Offset printing has evolved and so has Birmingham Printing. This 100+ year old company in Birmingham, AL recently made a commitment to the environment by investing in a RMGT LED-UV offset printing press.

We met up with Birmingham Printing to ask a few questions about their recently purchased RMGT 9 Series LED-UV offset press.


Q: What was the criteria you were searching to fulfill?

A: We are committed to being good stewards of our community and printing is what we do. Over our 100 year history, we have seen the industry evolve and we quickly recognized LED-UV technology solved many of the issues associated with "traditional printing" and "digital printing." LED-UV offers lower energy bills, no VOCs, no heat, no offset powder, and instant curing of inks on difficult substrates while delivering a quality printed product.


Q: Why did you decide to buy the RMGT 9 Series LED-UV?

A: Most companies talk about being environment-friendly, but we were ready to make a commitment. LED-UV printing allows printed sheets to be quick-cured by UV light immediately after printing. This offers advantages including shorter lead times, a 50% reduction in power consumption, and the elimination of powder from the drying process.


Q: What are your future plans with the machine?

A: Our RMGT LED-UV offset press is a pivotal part of our evolution in to a completely environment-friendly production process. We plan on shifting to ink, plates, and paper that also meet our criteria.


About Birmingham Printing


Over the past 100+ years, Birmingham Printing's reputation for excellence in service and value has flourished. As their relationships increased, so have the facilities and diversity of the commercial printing products and services they offer. The one thing that has not changed is their commitment to be more than just a printer. They build relationships by getting to know their customer's business and specific needs.


For more information: www.bhamprinting.com

NEW BERLIN, Wis. — March 21, 2016 — Why would a printing firm competing in the highly competitive retail marketing, retail packaging and nationwide field distribution segment of the print market make the leap into the full-sheet arena in just four short years? The answer is that having quadrupled sales since their foundation in 2012, partners Brad Flagge and Nick Bova saw no reason to slow down simply because they had reached capacity in their manufacturing plant. The investment in a new RMGT 9 Series press more than triples their capacity so the meteoric trajectory of well-named Push Solutions can push on into the future.

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Despite growing their staff from nine employees to 24 and running their existing Heidelberg equipment around the clock, Push Solutions highly demanding clients still needed more and more volume and shorter and shorter delivery times. “Serving our local customers throughout the Southeastern Wisconsin market and also our high volume retail customers in New York and Chicago was becoming a huge challenge,” states Nick Bova, VP. “Our projects are seldom a single process order so post print finishing, kitting and special field distribution adds time to our projects. We had to compress our timeline to continue our rapid growth plans. The LED-UV curing and full-sheet production of our new RMGT press has changed our entire approach to production. In addition, we are very excited about our future opportunities producing high value products for our customers. Printing on synthetics, plastics, vinyl and foil materials will really leverage the power of our LED-UV technology and our new RMGT press.”


Push Solutions need to expand capacity was really accelerated by their retail marketing and retail packaging clients, so the next decision was what brand of offset press to invest in to meet their customers’ demand. “The highest print quality, reliability and responsiveness from our equipment provider were our primary concerns,” comments Brad Flagge, president. “When Nick and I looked at the new RMGT 9 Series at Graph Expo 2014, we were very impressed. The vibrant color and instant curing of the sheets with LED-UV and the extremely fast make-ready was a great fit for our production needs. Every RMGT customer we spoke to raved about their experience, from installation to press productivity, so we decided to move forward and buy the 9 Series.”


Since commissioning their new RMGT 920ST-5+CC+LED-UV+IR in late January, the staff at Push Solutions has not only completed Graphco’s in-depth training regime and achieved G7 color standardization status, but also insourced dozens of jobs that were previously jobbed out. “Working with the Push Solutions pressroom staff was a real pleasure,” says John Arnold, technical service manager for Graphco, the RMGT Distributor for the Midwest. “It’s great to work through our training process with such professional pressmen.” Joining the new RMGT 9 Series is a new full size CTP system, so the G7 process was smooth and efficient.


