Construction Project Leads to Expanded Color Capabilities at BCC
A partial, temporary shutdown allowed the Print Shop at Burlington County College to expand its digital color printing capabilities.
Last June, the six-employee operation in Pemberton, N.J., was forced to crate its presses and move its remaining equipment across the hall into temporary quarters so the college could complete a heating/air conditioning replacement project in its area. To continue serving the color printing needs of customers during this disruption, Manager Stephen Amitrano arranged a three-month loan of a Konica Minolta bizhubPRO C500. The 50-ppm machine performed so well that Amitrano decided to keep it once the shop returned to its digs.
“It’s a life saver,” he remarked, during a recent visit by IPG Editor Bob Neubauer.
Previously, he said, the in-plant’s only digital color device was an 11-ppm printer that had extreme stock limitations. The new C500 not only handles a variety of stock sizes, thicknesses and textures, but it’s much faster and creates a far superior product; jobs have a glossy, coated look to them, said Robert Cummings, foreperson, who eagerly showed off a poster, hot off the printer.
The bizhubPRO C500 boasts a 13x19˝ paper tray, a straight paper path, which eliminates jams, and a cost of 7.5 cents a page. Amitrano negotiated a single click charge for each 11x17˝ page, so now he’s able to double up 8.5x11˝ jobs to save the college money. To drive it and improve color quality, the shop added the EFI Fiery IP-901 External Image Controller with color precision and control tools.
“We’re extremely happy with it,” Amitrano said.
The in-plant also installed an Epson 4800 Ultrachrome proofer last spring (with EFI Colorproof XF color management software) and is making plans to add computer-to-plate equipment in the near future. Its four presses include a two-color Ryobi 582H and a two-color A.B.Dick 9985. A pair of Canon 105s handle the shop’s black-and-white jobs.
In addition to inspiring the bizhubPRO C500 installation, Amitrano said, the construction project brought one other bonus: The Print Shop now enjoys much better temperature and humidity control.
