″ books for academic and university publishers and individuals.

What sets G&H Soho apart from other digital book printers is the willingness to print non-standard sizes and customize books to satisfy their clients. The shop is humming, running 15 hours a day during the week with a 10-hour shift on Saturday. Harris says he plans to hire more employees this year, perhaps sooner than he expected.

Last September, however, Harris and Burstein discovered that they had a problem in their bindery department.

“We had a bottleneck when it came time to trim the books,” Harris says. “As we got busier, our people began competing for time with the existing paper cutters. We needed a solution to make our situation significantly better.”

At the time, Paterson, NJ-based Colter & Peterson—North America’s largest independent distributor of paper cutters and paper handling equipment—had just introduced the Accutrim HD1680. User friendly, it offers a maximum book thickness of 3.5″ with trim sizes from 3.15″ x 3.15″ to 11.8″ x 16.5″. Its computer controlled makeready permits through feed or one-man operation, and it has a slew of benefits that are usually not associated with off-line, on-demand three-knife trimmers.

“Until I saw it, I originally thought it had too many moving parts and would be down too often,” Harris says. “I was surprised that this was not the case, and it has proven to be a very productive machine with a relatively easy changeover to go from 6″ x 9″ to 7″ x 10″ or 8″ x 11″ or any size in between.” He adds that the trimmer’s two-year warranty for parts was another key factor in the decision.

The Accutrim HD1680’s 5º swing angle lets operators make the highest quality cuts and reduce wear and tear while extending the life cycle of the knife. Minor format changeovers typically take less than one minute, and complete format changes can be made in less than three minutes—another important consideration for the G&H Soho team.

The Accutrim HD1680 is doing 80% of the book trimming at G&H Soho. “We’re having a great time,” Harris says. “In addition to our regular publishing clientele, we are now printing books for professional photographers and galleries in New York City. We’re also utilizing our warehouse space and doing fulfillment work. We’ve been able to expand our services and client base at the same time. I feel pretty confident about the future of books and the long term success of our company.”

 

Heidelberg Executives Visit Long Island Trade Printer

 

AllColorVisit.smLeft to right, Thomas Cummings, Heidelberg USA; Steven Bogue, Operations Manager, All Color Business Specialties; Dr. Gerold Linzbach, CEO Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG, William Bogue, Owner, All Color Business Specialties, Ltd.; Robin Karpp, Investor Relations, Heidelberg Druckmaschinen AG; and Harald Weimer, President, Heidelberg USA.

All Color Business Specialties, Ltd.,  recently hosted Dr. Gerold Linzbach, CEO of Heidelberg Druckmaschinen AG, and Harald Weimer, President of Heidelberg USA, at its facility in Deer Park, NY. The company, a mainstay of the local market, followed up its May 2013 installation of a Speedmaster XL 75 with a new Suprasetter 106 CtP device, and a Linoprint C751 digital printing system. Founded in 1959, All Color provides a broad range of services to the trade, including prepress, printing, binding and finishing, and mailing. The company counts eight other Heidelberg presses, multiple Stahlfolders, ST 90 and ST 100 saddlestitchers, two POLAR cutters, and a pair of Heidelberg die cutters. Workflow components include Prinect Business Manager (MIS), Prinect Prepress Manager, and Prinect Pressroom manager to promote maximum efficiency, optimal quality, and high profit potential. “It cannot be a coincidence that our success has grown by partnering with Heidelberg,” said company owner William Bogue.

Sandy Alexander Expands into High-End Retouching and CGI with the Introduction of SALT Studios

Sandy Alexander (Clifton, NJ) has announced its expansion into high-end retouching and CGI (computer generated imagery) with the acquisition of a state-of-the-art firm and the addition of several senior executives from digital and production services. The high-end creative boutique will be rebranded as SALT Studios and will be a wholly owned subsidiary of Sandy Alexander.

Located in midtown Manhattan, SALT Studios offers creative retouching, a full-service CGI studio, in-house services for digital photography, a full prepress department for ad releases, and a full suite of asset management and online ordering tools.

