Company
Printing Dynamics
Kansas City, Missouri

Profile
Roy Acklin owns Printing Dynamics (Kansas City, Missouri). The $400,000, 3,200-sq.- ft. shop entered the digital era with the installation of a PlateStream platesetter. “We wanted quick turnaround times,” explains Acklin. “We were having to send film out—it was taking a day to a day-and-a-half to get it back.”

Printing Dynamics, which specializes in newsletters, has a Heidelberg Quickmaster and three A.B. Dick presses: two 9800s and one 360. Prior to the PlateStream, the printer had no film output capabilities, but Acklin says the learning curve wasn’t steep. “We’d dealt with film output issues, such as font problems, when sending out film before,” relates the printer.

The PlateStream punches, images, processes, dries and cuts plates to length. It features dual cassettes, enabling the user to switch between film and polyester plate material. Acklin reports that about 80 percent of jobs are done via polyester plate. “We are running a fairly thick plate—8 mil— and it holds the registration well. What was normally taking three days, we can now turn around in 24 hours,” states Acklin. “The customers love the quality of the photos. We can do a 150-line screen without going to film and conventional plates. The PlateStream saves a lot of time because the plates come out set to press specifications.