New Press, New Power: UAB In-plant Supercharges Offset Capabilities

Offset is alive and well in the in-plant industry. Though just 21% have offset presses in their shops according to the most recent IPI research, In-plant Equipment Investment Trends (2025), those in-plants that have presses use them often for high-volume printing.

Gregory Curtis (center), printing production supervisor at University of Alabama Birmingham Printing and Mailing Services, is flanked by operators Scott Sandford (left) and Mark Mays.

One of them, University of Alabama Birmingham (UAB) Printing and Mailing Services, recently expanded its offset capabilities when it replaced its 30-year-old six-color Heidelberg with a new five-color, 25x38” RMGT 970 with a coater and LED-UV curing system.

“We’re really enjoying it so far,” remarks Gregory Curtis, printing production supervisor. “Our turnaround time has just improved dramatically.”

One major reason for that, he says, is the LED-UV curing system.

“We don’t have any drying time,” Curtis declares. “We've been able to print … a 32 page book with a self cover … fold it, stitch it, and deliver it [4,000 copies] in the same day. You can’t beat that.”

Even solids on book covers, which used to need a day to dry, can be finished almost immediately.

“We’re cutting it that same day,” he says. “It’s just amazing, this technology.”

Operator Mark Mays checks a sheet printed on the new RMGT press.

A job comprising 100,000 postcards can be cut right away and even mailed the same day, Curtis says.

“It’s made my job easier,” he laughs.

The new press has opened up opportunities for the 30-employee in-plant to handle even more work, in part because of the coater.

“Everybody started wanting things coated,” he explains. “Everybody likes the soft touch.”

The press console

Not many printers in Birmingham have a coater, he says, so this is bringing in jobs the in-plant used to turn away. Even the University of Alabama (UA) in Tuscaloosa is sending coating work to UAB, which, in turn, routes its diecutting work to UA’s in-plant.

“We formed a nice little partnership,” Curtis says.

While the press was being installed last summer, he says, the shop sent much of its offset work to UA’s in-plant, then finished it in its own shop. UAB’s in-plant operates out of a 19,000-sq.-ft. facility, with presses and bindery on the first floor, and the copy center, mailing operation, and Fuji Javelin 8300E platesetter upstairs. The copy center runs Xerox and Konica Minolta devices, plus wide-format printers. In addition to the new RMGT 970, the pressroom has a two-color Ryobi 3302, a two-color, 36˝ Heidelberg, a one-color Heidelberg, and a Halm Jet envelope press. Last year, the in-plant had sales of $3,189,794.

Operator Mark Mays with the new RMGT press.

The new press is producing numerous long-run jobs for both UAB and UAB Medicine, one of the top academic medical centers in the nation. Those jobs include Admissions materials, publications, pocket folders, postcards, flyers, brochures, hospital forms, and more. The university’s marketing department is a big fan of the in-plant’s work, Curtis says.

“They don’t want to use anybody but us, and they pushed really hard for us to get this press,” he says.

The new press has features like auto plate hanging, automated blanket washing, and cameras on the feeder and delivery to detect problems. It’s run by a crew of very skilled operators, Curtis says.

“We have a very experienced staff here. Our pressmen and binderymen have all come from commercial print shops,” he says.

The in-plant purchased the RMGT 970 through Graphco, and Curtis has nothing but praise for the company.

“They were just terrific to work with,” he says.