Company
Grand Traverse Continuous
Traverse City, Michigan

Profile
Grand Traverse Continuous has been producing short-run forms since 1980. Today, the company has six presses and a staff of 19.

Challenge
The company was using a direct-tonegative system to produce plates and was looking for a more streamlined and cost-effective plate production method that would deliver the high quality standards to which its customers were accustomed.

Solution
Printware Platestream Violet Computer to Metal Plate System

Results

• Eliminated costly film
• Regained time of half a headcount previously dedicated to making plate
• Easily integrated Platestream Violet into existing workflow
• Generated consistently high quality plates resulting in better quality printed output

Leveraging Technology for Business Success
Grand Traverse Continuous was established in 1980. Its current owner, Walt Gallagher, joined the company in 1987, and purchased the company outright a few years later. The company specializes in short-run (25,000 or less) continuous and laser forms and sells through distributors. Grand Traverse has19 employees and four pack-to-pack presses and two web presses that produce a combination of multi-part and single-part sheet and continuous forms.

According to Gallagher, “The forms industry has been through a significant amount of change, particularly since the Millenium, when companies were upgrading software to avoid millennium date issues. As a result of those upgrades and widespread adoption of new software systems, the majority of today’s forms are now single-part laser forms rather than the more complex multi-part continuous forms that had been our bread and butter for years.”

Gallagher reports that about 35% of his business is now laser forms, with the other 65% being traditional multi-part continuous forms. The company produces checks, invoices, purchase orders, letterhead, and a myriad of other forms required to run a business.

Going Digital
In an effort to streamline work processes as the forms business became increasingly competitive, Grand Traverse installed a polyester direct-to-plate system a number of years ago to replace its conventional film-to-plate system. While the new system was indeed more efficient, Gallagher reports that it did not deliver the expected quality. He says, “We had enormous problems with image stretching with the polyester plates. Although we were doing a lot of one-color work, if we ever had to go back on the pack press for a second color, we could not keep the image anywhere near in register. Additionally, we were losing image off of the polyester plates, sometimes after as little as 1,000 impressions. We worked extensively with the manufacturer to examine our entire production process, experimenting with a number of chemistries, changing blankets, etc. There is a significant amount of fine-line work involved in the manufacture of checks, and we simply could not get acceptable quality. After several months of frustration, we removed the system.” As a result of this experience, Gallagher determined that he needed to rely on metal plates to ensure the high level of quality his customers had come to rely on, and acquired a direct-to-negative system, which he utilized for five years. This process eliminated stripping, but still required halftime for one employee to burn and process plates. Gallagher kept his eye on market developments, and when metal CTP systems began to be more affordable, he was ready to make the change.

Consistent Quality
After significant investigation into the various metal CTP options available in the marketplace, Gallagher discovered Platestream Violet from Printware. He says, “Most of the other metal CTP solutions on the market are designed for large-format commercial printing applications and they did not meet my needs. This system appeared to be ideal for my operation.” Grand Traverse became one of the first Platestream Violet installations in the U.S.

Gallagher was amazed at the improved quality he began getting with plates from the Platestream Violet. He said, “With our previous direct-to-negative system, there were inherent problems in burning plates that we just took for granted. The light source would change almost every time you turned the equipment on, and as a result, the dot size would change from job to job. As a result, we had adjusted our screening to compensate. With the new system, we were able to achieve a consistent dot size every time. Although that meant readjusting our screening for more density, the improved quality was well worth the little effort that involved.”

Increased Efficiencies, Reduced Costs
Gallagher achieved additional benefits from the switch beyond improved quality. He says, “Right off the bat, I saved $12,000 in annual film costs by using the Platestream Violet. Add to that an estimated $15,000 savings for the half-time person that was previously dedicated to burning plates with the old system, and it begins to add up.” Gallagher also reports that the Platestream Violet system makes more efficient use of chemistry than previous systems he has used. And remaking plates is much easier than in the past. “With the Platestream Violet system,” says Gallagher, “a bar code is printed on each plate. If a plate needs to be remade for any reason, you simply scan in the bar code, the system immediately brings up the form, and the plate is regenerated.” All of this, he says, adds up to a much more efficient process as well as sharper form images than he was able to achieve in the past.

Working with Printware
After a week of training, the system was up and running. According to Gallagher, it is extremely easy to use and does not require a dedicated operator as past systems did. And working with Printware has been a delight. “Printware has been very responsive. The personal interaction we have had with them and their follow-through has more than met our expectations,” he says.