Cincinnati Precision Plate, Inc. specializes in prepress for the package
printing industry and provides high quality plates and films for labels,bags,
boxes, and cartons using advancedtechnology. The ability to create highly
accurate color proofs, as well as first rate films and plates for flexography,
gravure, letterpress, rotary screen, and lithography, has made Cincinnati
Precision Plate a key industry player in its category.
Founded by Bill Painer and Gary McKinney in 1978, the now 40,000 sq. ft.
state-of-the-art facility boasts 30 employees specializing in the flexographic
and offset markets, as well as proofing, graphic design, and web page
development. The Macintosh-based operation relies on high-end imaging and
production software.
Jim Edwards, Cincinnati Precision Plate Plant Manager, says it wasn’t long
ago that he and his team began researching workflow technologies that
would allow the company to get closer to offset quality in production.
OpenRIP Flexo simplifies prepress for labels by handling all the repetitive
and tedious work of preparing files for output: The SmartDie™ feature
automaticallyapplies the correct step & repeat, distortion, bearer bars and
registration marks; and using In-RIP trapping, enables users to trap files
at the RIP instantly. This technology allows prepress operators to prepare
artwork in a simple one-up workflow. It also provides consistency in how
all jobs are processed, minimizing costly human errors.
Edwards says, “The move to RIPit OpenRIP Flexo technology was a group
decision. We evaluated the competition, but when we trialed RIPit for a
month, and especially found the advantage in PerfectBLEND hybrid
screening, we found it gave us greater flexibility to produce the results
we needed.”
Kevin Palmer, IT Manager, wanted to make the switch to OpenRIP Flexo
because it would provide a range of overall prepress benefits. He finds
the technology practical, user-friendly, and well-supported.
“Overall, we find RIPit’s OpenRIP Flexo technology to be a very nice product
that runs quickly on any mainstream hardware,” Palmer says. “The fact
that OpenRIP Flexo runs on a very reasonably-sized server, and we’re not
forced to purchase a large server, makes our implementation of RIPit
worth it just for that fact alone.”
Since installing RIPit technology, Cincinnati Precision Plate’s clients are
enjoying faster turnaround times. A good example of time savings is the
differencebetween processing each job manually, in Photoshop; and
OpenRIP Flexo’s ability to image process on the fly. Automating this process
with OpenRIP Flexo allows for an average savings of 1-2 hours and,
accordingly, overall job costs. Of course, customer satisfaction increases
dramatically, as well.
Edwards says that he believes most printers will agree that one of their
most common goals is better highlights at press. He therefore says that
those considering OpenRIP Flexo should know that the product’s number
one advantage, primarily attained with PerfectBLEND screening, is
delivering precisely that: better highlights -- and a superior pattern.
“We are no longer being limited to certain resolutions, and now have an
open back-end to support any device we have,” Edwards says. “RIPit is
giving us fantastic results coming off of press. We are getting better drop
out areas and the subject has a very smooth transition.”
Edwards is pleased with the implementation and is eager to utilize the
technology’s other, vast capabilities. “All summed up,” Edwards remarks,
“it is simply a good package all the way around.”
