Presstek Inc.

More than 20 years ago, Presstek Inc. entered the market with a plan to change the way offset printing is produced. Since then, the company has created a number of systems and services – it holds more than 500 patents – designed to make it easier for printers to meet the demand for high-quality, faster turnaround printing, while at the same time improving their profit margins.

“Faster turn times, higher quality, more color – these are but a few of the challenges today’s print service providers face from a base of increasingly demanding print buyers,” the company says. “Finding ways to meet these demands profitably can be complicated.

“Since its inception, Presstek has been focused on simplifying offset printing with innovative solutions that take time and steps out of the offset printing process. Whether our clients choose to make plates on-press or off-press, Presstek solutions offer the most efficient and profitable manufacturing process available to printers today. And they are environmentally friendly, too.”

Based in Greenwich, Conn., Presstek says it is the world’s premier provider of environmentally responsible direct-imaging (DI) digital offset presses and computer-to-plate (CTP) solutions. The company has been the recipient of many prestigious Graphic Arts Technical Foundation InterTech awards and has been recognized by numerous other industry sources for innovations in business and technology.

Presstek explains it has pioneered the advancement of digital offset printing solutions for commercial printing applications by:

• Inventing the technology incorporated in DI presses;
• Inventing chemistry-free imaging of printing plates;
• Significantly streamlining the print production workflow through its many innovations;
• Implementing workflows that transition printing from a skill-based craft to a modern manufacturing process; and
• Introducing the Presstek 52DI, a highly automated landscape format DI press with a larger sheet size for higher production environments.

From 1987 to 2004, Presstek was a technology provider that partnered with the industry’s largest press manufacturers and distribution networks to deliver products enabled by its technology. During this time, Presstek DI technology was implemented on Ryobi, Heidelberg, Xerox, KBA and Kodak presses.

“The most notable of these is the Heidelberg QuickMaster DI, which was introduced in 1995 and forever changed the way short-run color printing was produced,” the company says. “During this period, Presstek was also the first to develop and bring to market chemistry-free CTP, and is still an industry leader in this area.”

In 2004, Presstek acquired ABDick and Precision Lithograining. The acquisition of Precision Lithograining, it says, allowed Presstek to strengthen its plate manufacturing capability, enhancing its ability to meet customers’ current and future needs. By acquiring ABDick, with its tradition of 120 years of printing innovation, its great depth of understanding of the industry and its large customer base, Presstek gained access to a direct sales and service force that has allowed it to develop an even closer relationship with its customer base, the company notes.

“Presstek’s vision [is] to be a leading global provider to the graphic communications market by delivering high-quality, fully integrated digital solutions and services while forming all-encompassing relationships with our customers,” it says.

Worldwide Improvements

Presstek’s systems and products have helped a number of customers improve their operations in recent months. Citygraph, a Milan-based full-service printer, for example, has found a number of benefits from replacing its older 46 Karat DI press with a new Presstek 34DI digital offset press in late 2010. Citygraph has five employees and primarily serves hotels and restaurants.

“We needed to upgrade our press to remain competitive,” said Gianni Tadini, founder and manager of Citygraph. “There was no doubt in our minds that we would move to the Presstek 34DI. It allowed us to improve productivity and increase quality while still being able to handle the fast-turn, short-run work the market demands.”