“Expansion into the high-end retouching and CGI is a natural progression for Sandy Alexander’s long-term strategic vision of offering our clients the broadest array of value added services in the graphics communications industry,” said Mike Graff, president and CEO of Sandy Alexander. “From digital workflow solutions to the final printed piece, Sandy Alexander has the flexibility and horsepower to provide the most impactful and efficient output for any marketing campaign regardless of substrate, size, or quantity.”

Several senior executives have also joined the company to lead SALT Studios. They include Dan Anselmi, the former owner-manager of Imagecraft, a high-end retouching firm. “He has brought his outstanding team of retouchers and digital artists to Sandy Alexander,” Graff said. “Their extensive experience in high-end retouching, image management, and the CGI marketplace provides Sandy Alexander with the highest quality, fastest, and most advanced technology in the image-based cosmetic, fashion, and jewelry industries.”

Fitch Group Proudly Celebrates Its Longevity in NYC

fitchgroup.073013This late 19th-century photo shows Fitch Group employees gathering for a company outing. Baseball (note the bats) clearly was going to be part of the day’s recreation.

“Times have changed dramatically since Fitch Group opened for business back in the 1800s. As one of New York’s longest-operating printers, we’ve been through the evolution of multiple technologies in the industry. Through it all, we’ve managed to not only survive, but also to thrive through four generations— due in large part to our ability to adapt to an ever-changing landscape, according to John Fitch III, President of Fitch Group.”

So begins an engaging post from the Fitch Group blog that goes on to sketch the company’s 127-year history and its track record as an early adopter of game-changing graphic technologies. Today Fitch Group, located at 229 West 28th Street in Manhattan, is a full-service commercial printer that continues to have strong ties to New York City’s financial services industry.

Those ties—along with the company’s very existence—were gravely threatened after the World Trade Center attacks on September 11, 2001. That day, Fitch Group’s corporate headquarters and production plant, located less than 75 yards from the South Tower, were completely destroyed. Within a year, however, the company had completely rebuilt its facilities to emerge from the disaster with its staff and client base intact.

Hats off to Fitch Group for its resilience and its honored place in the history of the printing industry in the New York metro area. And, on an even sweeter note, congratulations to the company for landing some of the promotional printing associated with the relaunch of Hostess Twinkies. Read about it here.

 

Management Team Completes Buyout of Sandy Alexander Inc.

CLIFTON, NJ, July 22, 2103 – Sandy Alexander Inc., a premier graphic communications provider, announced today that its management team has completed a buyout of the company.

Terms were not disclosed. The transaction makes Sandy Alexander a privately held company owned exclusively by the management team, which remains intact.

“The management team is very excited about the change in ownership,” said Mike Graff, President and CEO of Sandy Alexander. “Our more than 300 employees also are very pleased with the ownership change. We believe that we are well positioned to continue to build a unique model that offers our broad customer base continued quality and service across many platforms.”

According to Graff, the 50-year-old company will continue to pursue strategic growth opportunities both organically and through acquisition. “Sandy Alexander will now be in a position to offer increased flexibility, independence, and focus through expansion in our depth of services,” he said. These include digital printing, web and sheetfed offset printing, retail visual merchandising, wide- and grand-format printing, direct mail, high-end retouching, and computer graphics.

Graff added, “We will continue to operate with the utmost attention paid to innovation, technology, and protecting the environment.” He called the opportunity created by the buyout a tribute to the founding members of a team who led the industry with their vision, dedication, and resolve.

About Sandy Alexander
Sandy Alexander Inc. is the largest independently owned, high-end commercial graphic communications company in the nation.  It serves the needs of Fortune 500 companies and many other enterprises on both a national and an international scale.

Sandy Alexander’s broad array of services ranges from digital solutions, sheetfed and web offset printing, inline finishing, personalization, direct mail, and wide- and grand-format printing to retail, visual merchandising, and installation. The scope of these offerings gives Sandy Alexander the flexibility and horsepower to provide the most impactful and efficient output for any campaign, regardless of substrate, size, or quantity.

Sandy Alexander also is a leader in protecting the environment with 100% wind energy and Sustainable Green Printing Partnership (SGP) certification. Its digital and wide-and grand-format facilities are carbon neutral, and it holds triple certification for chain of custody in paper sourcing.

For information about Sandy Alexander Inc. and its products and services, call 973-470-8100 or visit Sandy Alexander at http://www.sandyinc.com.