To Bob Morton, President, Best Graphics, Inc. -

How did we make the decision to buy the Hamada 452?

Well, we were doing a fair amount of 4-color work on our 2-color perfector. We thought we'd have enough work to keep a 4-color busy one day a week. That was enough to pay for the Hamada 452. So we bought it somewhat on faith. Now that customers see the quality of the 4-color output, we have so much work, we can hardly keep up.

Customers love the quality and the quick turnaround. The pressmen enjoy working on it because it's so easy to operate and runs so smoothly. We did consider a Heidelberg DI, but it just didn't compare. This press has been great for us.

I'm amazed at the speeds we can run the 452. I see the pressmen run it wide open a lot. It's really a smooth, well-built machine. The landscape feed is so much better than a portrait feed. Landscape is the only way to go on a 4-color. This press is much, much better than any toner-based system out there. There's really no comparison.

We do a lot of short run projects - up to seven or eight a day - and the quick turnaround is fantastic. One of our pressmen, Jon, says the 5-color press he used to run had a manual clamping plate system. You had to fight it and wrench it on to get it in register. You had to tighten down each bolt across the tail clamp - a real chore, and it just wasn't accurate. With this autoplate hanger system, the pressure is preset, you're "pulling the same" every time. "You pop on the plates, one or two moves, and you're goin', man!" We hardly have to adjust at all. Also, there's no plate bends or lips and they're easier to store for our reruns.

The auto blanket washers feature is tremendous. The pressman doesn't have to crawl in there and clean 'em. He can concentrate on his job. The washer system is a very worthwhile feature.

The pull side guides system really allows us to keep the waste down. We get better control and easier setup. It performs great on every stock we run, from 12-pt. C2S on down to thin label stock. Anything 4-color, the pressmen love running it on this machine.

With the swing gripper infeed, our jobs run without marking. With all the short runs we do, there's not a lot of time to waste, so not having marking problems is a big plus.

Your training worked out great. Both of our operators were up to speed in a total of three days. It went extremely well. We were productive right away.

Service and support were key for us. We've owned Heidelbergs in the past and we had trouble getting service. Here, we just call Best and you respond on the spot. The main thing is, you keep us running. If we're down, you always find a way to get a service person out right away. Best has always done a great job, and that's as important as the machine you have.

Bob, this press has increased our business and opened a lot of doors for us. You've given us a great product and great support. We will definitely continue to look to you for our equipment needs.

Sincerely, Bob Schoepfer, President