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GraphExpo Show Daily September 14 2015

Greater Topeka Chamber of Commerce Saves Time and Money with Sharp Pro Series Color Printer The Greater Topeka Chamber of Commerce was looking at options to upgrade its printing functionality. As an organization that produces numerous print pieces each year, from invitations and fliers to booklets and brochures, the Chamber needed a reliable, user-friendly document system that would provide a maximum return on its investment. While adequate, its previous printer was limited in the types of paper that could be used, offered no bleed functionality, and was more labor-intensive for creating large runs. Also factoring into the Chamber’s interest in the MFP was a new branding initiative with an agency style guide advocating full-bleed color photographs for advertisements, booklets, and other communications to complement a new four-color logo and distinguish it in the marketplace among its internal and external audiences. The Chamber also produces a newsletter, Topeka Business, and staff members have been in the process of gradually redesigning the publication to achieve more of a magazine look and feel with its content. The functionality of having full-color bleed photographs on the cover sparked an idea to work with Chamber member photographers to showcase their work in various issues of the publication, beginning with the September issue. Business technology solutions When the lease became due on its current printer, the Chamber met with Chris Martin, Vice President of Sales for Logan Business Machines. The Chamber has had a longstanding relationship with Logan Business Machines and collaboratively staff from both organizations compiled a wish list of features and discussed projects produced inhouse and outsourced. Sharp Print Production Manager John Skalandis demonstrated for staff the 75 (ppm) MX-7500N digital MFP from supplier Formax (Booth 2243), highlighting how the integrated Fiery Command Workstation from the operation panel of the machine could save valuable time when making late-stage edits and setting up jobs before printing. “John asked the Chamber of Commerce staff to bring all of their large files so they could get a hands-on demonstration on how they could customize print jobs right at the machine as opposed to running back and forth between a desk and computer,” Martin says. “Together we crunched the numbers and assessed the savings and benefits before finalizing the deal.” Getting results The organization now has the ability to print everything it needs inhouse because the MX-7500N model allows for edge-to-edge, full-bleed printing and enables operators to output high-quality collateral materials with reduced production time, both in terms of job set up and execution. The machine can perform true 1200x1200 dpi printing The Greater Topeka Chamber of Commerce now has the ability to print everything it needs in-house because the Sharp MX-7500N model allows for edge-to-edge, full-bleed printing and enables operators to output high-quality collateral materials with reduced production time, both in terms of job set up and execution. with 8-bit processing to provide beautiful images and enhanced clarity for fine details, and the Chamber employees have found the Fiery Command Station easy to use as it is integrated with the Sharp touchscreen. “Every day our employees are focused on return on investment for our members,” says Curtis Sneden, Interim President and CEO of the Chamber. “In whatever we produce—an event, a publication, a program, or a service—we are fixated on finding solutions that uphold our commitment to high-quality standards. The Sharp Pro Series Color Document System has helped us consider new ways of communicating with our members while cutting our costs and increasing our control of the final product.” With a small staff, Sneden says efficiency and ease of operation were essential considerations in evaluating the MFP’s attributes. “We print similar pieces each month or quarter, and staff members have found the ability of the Sharp Pro Series Color Document System to store files for easy access and editing to be especially beneficial,” he says. What’s New in Newspaper Print Production? News Print—The Newspaper Pavilion offers show-goers a Pblend of conventional and digital technologies rogressive-thinking newspaper production executives can see award-winning digital print technology from TKS (Booth 1467) within News Print—The Newspaper Pavilion at GRAPH EXPO 15. (The Japanese manufacturer’s JetLeader 1500 inkjet press won an InterTech Technology Award from PIA in 2014.) TKS customer Rodd Winscott, President and GM of commercial firm TopWeb here in Chicago, is one such progressive printer. Winscott considers press runs when choosing a press: TopWeb’s offset presses can run 75,000 copies an hour. Its digital presses run slower. “While it is not cost-effective to run a 15,000-copy job on the inkjet, it is to do 5,000 copies,” he notes. TopWeb is a 43-year-old company specializing in small- to medium-sized newspapers such as campus and ethnic newspapers and journals. The company has two traditional coldset web presses and two digital web presses—the TKS JetLeader 1500—purchased in 2012 and 2013, respectively. TopWebb was the first company to start producing exclusively newspapers on its digital equipment,” Winscott adds. The concept was well-received by clients, and a three-year ROI was attained. The idea is gaining traction. Hawaii-based Japanese newspaper publisher Hawaii Hochi also is printing on a TKS JetLeader1500. More recently, Mengis Druck AG in Switzerland was the first worldwide to print a daily newspaper on an inkjet press—the 42"-wide HP (Booth 1202) T400 Color Inkjet Web Press—at a 22,000 run length. And just one month ago, Kodak (Booths 823) and Guiton Group Limited launched KP Services (Jersey) Limited in the U.K. As part of this collaboration with Guiton, which also owns the Jersey Evening Post, KP Services will print the Post as well as the majority of U.K. national newspapers (11 titles in total) for distribution in Jersey and Guernsey, England. It is estimated that KP Services will print approximately 35,000 newspapers in total each day, made up of the combined circulations required for each separate publication. Web-offset in the Pacific Rim While inkjet technology still is new to the newspaper production game, web-offset printing is, of course, still deeply entrenched. Two Japanese newspaper printers are completing installations of web-offset presses this coming fall. In April 2014, TKS received an order for one set of the 100,000 copies-per-hour Color-Top Century web press from Kyoto Shimbun Holdings Co., Ltd. which will be installed at its Kumiyama Printing Plant. With the addition, the company will print 580,000 newspaper copies with a total of three presses. Actual production is slated for next month. The new press, which can print 40 pages with 24 in color has a configuration of: 3CT44•CT11•F•R. The addition of a balloon former will make it possible to add sections. Kyoto Shimbum also purchased peripheral equipment including the TKS Newspaper Production Control System, the T-NPC-N, and the fully automatic web-leading system, the FWL-200. Also in Japan, Akatsuki Printing is installing a TKS Color Top 6200UDH web-offset press, set to be in full operation this coming November. Already running at the plant are two sets of TKS conventional web presses; one of these is being updated with the one set of Color Top 6200UDH. The configuration of the new press installation consistsof one set of: 1CT4/4, 2CT1/1, 1F and 3R for a capability to print 24 pages with eight in color. Further, by linkage with the existing press, color capacity will be expanded, says TKS. Additional orders were received for peripheral equipment such as the TKS Newspaper Production Control System (T-NPC) and the auto web-leading system. 54 September 14, 2015 | GRAPH EXPO Official Show Daily | PrintingNews.com


GraphExpo Show Daily September 14 2015
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