HOT Graphics & Printing Installs Two Mitsubishi Sheetfed Presses

January 9, 2012

multipage

MEMPHIS, TN—Jan. 9, 2012—HOT Graphics & Printing is getting off to a great start in 2012 with the installation of two Mitsubishi 40˝ sheeted presses. The $5 million-plus commercial printer has installed a 10-color Diamond 3000R convertible perfector and a six-color Diamond 3000S straight press at its recently expanded, 37,000-square-foot printing plant.

The 10-color perfecting press prints and coats both sides of the sheet at once. It features individual coating towers located after the fifth and 10th printing units. The drying package combines interstation infrared/cold-air and ultraviolet (UV) curing units. The six-color straight press is equipped with an aqueous coater.

“Differentiating ourselves from the competition is critical in our intensely competitive industry,” said Danny Wynne, assistant production manager. “When we began researching perfectors, we knew we wanted a minimum of eight colors to print process colors on the front and back of the sheet. The configuration of the Diamond 3000R enables five colors plus coating over five colors plus coating for special effects using conventional and UV inks and coatings. This press is the first of its kind within a fairly large radius. There isn’t another one like it between Memphis and Jackson, MS, or Little Rock, AR.”

Wynne’s grandfather launched the business in 1964 as House of Typography with two Monotype machines capable of setting four lines of type a minute. A Linotype machine later was added to accommodate the increasing volume of typesetting work. In 1989, House of Typography bought its first press so it could typeset and print jobs for customers. The name change to HOT Graphics & Printing in 1991 reflected more accurately the course the company had pursued.

Today, HOT Graphics & Printing produces typical commercial fare, along with labels, manuals, DVD sleeves and inserts. The full-service print shop has a workforce of more than 40 employees and a service portfolio that emphasizes printing, binding, mailing and fulfillment. Its diverse customer base ranges from manufacturers to gaming establishments to agencies.

HOT Graphics & Printing made major facility improvements in advance of the Mitsubishi presses’ delivery. An addition constructed in 2011 and originally intended to warehouse incoming and outgoing supplies became the new pressroom.

“We needed to keep our existing presses running while the Mitsubishi presses were being installed,” Wynne noted. “The space was organized in such a way as to create a more efficient workflow from prepress to press to postpress.”