The press configuration chosen by Push Solutions includes a full array of RMGT Smart technology including the patented Smart Insta.Color makeready technology, 16,000sph production speeds and RMGT/Panasonic LED-UV Curing along with IR/Hot Air drying to provide Aqueous Coating when that is appropriate for their customers’ needs. Brad Flagge adds, “Speed to market is key for our retail marketing and packaging customers and nothing beats LED-UV when it comes to moving our customers’ projects through the plant. The efficiency we have already achieved is proving out our theory that the RMGT 9 Series is the lowest cost-to-print on the market and our finishing house loves our powder-free and completely dry printing. Our pressmen have commented on the workplace and environmental advantages, as well since the new press is so much easier to run than our old press and with no VOCs or powder the pressroom stays clean and odor free.” Flagge says RMGT was the only press manufacturer to satisfy all five of their requirements for power consumption, footprint, color control, automation and cost.


“We are proud to be part of Brad and Nick’s success and it’s certainly exciting to work with such a fast growing and results-oriented organization. Based on how quickly their team has adopted the new RMGT technology, we feel a great partnership has emerged between Push Solutions, RMGT and Graphco,” states Derek Gordon, Midwest regional manager for Graphco.


About RYOBI MHI Graphic Technology
RYOBI MHI Graphic Technology (RMGT) is among the world’s largest manufacturers of sheetfed offset printing presses and the world leader in LED-UV technology with over 165 placements worldwide. Its high-speed, fully-automated presses are respected worldwide for unsurpassed print quality, low total cost of ownership, extreme ease of operation, and unmatched reliability. In partnership with Panasonic, RMGT released LED-UV Curing for Print at Drupa 2008 and it now offers the only G3 LED-UV technology on the market. Headquartered outside of Hiroshima Japan, RMGT is a joint venture company bringing together the best technology and manufacturing expertise of Ryobi Limited and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. The enhanced product lineup and strengthened manufacturing prowess makes RMGT an indispensable brand for the printing industry.

MARIETTA, GEORGIA — March 4, 2016 —  Graphic Systems North America (GSNA), the Authorized Distributor for RMGT (RYOBI MHI Graphic Technology Ltd.) sheet-fed offset presses in North America, announces that the third annual ELITE RMGT LED-UV Users Group will meet at the Trump International Hotel on March 16, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. This meeting will be held just prior to the opening of the Print UV Conference, March 16-18, 2016.

The ELITE RMGT LED-UV Users Group is the premier event for printing companies using RMGT offset presses featuring LED-UV technology. This year’s meeting will feature sessions focused on business, technical support and product education, moderated by top suppliers in UV printing from around the world. RMGT customers, partners, suppliers and executives will gather to discuss industry trends and share best practices for leveraging LED-UV technology in their print operations. Kozac Takata, Manager of International Sales and Marketing for RMGT, will deliver the opening keynote on Wednesday, March 16, sharing company news and technology updates with attendees.

“The ELITE RMGT LED-UV User Group represents a dedicated group of business owners who are focused on using the best technology to grow their business,” states Kian Hemmen, Print & Finishing Solutions, Western Distributor for RMGT.  “We look forward to meeting the different RMGT users from across North America and hearing them share their experiences using LED-UV technology as they expand into UV Print.”

About the Print UV Conference
RMGT is a Platinum Sponsor of the 9th Annual Print UV Conference, March 16-18, 2016, in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Print UV Conference is the premier all-in-one conference event for leaders in the global UV printing industry. Attendees meet annually in Las Vegas to network, engage with printers and leading suppliers, uncover new ideas and growth opportunities, dive deep into core UV processes with experts from multiple fields and hear case studies from successful UV print initiatives around the world.

To get more information and register for the Print UV Conference, visit www.printuv.com

About Graphic Systems North America (GSNA)
GSNA is the largest independent source of printing equipment, technical service and parts in North America. GSNA delivers exclusive access to RMGT’s full line of offset and digital presses for commercial, packaging and in-plant printers in the U.S. and Canada, together with immediate technical support and parts fulfillment. Formed in July 2013 with co-headquarters in four U.S. states and two Canadian provinces, the GSNA group has more than $60 million in revenue and constitutes the single largest offset press sales and service team in North America.

Learn more about GSNA at www.ryobimhi.com