Printing Community warms to Euroman Press Story
Executives from printers from around North America gathered on a cold afternoon in Wisconsin in February to learn about the newest manroland press- the 32 page Euroman. Heatset/coldset, plate loading, flexible folder, and sheeter are just a few options available on this innovative press. The printers invited to the event produce the range of products from newsletters and magazines to commercial print and inserts. manroland sponsored the event along with MEGTEC and QuadTech at the Grand Geneva Resort in Wisconsin.
The forecast of a major snowstorm did not deter the invited guests from traveling to meet with manroland engineers, project managers and executives. There was even a little drama as two printers landed at a local airport in the pre-storm fog and freezing rain just in time for the conference.
Mr. Vince Lapinski, CEO of manroland NA, opened the conference and introduced the first speaker- Mr. Georg Riescher, Executive Vice President of the manroland Plauen facility. He discussed the advantages of power plate loading, closed loop systems and fast webbing-up for book, commercial, directory and insert markets. Mr. Oliver Bleisch, Product Manager for Euroman explained the technology behind the press and its key innovations. The heatset/coldset option, flexible folder configurations, shaftless drive, and optional sheeter were featured.
To wrap up the presentations, Mr. Tom Sikora, VP Sales and Marketing, Hi-Liter Graphics, described how the new press contributed to Hi-Liter’s success and has expanded their market offerings. A question and answer session followed where printers explored, in-depth, the various components and specifications of the Euroman press.
During the late afternoon, guests used the facilities at the Grand Geneva for some casual recreation- skiing, massages, rock-climbing and even a pick-up basketball game. At the dinner reception, Mr. George Newkirk, Vice President of MEGTEC presented how they have integrated their dryer systems into the controls and how they matched the design of the dryer to the Euroman specifications, creating an optimal system. The group met after dinner around the fireplace in the ski lodge as the heavy snow began to fall on the ski slopes outside.
The next morning, Mr. Vince Ballistreri, Director of Engineering for QuadTech International introduced his company and told the story of developing his systems to match the Euroman press. Next, Mr. Paul Pirkle, Vice President, Web Sales manroland NA, described how the commercial web market segments would benefit from the advanced features of the Euroman press. Mr. Craig Faust, CEO of Hi-Liter made the final presentation on why a new press was critical to Hi-Liters’s growth. manroland was chosen, he said, because they could offer a new technology, install it quickly, and provide superior support. That combination allowed Hi-Liter to get the press running production very quickly and the press had already expanded the company’s business.
The snowplows had done their job by late morning clearing the roads so the group traveled over to the Hi-Liter facility to view the Euroman press running first hand. The press ran a difficult job first with fine details, solids and reverse text. The Hi-Liter operators then changed stock, did a plate change and had the press running a typical catalogue production job in minutes. Under the watchful eyes of some of the best printers in the business, these operators met the pressure and showed that they had the “right stuff.”
Over lunch, Craig Faust recapped the production demonstration and Vince Lapinski summarized the event.
Hi-Liter continues to satisfy its customers with the speed and printing capabilities of the Euroman press and has won additional business for the firm thanks to the new press. Several of the printers in attendance are now in the final stages of implementing Euroman projects of their own. For the printers and the graphic arts editors who traveled to Lake Geneva, this event was a bit of Springtime in the snowy hills of central Wisconsin.
