American Direct Adding a Sanden Web Offset Press, Its Third in 12 Months

BALTIMORE—Feb. 2, 2012—American Direct, a sister company to Tidewater Direct, has announced the purchase of a 10-color Sanden 1500 web offset printing press. This marks the third Sanden 1500 press the company has acquired in less than a year.

Utilizing printing cylinder inserts compatible with the two eight-color Sanden presses that precede it, this press is the ideal complement to American Direct’s pressroom layout. The addition of the third press, which is the fifth press at this facility and number 14 across the company, allows the printer to perform fewer cylinder changes in its regular workflow, thereby increasing efficiency and reducing cost.

Adding a third press shows an astounding commitment to the direct mail printing and pharmaceutical printing markets in which the company continues to be a growing player. Notably, this press will now enable American Direct to print 10-color forms with 17˝, 22˝ and 28˝ repeats. This lends itself well to direct mail printing that requires four-color printing on both sides, plus a spot color (which in many cases can be a logo or a another critical color).

The press is fully capable of producing additional formats that use all 10 units. This new capability brings value to the printer’s already capable pressroom.

“This is the third Sanden printing press we’ve purchased in less than a year for American Direct; we’re locating and taking advantage of opportunities that are allowing us to grow,” explains Ken Boone, CEO. “I admire the business model that Southwest Airlines uses; same equipment for all flights so that spares are interchangeable and any pilot can fly any plane. In a sense, I have taken that direction with ADI.”

The press comes complete with a splicer, infeed, 10 printing towers, a complementing bindery section, and finishes as rolls rewound on a GEC turret rewinder, or folded forms with a fan-fanfolder. This press will add the fifth GEC rewinder at the Baltimore plant, and the seventh in the company.

Each printing tower is equipped with UV interstation drying, including movable double lamps that can be stationed at turn bars. For quality assurance, the press comes with a CC1 automatic registration system, front and back inspection cameras, and Paretta remote inking capabilities. This press is ideal for continuous forms printing.

Tom Becker, President of American Direct, was also excited for the continued growth. “We started with relatively humble beginnings and have grown our business substantially in the last eight years. The Sanden presses we are purchasing today produce a higher quality product with a 33-50 percent efficiency increase. In other words, they exemplify the commitment we have to our clients by keeping prices low while positioning quality in the forefront of our strategy.”

The press, currently being installed, is expected to start up in the middle of February with full-on production by March 1, 2012.

Source: American Direct.