With the Alprinta 74, Metro Print and Mail Solutions in Sacramento chose for the first time a web offset printing press from Muller Martini.

The core competence of the 80-person company is in direct mailing, but it has also acquired much printing expertise over the years. In fact for three years after the Owner, Gary Meredith, founded Metro Print and Mail Solutions in 1987 with a half-dozen employees, he concentrated exclusively on mailings before he bought the first printing press in 1990. The new line of business grew quickly and today makes up 50 percent of sales.

Three years ago, following three web offset presses from other manufacturers, Metro Print and Mail Solutions chose its first model from Muller Martini, the Alprinta 74. There were two main reasons for this. Firstly, it can be used to produce large size flyers for newspapers and magazines. Secondly, Metro uses it to print complete magazines with 24-100 pages in many different sizes and in print runs ranging from 6,000 to 100,000 copies. “We have only been able to print orders like these since we have had the Alprinta 74.” says Gary Meredith.

From left: Machine Operator Mark Ferreira, Owner Gary Meredith, Boogey Hoeweling (Service Manager Muller Martini USA) and Bill Martin (Sales Manager Muller Martini USA) in front of the ten-color Alprinta 74 at Metro Print and Mail Solutions.

Extremely Versatile
Thanks to the ten offset printing units, Metro can print fronts and backs in up to five colors in one pass and sheet them. Flexo cassettes on units 5 and 10 provide the additional option of printing high-quality 4/4 color products finished with UV-coating in one operation. This makes the machine extremely versatile.

Many flyers and magazines are designed and laid out on the premises. Metro Print and Mail Solutions has a dedicated creative department for its customers, some of whom have been loyal to the company since 1987. “It has always been our aim to stay with our clients throughout the whole production process,” explains Meredith. This is, after all, the core competence of Metro Print and Mail Solutions.

Metro Print and Mail Solutions prints many magazines on the Alprinta 74, some of which contain coupons and other personal information.

Impressive Presentation and Successful Tests
Two key factors influenced Gary Meredith’s choice of a ten-color Alprinta 74 from Muller Martini with non-stop unwind unit, processing unit for perforating, die cutting and lengthwise cutting and a sheeter with integrated signature stacker for delivery of large stacks and bundles. First of all he was impressed by the presentation at the Muller Martini stand at Print ’05 in Chicago. After that, tests at the Muller Martini Training Center for Print in Maulburg, Germany, satisfied him completely: “The quality was significantly better than that of competitors’ products, and comparable to sheet-fed printing.”

According to Gary Meredith, Muller Martini USA plays a not insignificant role in the high standard of quality maintained by Metro, the leading direct mail provider in California: “The training given by the technicians here on our premises was excellent and helped us a great deal, particularly in the months following the installation.”