RMGT ELITE User Group Meeting
This year’s RMGT ELITE LED User Group meeting will focus on Sustainability of LED Print, and will be held in the RMGT booth, N801. The program starts at 9:00 am on Thursday, October 20. Gary Jones, Director, Environmental, Health, and Safety Affairs, PRINTING United Alliance will kick off the program with an update on how governmental regulations regarding sustainability will impact printers in the US. The keynote session will provide 
attendees with an opportunity to hear directly from ELITE RMGT LED users as they share their experience with all aspects of LED print production. RMGT was the first offset press manufacturer to develop and introduce LED-UV curing technology to the offset press market starting at Drupa 2008. 2022 marks the 14-year anniversary of this revolutionary change in Print Technology. To learn more and register for the ELITE RMGT User Group Meeting please visit: https://www.ryobimhi.com/elite-users-group-2022

Andy Paparozzi - State of the Industry Presentation
On Wednesday, October 19, at 1:00 pm, Andy Paparozzi, PRINTING United Alliance Chief Economist, will recap the State of the Industry during his presentation. Shining the spotlight on real world example, Andy will lead a panel discussion with printing companies who have grown profitably despite the challenges facing our industry. Featured in the panel discussion will be Rudy DeSousa, VP Sales at Pioneer Press, a major commercial printer in Denver, CO who recently acquired an LED equipped RMGT 920PF-8+CC eight color perfector with in-line coating. Attendees will learn what to do right now to build revenue, control costs, and get on the leading edge of the market redistribution that is currently underway.

PRINTING United will be the largest gathering for printers in North America in 2022 and will take place at the Las Vegas Convention Center on Oct. 19-21, 2022. With the new 8-up+ RMGT 970 press running live demonstrations every hour on the half hour of the show, RMGT will highlight the new reality of how the gap of short run print jobs has shifted from digital back to offset. Additionally, the new 8-UP+ RMGT 970 joins the successful 9 Series family of offset presses from RMGT that are the North American 8-up market leader in bridging the gap between a half size press and 40-inch press.

With new technologies, new installations, and new ways to connect, RMGT is reaching new heights.

MARIETTA, GA — January 19, 2017 — RMGT (RYOBI MHI Graphic Technology Ltd.) had another record year in 2016 with press sales up significantly over 2015’s record setting results. Across North America printers seeking all the benefits of high quality offset printing in a digital world are adopting the lowest total cost of print platform from RMGT. The 9 series press continued to consolidate its position as the offset press of choice for commercial printers who are keenly focused on increasing the productivity and profitability of their pressrooms.

One customer who has adopted that philosophy is Brad Flagge, co-owner of Push Solutions in New Berlin, WI. Earlier this year, Brad sat down to talk with Frank Romano about his experiences with the RMGT 9 Series press equipped with LED UV curing, and his success with the press continued throughout the year as Push Solutions grew revenue by over 60% and saw a staggering 300% increase in its profitability. Brad is just one of many rapidly growing customers — some seeing savings that can top $125,000 or more by retiring their older machines. Less make-ready time and paper waste along with higher quality and running speeds are just some of the major savings RMGT customers enjoyed during 2016.

Bringing RMGT Technology Closer To Customers
One way that RMGT and its Distribution Partners in the Graphic Systems North America (GSNA) have raised awareness in 2016 was the opening of a new Technology Demo Center in the Midwest. As one of six RMGT authorized sales and service centers in North America, Graphco, based in Cleveland, OH, made a strong commitment to the RMGT brand. The WD Manley Technology Center opened in late August, with RMGT starring as one of the headline technology providers. “Our new technology center appeals to all segments of today’s print industry. Our demo center presents solutions to the challenges faced by printers of all sizes, and our equipment demonstrations present real world applications for today’s print needs,” said Chris Manley, President of Graphco.

