MARYLAND PRINTER INSTALLS NEW RYOBI 5-COLOR PRESS


McDonald & Eudy, a Top 10 U.S. government contract printer, chooses Ryobi for fast make-readies, quick, accurate color and a coater that speeds delivery of finished pieces to the bindery

MARLOW HEIGHTS, MD, October 12, 2006—Large U.S. government contract printer McDonald & Eudy Printers has installed its first Ryobi press, a 23x29 inch 5-color with convertible perfecting and coater.

The family-owned web and sheetfed printer is a Top 10 U.S. Government Printing Office printing vendor by volume. Ryobi is one the world’s leading manufacturers of offset printing presses. Ryobi presses are being demonstrated at Graph Expo 2006, Oct. 15-18, in Chicago, xpedx Booth 3812.

McDonald & Eudy president Mike McDonald said he needed a fast make-ready, high print-quality mid-size press that would expand capacity and reduce workload on the company’s other 4-color presses. After researching offerings from other leading press manufacturers, he selected the 5-color, 23x29 inch RYOBI 755 XLP-G with convertible perfecting and coater. The press runs at a maximum of 15,000 sheets per hour.

"We were very impressed with the quick make-readies, the speed at which the Ryobi gets up to full color and the overall ease of operation," said McDonald. "What’s more, because of the auto inksetting on the Ryobi, our paper waste is down substantially."

"Another time and cost saver is the coater," he said. "We now have a quicker turnaround when a piece comes off the press. We can take print work to the bindery in 15-20 minutes and go right into production. Before the Ryobi, we used to have to wait two to three hours before we could touch a printed piece when coating offline."

McDonald, whose firm has been in business since 1951, said service was another critical issue in deciding to go with Ryobi. He receives highly responsive service from xpedx and xpedx Printing Technologies, Hanover, MD, his local xpedx and Ryobi dealer. "We like that xpedx is local and the fact we have a deep, long-term relationship with them already. They’re immediately responsive—and they don’t have to charge travel time expenses when we need service on our press."

Kenny Leitch, equipment specialist/salesman for xpedx Printing Technologies in Hanover, MD, worked closely with McDonald through the initial search process, the install, and continues to work with him for all ongoing needs.

"McDonald & Eudy needed a press that was streak-free, highly efficient and produced spot-on color," said Leitch. "When we ran proofs on the RYOBI 755, its double-sided cylinders increased dwell time between the units and streaking didn’t occur as it did on other non-Ryobi presses."

Both McDonald and Leitch said Ryobi’s PDS-E scanner, which quickly gets the Ryobi press up to full color, is technologically well ahead of competitors’ offerings—at substantially less cost.


About Ryobi Graphic Systems

Ryobi Graphic Systems Division of Hiroshima, Japan, is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of offset printing presses and is a business unit of Ryobi, Ltd., founded in 1943. Ryobi offers multi-functional offset printing presses, hardware and software that handle all aspects of a print job, from pre-press to binding. It is a world leader in high-precision large-, mid-size and small presses, DI presses and CIP4-JDF compliant digital workflows. With pressroom installations worldwide, Ryobi presses are respected for their superior print quality, cost-effectiveness, ease of press operation, high reliability and precision machining.

About xpedx Printing Technologies

xpedx Printing Technologies, a wholly owned division of xpedx, offers rapid-response, local technical support, press operator training, a large parts warehouse and a showroom/demo center at its headquarters in Lenexa, KS. It has a team of executive, sales and technical staff and currently has 50 dealers across the U.S. responsible for local sales and service. The company is on the web at ryobi.xpedx.com. The phone is 800-553-4980.

In the U.S., xpedx Printing Technologies markets and distributes a wide variety of presses and printing technology including the following core offerings:

• RYOBI 750 series, 6-up high-speed multi-color 20x29" and 23x29" sheet size offset presses;
• RYOBI 680 series, 4-up-plus size high-speed multi-color offset presses;
• RYOBI 520 series, 2-up plus size high-speed multi-color offset presses;
• RYOBI 3404 DI series, 2-up size portrait format 4-color offset presses with direct imaging.

The 750, 680 and 520 series can be equipped with perfectors, coating units, UV curing units and infrared dryers.

xpedx Printing Technologies has the largest force of local, factory-trained press technicians in the U.S. to service Ryobi printing presses. The company’s dealers coast-to-coast provide first-tier support, and are backed up by technicians at xpedx Printing Technologies headquarters and Ryobi Graphic Systems engineers in Japan. The superior service model offers unequalled same day response time for all Ryobi presses. xpedx Printing Technologies and Ryobi also require continuously updated training for all press service technicians.

About xpedx and its businesses

Loveland, Ohio-based xpedx, an International Paper company, is North America’s largest marketer and distributor of printing papers and graphics supplies and equipment. It is also a large distributor of packaging supplies and equipment and facilities supplies and equipment. xpedx has more than 7,000 employees in 250 locations in the U.S. and Mexico. Major customers include commercial printers, publishers, manufacturers, retailers, facility managers and companies across many industry segments.

In addition to delivering the world’s largest offering of printing papers from a single source, xpedx provides graphics professionals with advanced digital prepress equipment, hardware and graphics software, Ryobi presses and digital workflows, color management tools, finishing, bindery and packaging systems. xpedx also offers detailed operations analysis, advice and financing to help make a customer’s printing operations more efficient and profitable. xpedx is one of the largest providers of post-consumer waste content and recycled printing papers in North America. It offers the greatest variety of Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified papers in the U.S.

Other xpedx owned-and-operated businesses include New York-based Bulkley Dunton, the xpedx National Technology Center (NTC), a pre-press laboratory and demonstration center based in metropolitan Cleveland, Ohio, as well as a network of 140 retail paper stores in 32 states that operate under the names xpedx Paper & Graphics, xpedx Paper Store, If It’s Paper and Arvey Paper & Office Products. In Mexico, xpedx owns and operates 20 distribution centers and retail stores. xpedx operates one of the largest business-to-business e-commerce sites, xpedx.com, and also operates suiteshoponline.com for graphics professionals.

EDITOR’S NOTE: xpedx is spelled all lower case.

CONTACTS: Don Harvey, vice president and general manager, xpedx Printing Technologies, Lenexa, Kansas, 913-631-8700; Jeff Higgins, xpedx Director of Marketing Services and Information, Loveland, Ohio, 513-965-2923; Press/Analysts: Erik Godchaux, Media Strategy Group, Madison, Wisconsin, 608-256-4540.