Fulfilling Need for Speed

When Mike Traver established his printing business 15 years ago, he would have never guessed how appropriate the name would be. Turbo Press became the name of his new enterprise, which Traver developed in his garage in Denver.

"We came up with the name because we wanted clients to know we could do fast jobs," recalls Traver. "Little did we know how fast our turnaround time would become. Today, it's ridiculous."

But Turbo Press has answered its clients' demands by installing new automated presses over the years, maintaining a dedicated, skilled work force, and responding to customer needs.

"We really don't do any marketing, but we do have a sales force," says Traver. "We've been successful because we keep our costs down and come through for our clients. I've been very fortunate to not have a high turnover in employees."

As a general commercial printer, Turbo Press caters to corporate and ad agency clients throughout Colorado. It is equipped to print short-run jobs, such as letterhead and stationery, on up to longer-run work. Situated in a 10,000-square-foot facility on the outskirts of Denver, Turbo Press employs 20 people.

Traver had been employed in the printing business before establishing his firm. He started with a Hamada 660 duplicator, and as business grew, purchased a second. "We produced short-run four-color jobs on a two-color press and made a good name for ourselves," he recalls.

As the company became more competitive, Traver began moving into bigger markets but the runs frequently were too long for his two-color press. To remedy the situation, Turbo installed a two-color, 28" 272 EII Oliver sheetfed press from Sakurai USA, Inc. As that press became filled to capacity, Turbo added a second Sakurai, a four-color 28" 472 EDII press.

Key to the four-color press has been its automated features. The press is equipped with auto plate mounting, auto blanket and ink roller wash-up, and a central console to speed job set-up. This automation allows Turbo to provide fast turnaround and quick makereadies.

For example, on a recent job involving multiple press forms, Turbo Press operators were able to change all four plates every 15 minutes. "We're able to make great headway with jobs of just 500 sheets," explains Traver.

Last month, Turbo Press installed another Sakurai press, a fully automated five-color, 28" 572 EDII Oliver press, and traded in its two-color to the manufacturer. The new machine is equipped with the automated Size Auto Set (SAS) system, by which operators can input any sheet size or paper thickness at the console, store the data, and recall it to automatically set up the feeder and impression cylinders at the push of a button.

Thus, a job that used to require a 20-minute set-up now takes only 30 seconds.

Yet another new option on the five-color is the manufacturer's auto blanket washing and unique back cylinder wash unit. The system first uses water to break down the paper dust, then follows up with an application of cleaning solvent. Without this automation, says Traver, blanket and cylinder wash-up can take up to 40 minutes.

The new press is also equipped with the Sakurai Interactive System (SIS) which uses a touch-screen monitor to allow the operator to change press speeds automatically and control the whole machine. SIS sets the counter, controls the ink and dampening supplies, monitors press speed, and troubleshoots each job.

"We've had a lot of good luck with our Sakurai presses," says Traver. "With this new five-color, we'll broaden our customer base. We plan to use the fifth unit for varnish, which we do a lot of, and now we'll be able to complete those jobs much more quickly. We also plan to print spot color, process, and metallic jobs."

Traver has no interest in moving into the eight-page, 40" press market. Having two four-page presses enables the shop to use the same plate sizes for all of its jobs, which provides continuity, cost savings, and easy press scheduling. "A lot of printers want the bigger sheetfed equipment," concludes Traver. "Let them fight over the jobs. I'm happy with my niche in the half-size market."