Printing Production

Our pressroom employees are skilled in press operation and take pride in producing excellent products. We use the best inks and supplies possible to maintain quality and consistency. Our press room is equipped with a variety of offset presses capable of handling paper from 4''x3'' up to 25''x36''.We can handle the simplest to the most complex printing designs. Business cards to six-color magazines, color posters to invitations, are produced on a daily basis. Over 5,000 jobs and over 250,000,000 equivalent
8 1/2'' X 11'' pages of information are produced annually. The printing inks that we use are soy based. Virtually all of our fine printing papers are recycled and contain a minimum of 10% post consumer waste. Printing Services can provide offset printing on almost any type of paper stock including bond, book, text, cover, index, tag, pressure-sensitive carbonless, gummed labels, and Kraft envelopes; or any finish, including matte, coated, vellum, linen, parchment, wove, laid, etc; A selection of text and cover weight paper is stocked in our facility. Samples of paper can be reviewed in books available at our customer service office at the Union. Paper orders are placed and delivered daily. KSPS also maintains a substantial inventory of ink. An ink selector showing the various stocked ink colors is available at the front counter. Special order inks can also be obtained from suppliers.

After you sign your proof ticket indicating the job is ready to print, our CTP system produces the printers plate. The plate is chemically treated to accept ink only on the image area, which is offset to a cylinder called the blanket, then onto paper. The offset printing process works by transferring the image (file or camera) to a metal photoreceptive plate. The metal plate, when placed on the press, attracts ink to the image area and water to the blank areas. The image transfers from the inked metal plate to a rubber blanket, which in turn transfers the image to a sheet of paper. The term "offset" is used because the metal plate never comes in direct contact with the paper. Because the plate does not come in direct contact with the paper, it lasts longer and can be re-used. When the image transfers from the rubber blanket to the paper, the softer surface allows better ink coverage on textured paper.

Which Press Is For You?

The largest offset press at Printing Services is a called a color perfector and will print one color of ink (can be two different colors) on both sides of the sheet simultaneously or two colors of ink on one side of the sheet. Maximum sheet size is 25" by 36". Often the image will be repeated on a larger sheet several times to save on cost and reduce the number of times the sheet travels through the press.

The finished sheets are trimmed, scored, folded and bound in the Printing Services bindery department once the job is complete and the ink has dried. Letterhead, business cards, envelopes, and most forms are printed on one of the smaller presses.

When Offset is More Practical Than Quick-Copy

Your job will be run on an offset press when:

• The quantity makes it more cost effective to print more than one copy per impression. The offset press can print as many as 16 pages on one sheet.
  
• There are multiple part forms (NCR), envelopes or panel card invitations
  
• The job requires a paper size or type unavailable thru the quick copy process

While most duplication requests can be produced in 24 hours or less, offset printing requires more time because of the setup required including pagination, proof reading, and preparation of printing plates. Less than one-third of the scheduled time represents actual press time, and your estimated two-week production time may be shortened considerably by returning your proof quickly.
Whenever cost is a consideration, you should consult with KSPS before choosing how to produce your print project. Pricing varies widely between all types of printing, but if your quantity needs are sufficient, you could benefit by choosing a different method.
We offer many additional features along with our other services like embossing, die-cutting, numbering, and more.
If your project requires any special treatment, we will be glad to help. Come in and review our samples and discuss your custom printing needs with us before choosing any other printer.

Contact KSPS We are your best choice.