The Midwest technology center joins the Southeastern RMGT demonstration facility, which commenced operations in late 2013 and is operated by Paper Handling Solutions in Marietta, GA. Both RMGT technology centers hosted open house events during 2016 to encourage printers in the Southeast and Midwest to learn more about RMGT’s cost-reducing and quality-enhancing technology. These facilities regularly host printers who want to see RMGT presses first hand so they can experience the difference in quality and speed available through investment in RMGT technology. Print & Finishing Solutions, the West Coast distributor for RMGT, will be opening it’s own Technology Demonstration Center in 2017.

Drupa 2016 was a breakthrough event for RMGT, securing more than 70 orders for its offset presses during the show. This strong result clearly indicates that highly automated offset presses that produce the quality printers need today, at very affordable manufacturing costs, are in a resurgent phase once again. Building on the Drupa success, for the third Graph Expo in a row the RMGT booth had record-setting attendance and significant order intake, proving that printers of all sizes and specialties want to know more about how RMGT technology can transform their business. This sets the stage for a strong Print ’17 later this year in Chicago, where RMGT presses running live will continue to prove a strong commitment to the North American print market.

New Technologies
Finally, the end of 2016 saw GSNA beginning to introduce the RMGT 10 and 11 series of presses. These are specifically geared toward the packaging and corrugated board markets, opening up the LED-UV technology to a much greater number of print shops. The 10 series is a 41-inch press, and the 11 series is a 44-inch press, and GSNA now offers both to printers across the United States, alongside the 9 series, which continues to draw strong attention.

One company that is betting on the 10 series is Colbert Packaging, based in Lake Forest, IL. Along with a new die-cutter and in-line inspection system, 2016 was a year of upgrades and improvements at Colbert Packaging, with the RMGT 1050 LX taking center stage. The offset press can print six-color processes and coat paperboard in a single pass, using both aqueous and UV inks and coatings. The manufacturer of folding cartons, rigid setup boxes, labels and inserts, and paperboard specialty products, is enjoying much greater production capacity along with much higher efficiency in the shop since the press went into operation.

“The reliability, durability and quality that RMGT offers packaging and commercial printers continues to make the 10 and 11 Series presses very popular around the world,” said Kozac Takata, Manager of International Sales and Marketing, RMGT in a statement after Drupa. And the strength of the market response to these presses only gained momentum as the rest of the year unfolded.

2016 was a strong year for the RMGT brand in North America as printers are quickly realizing that there is no other machine in the market that serves both the offset and short run niches the way that RMGT presses using LED-UV technology can. The past year ended on an incredibly high note, with 2017 sure to bring proven profitability and performance to even more printers.

​​DAVENPORT, IA — November 10, 2016 — One Step Inc., based in Davenport, IA, recently purchased and installed an RMGT 9 Series Offset Press, replacing two older RYOBI presses the shop had been running. One Step also invested in the LED-UV technology upgrade, making it a powerful addition to their operation. One Step is in the midst of an amazing 2016, growing 60% this year alone, and purchasing three other companies to increase the range of services and products they can offer. To maintain that kind of growth, a shop must have the right business model, and the right employees to execute it — but just as important is having a cornerstone press that is robust enough to keep up with the demands for more speed and better quality.

“We choose this press because of its LED-UV curing technology,” said Doug May, President at One Step. “It has a faster speed to market, with no dry time and no coatings needed on 95% of the jobs we run. And then you add in the ability to run shorter runs cost effectively — it’s application based, but we have run as few as 2,000 8.5x11-inch sheets — and it was a great investment.”

​Founded in 1995, One Step didn’t take the path most print shops follow. They began as a digital-only shop, and didn’t install their first offset press until 2002. “We were reluctant to get out of digital and into offset,” May noted, “but hybrid printing drove us into combining the offset and digital production lines.” 

In fact, May was quoted early on in his print career as saying he would never own an offset press, but those are words he is happy to take back now that he has seen what his RMGT press can do. “When you look at digital, and where it’s at, we found the offset cost per impression and the throughput speeds just made more sense than going after digital,” he pointed out. He also noted that while high speed digital presses are now starting to hit the mainstream print market, they still aren’t as reliable and consistent as his RMGT press. 

