University of Tennessee Adds Second Printmaster
There is certainly no shortage of offset presses at the University of Tennessee, in Knoxville. The 47-employee in-plant boasts six of them, the centerpiece being a four-color Heidelberg Speedmaster XL 105.
Still, Graphic Arts Service Manager Jack Williams knew the best days of the shop’s two-color Hamada CD-555 were behind it, and there was no shortage of two-color printing coming in the door. So in October, the in-plant installed its second two-color Heidelberg Printmaster QM 46-2.
“We purchased our first QM-46 six years ago,” Williams says. “This press has been very reliable and productive. When we needed to increase our small sheet capacity, purchasing a second QM-46 was an easy decision.”
With annual sales of $7 million, the 63-year-old in-plant purchased the press using its own equipment replacement fund. Williams expects to see a return on this investment in two to three years. So far the shop has been using the new press for two-color forms, brochures, tickets, flyers, pads and envelopes.
“It stays fairly busy,” reports Williams.
The in-plant also has a strong digital printing operation, with a Kodak NexPress 2500 and a new Ricoh Pro C900. But the offset operation, particularly the four-color Speedmaster XL 105, with its 29.53x41.34˝ maximum sheet size, is what most impresses visitors. That press uses Heidelberg’s Prinect Prepress Interface, which transfers print-relevant parameters from prepress to the press.
“The Speedmaster XL 105 has exceeded our expectations in every way,” says Williams, who credits Remote Diagnostics on the press with helping keep unplanned service calls to a minimum. Also, he says, Prinect Image Control has helped minimize press setup times and enhance quality control.
“It takes the guesswork out of color correction and control,” he notes. “Our customers noticed the improvement from the very start. Bottom line is, it gives you really good consistency, color-wise, from first sheet all the way through the run.”
Bob has served as editor of In-plant Impressions since October of 1994. Prior to that he served for three years as managing editor of Printing Impressions, a commercial printing publication. Mr. Neubauer is very active in the U.S. in-plant industry. He attends all the major in-plant conferences and has visited more than 180 in-plant operations around the world. He has given presentations to numerous in-plant groups in the U.S., Canada and Australia, including the Association of College and University Printers and the In-plant Printing and Mailing Association. He also coordinates the annual In-Print contest, co-sponsored by IPMA and In-plant Impressions.
