Futuristic Running

How does a company celebrating its centennial stay on the cutting edge? It would seem difficult enough just to survive 10 decades in the printing industry, let alone thrive.

But with annual sales topping $30 million, Pearl Pressman Liberty Communications Group (PPLCG), Philadelphia, has overcome four generations worth of growing pains and obstacles in the form of acquisitions, ownership changes and technological advances. Now, the ISO 9002-certified firm's 120 employees are in the midst of perhaps the biggest workflow change in a century of doing business.

The major alterations began in 1999, when PPLCG adopted a computer-to-plate (CTP) prepress workflow. With a Rampage front end, its Creo (Kodak) Trendsetters use Fuji Brillia LH-PJ digital thermal plates. The prepress department employs a CIP3 interface to communicate with the pressroom, which features four 6-color, 40´´ Mitsubishi sheetfed presses (two 3G's and two 3H's), as well as a 40´´ Heidelberg Speedmaster 102 2-color perfector, added last year. Two of its Mitsubishis have standard tower aqueous coaters, while one features a Dahlgren blanket coater and the other a Harris & Bruno coater. The latest MLP press was installed in 2002.

“Our Mitsubishi PPC server processes CIP files from Rampage for ink presets,” says Dean Croly, PPLCG electronic prepress manager. The PrePress Control (PPC) server facilitates automatic press setup by transmitting plate information from the platesetter to Mitsubishi's PressLink console, enabling operators to preset ink keys, ink-fountain roller speeds, dampening systems and press speed. The end result in the pressroom is faster makereadies and less waste.

This month, according to Croly, the company will begin implementing JDF (Job Definition Format) files in its RIP using the Rampage JVX workflow system. The next step, expected by year's end, is to share JVX data with costing, accounting, job-tracking and billing data via EFI's Logic MIS system, to which PPLCG upgraded late last year.

An example of how the company has adapted over time is the ways in which it engages customers. Sharing basic advice on preparing digital files has gone a long way toward forging loyalty and smoothing workflow. A simple checklist on its website reminds customers in a friendly way to perform some basic tasks before submitting a file for preflighting:

1) Remember to supply all images and fonts. Ideally, scan resolutions should be twice that of the desired line screen—i.e., high-resolution, 300-dpi PhotoShop TIFF files for standard 150 line screen; 2) Supply all fonts, using Type 1 (PostScript) fonts, as opposed to TrueType fonts, which tend to be problematic; 3) Use art programs (not layout programs) to adjust sizes and silhouette placed artwork; and 4) Always supply full-size, accurate laser printouts, and layout pages as they will appear flat, not folded, adding 0.125´´ bleed where needed.

While such details may seem trivial, just think about how many little e-things have tripped up the start of jobs in your own plant. PPLCG takes this approach to the next technical level, offering advice on ways to make gradiations smoother: Design four-color or multi-tint blends, instead of one-color PMS blends that tend to optically band more. Also, rastering an Illustrator, Quark or Freehand blend in Photoshop to produce a TIFF tends to reduce banding—and also allows for the application of filters that can blur, bespeckle or add noise.

In addition, management keeps its collective finger on the pulse of important business issues like sustainability. PPLCG was ahead of the green curve when it volunteered for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star program 12 years ago. A $30,000 investment in energy-efficient lighting upgrades in its plant resulted in brighter work areas—and an ROI of more than $20,000 in annual savings from decreased energy use. The reductions are the equivalent to removing 28 cars from the nation's highways, or to planting 56 acres of trees, according to the EPA.

Another big change came in mid-2005, when the conventional offset printer made its foray into the digital realm with the purchase of an 80-ppm Xerox DocuColor 8000. PPLCG uses Creo's Darwin Pro software for variable-data print (VDP) applications. One recent VDP job entailed 95,000 two-page letters, and another presently in development is a direct-mail project that will combine 10 versions along with personalization and variable images.

The firm runs a three-shift operation (up to 24/7, when necessary) producing collateral materials and other general commercial work for Mid-Atlantic customers in the pharmaceutical and health-care fields, as well as: advertising agencies, design studios, Fortune 500 companies, professional sports teams, museums, the Philadelphia Zoo and higher educational institutions, including Haverford College.

The Graphic Arts Assn., the PIA affiliate for eastern Pennsylvania, Southern New Jersey and Delaware, presented PPLCG with three Best Of awards in 2006 for book, poster and broadside categories. GAA's Neographics “Power of Print” contest is one of the largest regional graphic communications competitions in the U.S.

In addition to its 25,000-sq.ft. prepress/pressroom area, PPLCG boasts an additional 29,000-sq.ft. warehouse for kitting and fulfillment operations. A full-service finishing area sets within a separate, 20,000-sq.ft. bindery with a Bobst SP104E diecutter and nine Technifold Tri-Creasers—four with micro-perforation attachments.

New mailing equipment added in 2005 includes an HP-based inkjet addressing system (with dryer) from MCS, Kirk-Rudy tabbers for wafer-sealing, a small Baumfolder and two fixed-station inserters. Before the end of this year, a new JDF-enabled stitcher is expected to be online. The company also plans to consolidate its four urban locations next year.

PPLGC's management team is composed of five owners who sell, manage and run the plant and operations. Mitch Weinstein, one of the partners, reports that the company's next press (either a 28´´ or 40´´ 6-color perfector or maybe a straight 8-color) will have closed-loop color management—a far cry from the firm's letterpresses of yesteryear, not to mention its very first printing press: a foot-powered model that teenage founders Manuel Pearl and Charles Pressman bought for about $50 in 1906.

The modern-day partners hope to make their decision after Graph Expo and be up and running with new iron some time in 2007, as they embark on the company's next 100 years.

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