“Reliability and cost per copy come into play when comparing digital and offset,” May said. “With the big press, we always know exactly what the cost and throughput will be, every time. Not to mention, if a technician comes in to service a digital press during a shift, you’re down; offset requires less maintenance so the shop has more up time.”

Immediate Results
May joked that one of the biggest changes they have seen since installing the new RMGT 9 Series — which has been up and running at full speed since the beginning of August this year — has been an increase in their paper costs, because they can produce so much more in the same amount of time. But getting serious, he noted, “the biggest thing we’re noticing is the amount of product throughput and speed to market.” Just one example: One Step produces political postcards for some customers, and could produce and ship 100,000 of them in just two hours. “That’s insane for us,” May said.

In fact, One Step, which has traditionally only run one shift per day, is considering looking at adding another shift, or a half-shift. “We are looking at enhanced press shifts to move more product through,” May said. “This press has the ability to push out more product, so we want to consider taking better advantage of that.”

Another fringe benefit that May wasn’t expecting using LED-UV curing on the RMGT 9 Series press was how clean his shop is now. Because the LED-UV technology doesn’t require powder to dry the inks, there is no dust “gunking up” the rest of the equipment in the shop. “We can run the job right through a folder without running into issues,” he said. “We can pull a job off the offset press and put it on the digital press to address it without any jams at all. No powder, no problem.”

Speed is another benefit the shop is enjoying with the LED-UV inks. May pointed out that because the inks dry so fast, they are processing the jobs 15-20 minutes after they get off the press, allowing them to move jobs through the shop at speeds they could never dream of before. They can have a job come in at 8am, he noted, and it’s going back out the door by 11am that same day. “We’re able to hit the speed, and it is really thrilling our clients,” he said.

The RMGT 9 Series press has allowed One Step to better serve its current customer base, May said. But long term, the shop is anticipating increasingly better labor management as they take advantage of the productivity enhancements the press offers. In fact, May noted that now they have so much coming off the press at such speeds, they are looking at other technology in other parts of the shop that will need to be upgraded to keep up. “We are excited to have been a part of One Step’s evolution through the years, and we are happy to now support them through their next phase of growth with their new RMGT 9 Series offset press,” said Chris Manley, President, Graphco, the Midwest distributor for RMGT. “With its combination of speed, flexibility and quality, we know this press will be a reliable platform One Step can use to continue its incredible story.”

About Graphic Systems North America (GSNA)
GSNA delivers exclusive access to the entire line of RMGT offset and digital presses for commercial, packaging and in-plant printers in the U.S. and Canada. They also provide immediate technical support and parts fulfillment. Formed in July 2013 with regional offices across the United States and in Canada, the GSNA group has more than $60 million in revenue and constitutes the single largest offset press sales and service team in North America.

MARIETTA, GA — Sept 20, 2016 — Graphic Systems North America (GSNA), the authorized reseller for RMGT offset presses in North America, announces that the RMGT 9 Series LED-UV Press will be the only major offset press manufacturer running live press runs at GRAPH EXPO 16. With the theme, “Offset Quality, Digital Quantities” the RMGT exhibit in booth #1201 will feature live press demonstrations, a book-signing event with Frank Romano, and new product features recognized as “Best of Category” for the Must See ‘Ems award for the third consecutive year.

Offset Quality, Digital Quantities
“The tipping point for running a job offset over digital continues to drop,” states Chris Manley, President of Graphco, Midwest Distributor for RMGT. “As print runs continue to shorten, the RMGT 9 Series press is establishing itself as the “short-run offset press” of choice among commercial printers in North America.” Manley adds, “It should be noted that digital print continues to play a complimentary role to offset in the total number of pages printed. We are proud to provide printers with an offset press that is tuned to today’s print manufacturing needs.”

