Chicago’s Polpress Invests in RMGT 9 Series with LED-UV
CHICAGO, IL — March 27, 2019 — For Roman Majewski, the founder of Chicago’s Polpress, printing has been more than a way to earn a living, going back to his early days in the Chicago printing trades where his passion for high quality printing was fostered by men twice his age. Polpress is known throughout the city for the craftsman’s approach that is taken with each print job they produce. Investing in a better way to produce his demanding client’s projects has been Roman’s goal for many years, but until the perfect mix of technology, footprint and value became a reality, this investment had to wait.
“Derek Gordon from Graphco told us about the RMGT 9 Series press a few years ago and I’ve been interested in this press and LED-UV ever since,” says Roman Majewski. “We went to Push Solutions and some other RMGT houses and all we heard was great news. I could tell the technology and build quality of the press were solid, and LED-UV curing was ready for prime time, so we pulled the trigger.” The new press was installed in September of 2018 and it’s no coincidence that Polpress grew by over 15% by the end of the year. “This press just runs and runs,” notes Majewski.
Polpress’s new RMGT 940ST-5+CC+LED-UV five-color press features a full suite of industry leading technology like RMGT’s SMART Insta.Color make-ready technology, FULL RPC fully automatic plate-changing, dual coating capability to produce both Aqueous and LED-UV and even a color console interfaced with a Wi-Fi tablet. “Our family has two Tesla cars and I do my photography with a Leica so I’ve always invested in the best technology. The build quality and features on this new RMGT press have really impressed me,” Majewski comments. “We want to offer the best print quality and with LED-UV and all this great automation we can give our customers the best with a lot less effort.”
In addition to the productivity gains, part of their success is due to using LED-UV inks, which allow Polpress to print on nearly any stock. “It has instant curing, and the idea of just running the job, taking it off the press and putting it on the cutter is just amazing. It’s like having a huge digital press, basically, a huge, full-sized digital press,” Majewski said.
As one of the only LED-UV printers in the city of Chicago, Polpress is also capitalizing on the environmental benefits to the RMGT 9 Series. Since it emits no VOCs and doesn’t require any sprays to keep the inks open overnight, nor any powders to help with drying, the work coming off the press is compliant with even the most stringent environmental regulations — including California’s Prop 65. “We don’t have those laws in Illinois yet, but I am sure they will be coming,” Majewski noted. And when it does, Polpress will be well positioned to capture even more of the work in the Greater Chicago area and beyond.
“We didn’t really look at any other presses,” said Majewski. “No one else really had a good option in this particular sheet size.” He further noted that once they got the press installed and really started using the automation and LED-UV curing, he knew there was no going back.
With the advanced features the RMGT 9 Series brings to the shop. Majewski found that they could run more work than they ever could before on their old equipment. “The speed and fast make ready make it a speed demon,” he said. During the busy election season last fall, for example, he notes that they had so much work they had the press going 24/7, instead of the usual 24/5.5, but never missed a deadline and was able to open up new markets at the same time.
The new RMGT 9 Series press joined a Mitsubishi Diamond Series 40” press that was installed years ago so Polpress is now an all RMGT shop offering their clients everything from high quality brochures, event booklets, community publications, direct mail advertising and presentation materials. Derek Gordon, Regional Manager for Graphco adds, “Roman and I have known each other for over 25 years and I’ve always admired his knowledge of the printing trade. Partnering with Polpress on this investment right in my hometown is a real feather in Graphco’s cap.”
Energy conservation and low carbon emissions are important enough to Polpress that they have 3 zero emissions vehicles and 2 charging stations outside of their building so employees can charge their cars while they work. “This new RMGT press uses very little power and the LED-UV inks are VOC free, so we are doing our part for the environment. And we think our print quality is now the best in the city.” While the new press is equipped to do Aqueous coating with the high gloss and excellent rub resistance of LED-UV inks means the highest energy user (IR/Hot Air Dryer) in the pressroom will only run for a few jobs per month. To learn more about Polpress please visit www.polpress.com
About RMGT (RYOBI MHI Graphic Technology)
RMGT is among the world’s largest manufacturers of sheet-fed offset printing presses and the world leader in LED-UV technology with over 450 placements worldwide. Our high-speed, fully-automated presses are respected worldwide for unsurpassed print quality, low total cost of ownership, extreme ease of operation, and unmatched reliability. In partnership with Panasonic, RMGT released LED-UV Curing for Print at DRUPA 2008 and we now offer the only G3 LED-UV technology on the market. Headquartered outside of Hiroshima Japan, RMGT is a joint venture company bringing together the best technology and manufacturing expertise of Ryobi Limited and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. The enhanced product lineup and strengthened manufacturing prowess makes RMGT an indispensable brand for the printing industry. Learn more about RMGT at http://www.ryobimhi.com
About Graphco
Graphco is the industry’s leading provider of offset, digital, and print finishing solutions. We proudly import the RMGT line of new offset printing presses featuring market-leading LED-UV curing technology, Smart Insta.Color automated make-ready, and our popular Packaging Edition presses. All RMGT presses offer best-in-class reliability and durability. The Graphco Technical Service Team stands behind every RMGT press and Graphco’s reputation for top-notch service is second to none. Since 1976, Graphco has thrived in an ever-changing market place by loyally adhering to our original model for success: Providing best-in-class print production equipment along with reliable and assured technical service. Learn more about Graphco at www.graphco.com