DiamondLink III

Twenty-five years ago, Apple Inc. introduced the original Macintosh computer, Terms of Endearment took home the Oscar for Best Picture and the Colts departed Baltimore in the dead of night. It also was 25 years ago that Mitsubishi Lithographic Presses’ present identity was forged. Mitsubishi Lithographic Presses (MLP U.S.A., Inc.), the North American sales unit for printing presses manufactured by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd., is celebrating a quarter of a century of innovations in 2009.

BY CAROLINE MILLER Automation has surely found its way into the large-format sheetfed offset press arena. Over the past six years, there has been a virtual explosion in what can now be found in the 40˝ and larger size format—including automated plate changers and washup systems, as well as sophisticated press control stations with touchscreen controls. Printers no longer have to contend with slow and labor-intensive machines, explains Mike Grego, marketing manager for Sakurai USA, which offers the 40˝ Sakurai 2102EPII press. "Automation is a must. With labor costs being one of the largest contributors to the hourly operating cost of a