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Virginia’s largest printer grows greener with Kodak UpFront Production Planning Software
Virginia’s largest printer grows greener with Kodak UpFront Production Planning Software
Company Profile
Established: 1962
Number of employees: 247
Locations: Lynchburg VA
Services: Commercial full web, sheetfed, and digital printing. 100% digital prepress workflow with 24/7 soft proofing, file transfer, asset archiving and color management. Full-service bindery/ finishing with perfect binding, saddle stitching, inside/outside inkjet, polybagging, scoring, perfing, and die cutting. In-house mail center with data processing and pre-sort. Shipping logistics and fulfillment.
Clients served: Travel and tourism, real estate, promotional products, outdoor recreation, industrial, financial, lifestyle, home accessories, and financial.
Kodak products: UpFront Production Planning Software, Prinergy Workflow System, Preps Imposition Software, InSite Prepress Portal System, and Lotem Quantum Platesetter.
”Using UpFront Software is a continuous process. Every version helps us increase productivity, reduce costs, and become more green.”
- David Williams, Prepress Leader
Progress Printing is one of nation’s largest privately held, employee-owned printers. With 247 team members and a gleaming five-acre plant in Lynchburg, Virginia, there’s been a lot of progress at Progress Printing since 1962 when it was founded in a tiny building with $5,000 worth of used equipment.
Today the company is a full-service catalog, publication, and commercial printer with more than 700 steady customers in 50 states and 14 foreign countries, including Technicolor, Hewlett Packard, Advance Auto and Hardee's. The company’s prime focus is turnkey short- to medium-run businessto-business catalogs and premier publications, along with booklets, brochures, inserts and mailers.
Progress Printing was one of the country’s first printers to go all-digital (filmless) with the Kodak Lotem Quantum Platesetter and Kodak Trendsetter Platesetter to eliminate chemicals and the use of silver. Progress Printing also has Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) designation as proof of their commitment to environmental stewardship and ethical responsibility.
Progress Printing is one of nation’s largest privately held, employee-owned printers. With 247 team members and a gleaming five-acre plant in Lynchburg, Virginia, there’s been a lot of progress at Progress Printing since 1962 when it was founded in a tiny building with $5,000 worth of used equipment.
Today the company is a full-service catalog, publication, and commercial printer with more than 700 steady customers in 50 states and 14 foreign countries, including Technicolor, Hewlett Packard, Advance Auto and Hardee's. The company’s prime focus is turnkey short- to medium-run businessto-business catalogs and premier publications, along with booklets, brochures, inserts and mailers.
Progress Printing was one of the country’s first printers to go all-digital (filmless) with the Kodak Lotem Quantum Platesetter and Kodak Trendsetter Platesetter to eliminate chemicals and the use of silver. Progress Printing also has Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) designation as proof of their commitment to environmental stewardship and ethical responsibility.
Doing What Comes Natural
Progress Printing has always operated in an environmentally friendly manner and has been recycling its scrap paper, plates, boxes, and skids for a quarter-century. “Sustainability is just doing what comes natural to the Progress Printing culture,” says David Williams, prepress leader. “We’ve been very conscious and deliberate about our environmental practices for a long, long time.”
“Sustainability is just doing what comes natural to the Progress Printing culture.”
Progress Printing buys about $24 million printing paper a year and currently recycles about 12 million pounds of paper waste each year. A complex waste collection system snakes throughout the plant. A “printer’s mix” of stock grades is shredded by a giant waste extractor that chunks out half-ton bales for recycling into tissue products.
Green Production Planning
Before switching to Kodak UpFront Software, business engineers at Progress Printing were sketching detailed layouts by hand. “UpFront Software offered us the opportunity to digitally plan the job and make crisp printouts of the layout,” says Williams. “Today, we’re completely electronic and we don’t print any job plans. They’re all PDF files that we attach to electronic job tickets.”
“Prepress plate spoilage declined to less than 1% and we’re wasting less paper and ink on incorrect jobs.”
More importantly, using UpFront Software boosted efficiency and reduced human error from misreads, typos, and transposing. According to Williams, UpFront Software built integrity, repeatability and predictability into production planning. “We use more than 8,000
plates a month and prepress plate spoilage declined to less than 1%. We’re also wasting less paper and ink on incorrect jobs.”
“Kodak UpFront Software was the first component of a paradigm shift in automating our front-end workflow,” adds Williams. “It’s the first step to ensuring that the production cycle gets off smoothly.”
Williams notes that UpFront Software has reduced job-toproof time from three days to one day—with an occasional two-day turnaround. “This is a big deal when you’re processing 400 jobs a month. The tool is unique in that it also supports our manroland Lithoman Web Presses. It does a marvelous job at folded signature work.”
Progress Printing also takes advantage of the integration with Kodak Unified Workflow Solutions. Using Kodak Prinergy Advanced Production Automation Software, the imposition plans created in UpFront Software are automatically converted into jobs for the Kodak Prinergy Workflow System.
More importantly, using UpFront Software boosted efficiency and reduced human error from misreads, typos, and transposing. According to Williams, UpFront Software built integrity, repeatability and predictability into production planning. “We use more than 8,000
plates a month and prepress plate spoilage declined to less than 1%. We’re also wasting less paper and ink on incorrect jobs.”
“Kodak UpFront Software was the first component of a paradigm shift in automating our front-end workflow,” adds Williams. “It’s the first step to ensuring that the production cycle gets off smoothly.”
Williams notes that UpFront Software has reduced job-toproof time from three days to one day—with an occasional two-day turnaround. “This is a big deal when you’re processing 400 jobs a month. The tool is unique in that it also supports our manroland Lithoman Web Presses. It does a marvelous job at folded signature work.”
Progress Printing also takes advantage of the integration with Kodak Unified Workflow Solutions. Using Kodak Prinergy Advanced Production Automation Software, the imposition plans created in UpFront Software are automatically converted into jobs for the Kodak Prinergy Workflow System.
Automation that Continues to Develop
According to Williams, growing with UpFront Software is a continuously rewarding process. Every version or new feature “helps us increase productivity, reduce costs, and become greener. For example, the addition of more cutting styles dramatically helps us in our flatwork,” he says. “Work just flows with UpFront Software.”