Company
ImageMaster
Ann Arbor, MI

Profile
In one day, print jobs are received electronically, PDF soft proofs are sent back to clients for approval, plates are made from PDFs, jobs are printed, bound and downsampled, and encrypted PDFs are posted to clients’websites. It’s not electronic publishing science fiction; it’s the way hundreds of books per year are produced at Image Master Financial Publishing Inc., of Ann Arbor, Michigan.

ImageMaster specializes in the production of official statements such as prospectuses and other shortrun, fast-turnaround information documents for customers around the country. A typical book is 100 to 200 pages, and a typical run length is 500 to 1,000. With an average of two to three books per day, ImageMaster needs to produce 50,000 plates or more per year.

To keep up with this volume, brothers Albert Rodriguez, CEO, and Daniel Rodriguez, vice president of sales and marketing, installed Printware’s Platesetter for CTP paper and polyester plates.

Improving Efficiency
Producing books electronically and outputting them directly to the PlateStream platemaker streamlines production for ImageMaster and creates higher-quality products. “We save the costs of manual platemaking and produce our plates 55 percent faster,” states Albert Rodriguez. “In addition, we produce more consistent and accurate products. It’s made a ‘night-and-day’ difference in our efficiency.”

With the CTP workflow, clients send application files via email or over the Internet. Silver-halide plates were the natural choice for ImageMaster. “The plates are inexpensive but of good quality [up to 175-line screens], and well-suited to our short-run lengths,” says Rodriguez.

The PlateStream platesetter was selected because of its speed (120 plates per hour), accuracy, and durability. “We need a lot of plates fast,” explains Rodriguez. “Also, the image has to be positioned very accurately on the plate so we can run plates through the automatic inserters without any press adjustments. Finally, machine durability was critical. Because of our high plate volume, we were buying a new silver-halide camera platemaker every one to two years. The PlateStream is designed to run a lot of plates.”

“When you can wow your customers because of your service,” states Daniel Rodiguez, “that’s when you know the investment is paying for itself.”