Recent advances in CTP and plate offerings contribute to the ability of offset to compete with digital. The offset plates used in the quick make-ready live demonstrations will be imaged on the all-in-one CTP solution from CRON-ECRM. This is the North American debut of what was released at drupa 16. The new solution, based on CRON’s market-leading magnetic linear drive platform, combines cassette input with precision imaging, punching and transport, providing a low cost, easy-to-use and compact unit which is easy to maintain. The new Emerald UV low chemistry plate will also be debuted at Graph Expo 16. With a simple ‘wash out’ bath, plates are press ready in seconds and exhibit exacting dot reproduction, from 1-98%, for either hybrid or conventional screening up to 200 lpi. Run length is up to 50,000 impressions without baking (20,000 for UV ink).

Frank Romano Book Signing
RMGT welcomes noted author and printing industry luminary, Frank Romano, on Monday, September 26 and Tuesday, September 26 from 3:30 pm to 4:30 pm. An author of 59 books in the printing industry, Romano will be signing copies of the new book, “The New Print Industry”, by Akshat Pardiwala, for which he was advisor. This is Romano’s latest effort working in conjunction with his students at the Rochester Institute of Technology.  The book will be distributed free of charge in the RMGT booth (#1201) on both days. This new publication aligns with RMGT’s focus on how offset print will continue to play a significant production role in the ‘new print industry’.
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Must See Ems Award Winner
RMGT will feature the 9 Series offset press (a 5-color, 8-up press, featuring LED-UV curing and SMART RPC technology) running live demonstrations during Graph Expo, on Sept 25-28, 2016 in Booth #1201. “This is the third consecutive year for RMGT to be recognized with the “Must See ‘EMS” award,” states Scot Gilbert, President of Paper Handling Solutions, Southwest Distributor for RMGT. “Previous award-winning technologies such as LED UV curing, Smart RPC and Insta-Color continue to make the RMGT brand a strong player in the 16-page format arena and the latest version of the RMGT 9 continues this tradition.” The RMGT 9 Series LED-UV press being exhibited at Graph Expo 2016 will feature a complete suite of newly developed automation technology that dramatically improves the user interface, ensures consistent operation of the press at full production speeds and allows rapid adjustment of the press using a highly automated and proprietary system.

In addition to GSNA, the North American distribution channel for RMGT offset and digital presses, Suntek S.A de C.V., will also be present in the booth. Suntek is based in Mexico City, Mexico, and is the authorized distributor of the entire line of RMGT presses in Mexico. Suntek is part of the Sun Digital Group, a leading provider of complete solutions for the Graphic Arts sector with more than 40 years in the industry. Printers visiting Graph Expo 16 can see live press runs every hour on the half hour in Booth #1201. In addition, visitors are urged to register at http://www.ryobimhi.com/graph-expo.html to secure their personal, in-depth VIP demonstration of the press during Graph Expo.

About Graphic Systems North America (GSNA)
GSNA delivers exclusive access to the entire line of RMGT offset and digital presses for commercial, packaging and in-plant printers in the U.S. and Canada. They also provide immediate technical support and parts fulfillment. Formed in July 2013 with regional offices across the United States and in Canada, the GSNA group has more than $60 million in revenue and constitutes the single largest offset press sales and service team in North America. Learn more about GSNA at www.ryobimhi.com

MARIETTA, GEORGIA - August 4th, 2016 - Paducah Printing Corp., a 139-year-old firm headquartered in Western Kentucky, has installed a new RMGT 9 Series press manufactured in Japan by RYOBI MHI Graphic Technology Ltd. (RMGT). The RMGT 9 Series handles eight-up printing and replaces a four-up Komori offset press. The new press features a maximum printing speed of 16,200 sheets per hour, RMGT’s Insta.Color make-ready automation, varnish coating capability for added value, and outstanding LED-UV print quality to meet their customers high demands. The LED-UV curing system drastically shrinks job production times by instantly drying sheets after printing so they can quickly move to the bindery for finishing. 

