Mixing It Up

The 40´´ market is cut-throat almost everywhere these days, but perhaps nowhere is it more competitive and saturated than in Chicago, which is still the print center of the U.S. When leading graphic designers, ad agencies and high-end corporate print buyers list premier sheetfed printers in the greater Chicago area, Lake County Press (LCP) usually is mentioned among the top five.

Based in Waukegan, IL, about halfway between Chicago and Milwaukee, the 36-year-old, family-owned company's reputation for quality and integrity extend far beyond the shores of Lake Michigan. With 2005 annual sales of $43 million, it ranks #100 among the GAM/GABB list of 101 printers in all of North America. Sales for this year are expected to reach $50 million, thanks largely to an 8-color Heidelberg Speedmaster CD 102, the company's first UV press, installed last year.

It's no secret that printers measure themselves against other printers—sometimes by the equipment they have, other times by the type of work they run. Producing a promotional brochure for a paper manufacturer is a sign to many industry observers that a printing company has “arrived.” Suffice it to say that along with the award-winning annual reports that it has worked on, LCP printed “This is Ed” #4 for Stora Enso, a promo for the Productolith line of coated freesheet.

LCP's 214 employees, who average over 11 years of service with the company, like to think of the Chicago area's largest, privately held commercial sheetfed printer as a “custom” shop. Seventy-something president/CEO Ralph Johnson, who got ink in his veins as a pressroom floorboy, is one of the company's pillars and brings more than 55 years of hands-on print industry experience. For LCP's 35th anniversary last year, Johnson and the management team treated employees to two gifts: the 8-unit Speedmaster UV press and a Kodak color digital NexPress 2100 plus for shorter, on-demand runs.

LCP began as an 18,000-sq.ft. facility with 22 employees. Today, it measures 123,500 sq.ft. with nearly 10 times that workforce—and six Heidelberg sheetfed presses—powering a three-shift, 24/6 operation. The firm purchased its first Heidelberg, a 2-color, in 1972; seven years later, it invested in a 4-color Heidelberg; and seven years after that, in 1986, it scratched its 6-color itch. Sales doubled, from $10 million to $20 million, between 1987 and 1994. They'd double again by the end of 2005, growing at a rate of nearly 5% over the past 10 years.

To say that LCP is committed to the 40" format is an understatement at best. Today, the pressroom features a total of 50 Heidelberg press units and all but seven are on 40" presses. Five of the printer's six presses are 28×40s; one is 23×29. Four are 6-color presses—three are CD 102s with coaters; one with an Accel (Pamarco) Sentinel auto ink dispenser and Grafix infrared dryer.

Its 12-color Speedmaster 102 perfector with Cut-Star roll-to-sheet feeder attachment was among the first of its kind in North America five years ago. The press's center perfecting unit allows for printing a 6-color, 16-page booklet in one pass. There's also a 6-color CD 74 (the 29") with aqueous tower coater and Fuchs-DeVries infrared dryer, and a 4-color SM 102 perfector. And the firm also runs a 2-color, 20" GTOZ/P-S and two 2-color Printmaster 46 presses.

In addition to increasing capacity, the new SM CD 102 has extended LCP's product line into the UV market with fully interdecked curing capability. “The UV press is a new niche for us, with the special effects,” says Pete Douglas, senior VP marketing, who doesn't believe in coincidences. When asked about the firm's $7 million in increased sales this year, Douglas is quick to point to the new press, which fosters more flexibility from a design standpoint, allowing for printing on plastics, vinyl and other non-paper substrates. It also facilitates more creative uses of metallic inks, varnishes and coatings, as well as more vibrant color reproduction on uncoated paper. Since the installation, the shop reports increases in productivity and higher, consistent speeds.

On the digital front, the new 70-ppm Kodak NexPress 2100 plus marked the company's second non-offset press (its first color) and was a first-of-its-kind installation in the Midwest 15 months ago. Management says the larger, “plus” 14×20½´´ sheet size and imaging area makes for more efficient postcard production, accommodating four 6×9´´ full-bleed cards on a single sheet.

They also like the 4-color device's optional fifth printing unit, which enables value-added coating, glossing and spot color. LCP's NexPress also utilizes the latest versions of ImageSmart imposition/file manipulation software and DL-100 NexTreme variable data imaging software.

