hat may be the future of the printing industry begins after dark with a low hum, then a series of sharp clicks as an invisible collection of mechanical parts lock into position. The slow gentle buzz crescendos into a mechanistic sigh that gradually roars across the room. Blues, reds and golds rain out of the machine, as the scent of fresh ink stains the air.
The massive printer in a large suite on the second floor of the Chamber’s Business Development Center operates against the backdrop of night. By morning, when Todd Rohloff arrives at Print Trends, Inc., stacks of mouse pads, coasters and window visors are neatly arranged next to the printer, thanks to Rohloff’s only third shift employee, Andrew Ford.
Though Print Trends is perfectly capable of manufacturing all its products by day, Rohloff, who owns the full-service printing company with his wife, Deena, runs his loudest printer at night so as not to disturb nearby BDC tenants.
"That printer," he said, gesturing toward what looks like a steroid-induced fusion of an iron press, standard printer, and copy machine, "produces a sound our office walls simply cannot contain. We’re all constantly trying to team up here at the BDC, so we do our best to respect our working neighbors."
The machine is an alpha not only in terms of its sound but also in the color quality, image detail and fade resistance it produces. Rohloff touts this tool, called a digital dye sublimation printer, as the future of the printing industry and the foundation for his business.
Like many of its peers, Print Trends produces basic letterhead, magazine covers, newsletters and other materials. But what sets it apart from competitors is that it is one of only two local printers which incorporate the dye sublimation practice into their work.
"It’s a unique process," said Rohloff. "The ink actually marries itself into the material and does not fade. I think this process is going to take over the printing industry."
Dye sublimation uses high heat and solid dyes to produce photo lab-quality images. These printers lay down color in continuous tones one color at a time, instead of dots of ink. Because the color is absorbed into the paper rather than sitting on the surface, the output is more photorealistic, more durable and less vulnerable to fading than other ink technologies.
The only drawback to digital dye sublimation printing, said Rohloff, is that the process tends to run more slowly than standard print jobs.
"While Print Trends may not be able to produce mass quantities of products at super high speeds, the quality of the products we produce far supersedes that of quickly manufactured items," he said. "This is because high speed printing leads to too much variance in color. Clients who value quality over quantity come to us, which is why we get lots of orders for prototype designs."
