Graphco, one of North America’s leading print & finishing equipment distributors last November delivered a Horizon SmartStacker to Blooming Color’s 30,000-square-foot production plant in Lombard, IL. Operating near-line to keep up with rapidly growing B2-size sheet output, the SmartStacker dynamic cut & stack capabilities eliminate manual sorting and helps the commercial printing firm produce many thousands of shorter-run jobs each workday.
Founded as a Minuteman Press franchise in 1988, approximately 85% of Blooming Color’s work now is printed digitally. The firm also offers wide-format printing services (both flatbed and roll-fed) as well as conventional six-color 40-inch sheetfed-offset for larger volumes, such as the 40,000 catalogs recently produced for a local college.
“We process thousands of orders every day,” reports Brian Scott, CEO of Blooming Color. This month, the company adds its third B2-size (20×29”), HP Indigo Digital Press — a second 100K device — to its fleet of five Indigos. HP’s 100K model can run at top speeds of up to 6,000 sheets per hour. “During peak [holiday] season, from late October through late December, our number of print orders jump to over 10,000 daily,” he noted. During those three months, the company doubles staff (to 100) and runs 24 hours per day instead of its usual two shifts.
more at: https://www.piworld.com/article/blooming-color-partners-with-graphco-on-horizon-smartstacker/