Since adding the 24-by-36-inch sheetfed press this past February, Paducah Printing’s president Bruce Shulman reports that his firm is attracting new publication business. “It simply is more economical to produce some of this work on 16-page signatures as opposed to the eight-page signature limits of our previous half-size press,” says Shulman, whose father, Charles, purchased Paducah Printing in 1963.

Additionally, Shulman notes that the 9 Series LED-UV curing capabilities allow Paducah to print on synthetic substrates that formerly required a special coating or that, in some cases, were not possible at all with a press using conventional inks. “Our new RMGT press is equipped with a full package of automation features so our sheet spoilage and make ready times are kept at a very economical minimum,” Shulman adds.
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“We chose the LED-UV ink and coating curing system, which is energy and environmentally conscious, compared to standard ink systems that need infrared lamps, hot air knives, offset spray and an exhaust system,” he explains. "Paducah Printing was an IDEAlliance G7-certified printer prior to the installation six months ago, and the curves necessary to achieve G7 compliance during installation only took two hours."

MARIETTA, GEORGIA — July 12, 2016 -- What does a 25% increase in throughput mean to a print shop? For John Gosselin, owner of trade printer Gosselin Graphics in Fort Lauderdale, FL, it means less overtime. “Jobs that would have taken 12 hours before now can be done in an eight-hour shift on our new RMGT 7 Series 755 GXL-E,” reports Gosselin, who started his trade-only company in 1997 out of his father’s garage with a Hamada 665 11x17-inch, two-color press. “I learned the printing trade in high school,” he recalls, as part of a vocational education program, and has “ink in his blood” ever since.

Customers were asking for spot UV work, Gosselin explains. “They wanted the ability to sell work that requires inter-deck drying capabilities”. The way RMGT does it is by a process called “Chemical Embossing”. Purchased through Paper Handling Solutions and Graphics IV, their dealer in Florida, the press was installed this past January. The five-color sheetfed press is manufactured by RYOBI MHI Graphic Technology Ltd. (RMGT) and features an inline coater with inter-deck dryers for either ultra-violet (UV) or aqueous coatings. Gosselin still has a Hamada model on its pressroom floor, an H-434 12x18-inch four-color press, but the firm has been a RMGT customer for nearly 10 years now, says its owner. “I looked at another manufacturer’s version of this press and the price was more than double,” he adds. Marc Spinola, from Graphics IV in Oviedo, FL, helped Gosselin Graphics to not only consider the reduced acquisition costs, but also the total cost of ownership with availability of parts and access to RMGT techs at the Graphics IV offices nearby.

Also running at Gosselin is a RMGT 754 straight four-color press as well as a 3304 four-color model and a Hamada H-434 12x18-inch unit and two Xerox digital presses. “We measure productivity by how many gang runs we run per night, which usually averages around 10,” Gosselin explains, adding that he runs a three-shift operation in his 15,000-square-foot, South Florida facility. With the inline UV coating capability, “my guys are done by 7 a.m. now – they don’t have to wait for someone [else] to apply the coating off-line. Before [the new press], they were cutting until noon the next day,” which meant a half shift of OT draining Gosselin’s payroll.

Coating inline is so much more efficient, Gosselin adds. “We had been doing UV [coating] for several years off-line: print, dry and then UV coat,” he says. But the firm’s 25 employees were finding it a challenge to meet Gosselin Graphics’ 24-turnaround promise to its trade customers. “Off-line coaters tend to break,” he notes. “It’s the nature of the beast.” The new RMGT 755 GXL-E allows Gosselin and his team to increase the volume of jobs and turn work faster. The versatile reseller runs a combination of custom work and gang-run jobs, according to Gosselin -- everything from UV business cards and postcards to brochures (both gloss aqueous coated and uncoated), catalogs and even large-format signage. Its full-service bindery offers saddle-stitching and perfect binding.

After high school, Gosselin paid his proverbial dues by working as a driver at a printing company, then was trained on a press. When the firm closed five years later, trade customers followed him to the garage, which he soon outgrew, graduating to larger shops over the years: first a 750-square-foot space, then 1,500 square feet. Gosselin moved to his present location nine years ago. “At first we had 7,500 square feet,” he remembers. Then in 2014 they took over another 7,500 in the building.