“This is a way for us to become stronger partners with our clients by helping them better market their businesses,” says Johnson. “We are able to offer a full range of printing services which include database management for digital printing and fulfillment/print-on-demand capabilities.”

Running two digital shifts, LCP is using the 2100 plus to print and duplex a range of short-run jobs, including pressure-sensitive labels and bottleneck hangers—a lot of them on Stora Enso Centura. “In the end, we determined that the NexPress 2100 plus was truly comparable to offset,” says Russ Schoenherr, senior VP. Even plastic film is being run on its NexPress, with post UV curing.

“The NexPress system is unequaled in flexibility and modularity,” Schoenherr notes, adding that its architecture permits the addition of higher-capacity paper feeders, delivery systems, more powerful digital front-end configurations and booklet finishing options. Just-in-time paper deliveries allow the printer to toggle between thin (from 16-lb. bond) uncoated and heavy (up to 130-lb.) coated papers relatively painlessly. Four different feeder stations can be used, with capacities ranging from 5,500 to 11,000 sheets (depending on weight, dimensions, etc.). Just as with offset press delivery systems, printed stacks pile up to just over 19´´ on mobile carts.

The NexPress is complementing LCP's offset operations, allowing the printer to choose the right production tool for the right application. It's also enabling sales and business development teams to expand project-based relationships into ongoing print campaigns, especially with the system's powerful variable data printing capabilities. The firm is implementing a Web-to-print facility to drive the press and make it easier for customers to order and take delivery faster.

LCP is making use of Kodak business development services to educate its salesforce in successfully selling digital printing products. Some 60% of the print work comes from designers and agencies, many of whom are inquiring about digital output. Equally critical is the level of quality in color reproduction, especially for national brands, as well as processing power and accuracy of data files in variable data print production. “We simply love how this machine prints,” says Douglas.

Lake County Press has been a Kodak user for more than a decade. In addition to the NexPress, LCP has a Digimaster 9110 monochrome printing system and also uses: Thermal Gold plates, Matchprint digital proofing systems and 5542 inkjet printer, Approval proofing products, Prinergy workflow management, Synapse InSite Internet prepress portal, a Trendsetter 3244 platesetter and a Proofsetter Spectrum digital halftone proofer.

The Kodak/Heidelberg shop serves approximately 450 national clients annually in some 20 different industries, including the pharmaceutical, financial and creative design communities. That adds up to nearly 7,000 jobs each year, including some 50 or so annual reports. On any given day all around Chicago and its suburbs, hundreds of boxes with the trademark orange, ochre and purple “LCP” logo can be found. (LCP ships an average of 230 packages daily.)

With its high offset volumes, LCP presses consume more than 106,500 lbs. of ink and some 1 million lbs. of paper every year. But the company is committed to environmental sustainability, as well as to the bottom line, smartly recycling nearly 4.7 million lbs. of waste annually. Two FloClear systems recycle fountain solution, for example. “When I walk by the FloClears, I hear 'cha-ching, cha-ching,' which is the sound of the money we're saving,” says Roger Parent, who heads up special operations at LCP.

LCP has used Toyo inks since 2000. An on-site ink lab is staffed by a full-time chemist from Toyo, whose specialty is UV. In addition to testing substrates, this technician analyzes press sheets after they're printed.

The in-house bindery includes a Heidelberg Stitchmaster ST270 and a Muller Martini 355 saddlestitcher, along with MBO and Stahl folders, diecutters and a three-hole punch machine. Finishing capabilities include diecutting, scoring, custom-gluing, taping, folding, stitching, assembly and wrapping.

Across the street, a 45,000-sq.ft. fulfillment facility, called LCP Complete, offers variable-data printing, pull-and-pack, kit assembly, warehousing and distribution. The operation uses Software Marketing Associates Pro-Mail application for Web-based ordering, inventory management and custom reporting. www.lakecountypress.com

ONLINE: www.us.heidelberg.com, graphics.kodak.com, grafix-online.com, fuchs-devries.com, pamarcotech.com, toyoink.com, floclear.com, storaenso.com mullermartiniusa.com, mboamerica.com, and sma-promail.com