Leech Printing (Commercial Printer)

CtP Gives Printer Competitive Edge

Based in Brandon, Manitoba, Leech Printing, a leading 4-up printer with 50 employees, did some soul-searching as the company's 75th anniversary approached. Started by Cec Leech in 1927 and succeeded by Don & Bud Leech in the 70's and Michael & David in the 90's, the Leech family is proud to achieve this important milestone. By their big milestone, celebrated in December 2002, Leech Printing become the latest to go computer-to-plate (CtP) with Agfa's :Palladio system, a reliable violet-laser based system and one of Agfa's hottest selling platesetters.

Delivers Quality and Value to Level Playing Field with Larger Printers

Leech Printing focuses on high quality business stationery, full-colour promotional material, publications and point-of-sale printing. Since meeting with Agfa at Print '01, Leech Printing has added a :Sherpa 43 with PDF RIP and, of course, the :Palladio, with :Apogee Pilot.

Leech's customers were demanding CtP because they were interested in quality, turnaround time and perceived cost savings. Leech required a solution that would accommodate the 4-up format on which it had developed its business, and which would provide the reliability they required in order to deliver the high level of confidence their customers had come to expect from Leech.

The :Palladio was literally plug-and-play: the very first plate was productive and the system has delivered solid performance since installation. "This advancement in technology puts Leech Printing in the forefront of technology," said David Leech, Sales Manager. "We currently are the only medium format printing company in Manitoba to have such technology."

"The :Palladio has helped us to continue to produce the high quality printing that our customers have come to expect from us," said Mike Leech, President and General Manager, Leech Printing. "It was very important for a company of our size to get into CtP to allow us to compete in larger print markets and take our company to the next level. This acquisition will allow us to expand beyond our current market and take advantage of new opportunities," Leech added.

The next levels are very important to a printer such as Leech Printing. For many years, Leech Printing has produced high quality work for the Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba, promoting exhibits at the Gallery. When the audience is expert in fine art it makes sense to have the best systems at work for you. What makes Agfa systems beneficial for Leech is that they were easy to learn and operate.

"Even through the huge technical changes many of our long term staff have adapted and changed to the new methods," said Mike Leech.

Mike attributes much of his company's success to his staff, primarily made up of local talent. "The majority of our staff have been literally brought off the street and trained to become valued qualified printing operators and technicians. This has developed our staff in the long term to become very loyal employees," Mike said.

Leech sells much more than printing services: they sell confidence to their customers and the :Palladio provided them with a solid system to support their efforts.

After three generations of ownership and multiple generations of technology changes, the Leech Family isn't about to give up now. The family is looking forward to the 75 years bringing about as many changes as the first 75 years did. Based on the success the first three-quarters of a century provided, they wouldn't want it any other way.

Advanced Automation Features

• Automated plate loading and handling

• A special media cassette keeps 50 plates online - no need for manual loading

• Automatically slip sheet removal

• Flatbed design and horizontal storage of plates, ensuring maximum reliability

• Precision-engineered transport system for accurate imaging

• Extremely reliable violet laser diode, providing consistent output