“We’ve had steady growth since the beginning,” Gosselin says of his now $6 million company. He attributes annual sales growth to word of mouth. “News travels fast when you get new equipment!” he reports. He also credits the firm’s website for much of their growth over the past several years.

For more information, please visit www.fourcolorprinting.com

About Graphic Systems North America

​GSNA delivers exclusive access to the RMGT 9 Series, 7 Series, 5 Series, and 3 Series line of offset presses for commercial, packaging and in-plant printers in the U.S. and Canada. They also provide immediate technical support and parts fulfillment. Formed in July 2013 with co-headquarters in four U.S. states and two Canadian provinces, the GSNA group has more than $60 million in revenue and constitutes the single largest offset press sales and service team in North America.

Learn more about GSNA at www.ryobimhi.com

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MARIETTA, GEORGIA — April 21, 2016 — Graphic Systems North America (GSNA), the Authorized Distributor for RMGT (RYOBI MHI Graphic Technology Ltd.) sheet-fed offset presses in North America, will showcase the latest innovations from RMGT at a Pre-drupa Customer Event on May 10, 2016. Senior executives from the RMGT corporate offices in Japan will be present to share industry insights and provide a glimpse of the new innovations that will be displayed at drupa 2016. The event will be held at Metzgers Printing + Mailing, providing attendees the added benefit of seeing live press demonstrations on the largest and most highly equipped RMGT 9 Series press in North America.

“Many printers in North America will not be able to attend drupa 2016, so we are thrilled to host an event that will provide a preview of what will be unveiled in Dusseldorf,” states Chris Manley, President of Graphco, Midwest Distributor for RMGT. “Metzgers Printing + Mailing is a great venue for our event as their production environment leverages the best technologies in digital and offset printing. Offset printing will still play a major role in the production supply chain for today’s media mix. By running live jobs throughout the day, printers will see how RMGT innovations provide offset quality at digital quantities.”

Highlighting the day’s agenda, Yuzuru Ichimasa, President of RMGT, and Kozac Takata, Manager of International Sales and Marketing, will discuss the plans of RMGT at drupa 2016. RMGT will be exhibiting at drupa 2016 in booth D24 in Hall 16 at Messe Düsseldorf, Germany from May 31 to June 10, 2016. The theme of the RMGT exhibit will be “IRODORI — Coloring the World Together.” The booth will feature three press models: RMGT 9, 8-up offset press, RMGT 10, 1,050 mm format offset press, and the new RMGT DP7, B2-size liquid toner type digital offset press being jointly developed with Miyakoshi Printing Machinery Co., Ltd.

“Successful commercial printers are getting their arms around the production and economic parameters of offset and digital printing,” continues Manley. “Our live press demonstrations will validate the role offset will play in economically turning short run jobs, while providing all the benefits of offset printing.” The RMGT 9 Series press at Metzgers Printing + Mailing is the largest and most highly equipped machine of its kind in North America and features the entire suite of RMGT Smart Insta.Color process automation plus best in class energy efficiency. RMGT’s LED UV, Hi-Cure UV and IR Drying technology provide maximum flexibility addressing a wide variety of production needs.

The event will be held on May 10, 2016 at Metzgers Printing + Mailing (207 Arco Drive, Toledo, OH). Pre-register to attend at: www.ryobimhi.com/predrupa

About Graphic Systems North America (GSNA)

GSNA delivers exclusive access to the RMGT 9 Series, 7 Series, 5 Series, and 3 Series line of offset presses for commercial, packaging and in-plant printers in the U.S. and Canada. They also provide immediate technical support and parts fulfillment. Formed in July 2013 with co-headquarters in four U.S. states and two Canadian provinces, the GSNA group has more than $60 million in revenue and constitutes the single largest offset press sales and service team in North America. Learn more about GSNA at: www.ryobimhi.com