La Crosse Graphics installed its first Mitsubishi press two decades ago and the GCX joins four 40" Mitsubishi sheetfed presses and two Mitsubishi web presses on its 95,000 square-foot production facility.

In an interview with PrintWeek, company president Tim Morgan said: "We've already been doing web work, but this gives us the ability to do slightly longer runs, which is better for our customers."

Morgan added the new press will enable the company to move into new commercial printing categories and expand geographically. "Our business is really centered on turning around work quickly and we used to focus our work on a 150-mile radius - now we're moving in some directions way beyond that, 300 to 500 miles or more."

The GCX is housed in an 18,000sq ft addition about 100 feet from the company's main facility. It features a maximum web width of 38in and a 22.75in cut-off and can print as up to 1,800 feet per minute. It also features a pinless former folder, a combination folder and a sheeter.

Because La Crosse Graphics is a Mitsubishi shop, Morgan suggested the learning curve for the GCX has been minimal.

"We didn't pay a ton of money for it, it's a good machine and we're very familiar with Mitsubishi," he added. "This will open some new doors for us. We've seen some of the bigger players looking for work come down and we'll now be able to combat those guys with this machine."