CARROLLTON, TX — Sentinel, a global leader in automated ink management solutions, announces that Sun Print Solutions has integrated the Sentinel iPro Ink Management System with its newest offset press, a Komori Lithrone GL840P advance LED-UV perfecting press with coater. Operating alongside the new eight-color press, iPro automates ink delivery to the press fountains, helping Sun Print maintain consistent ink levels and color throughout production while removing repetitive manual intervention from the shop floor.
In business since 1941, Sun Print Solutions serves a diverse commercial printing and packaging client base from its West Valley City facility. The company produces books, magazines, posters, direct mail, and folding-carton packaging, supported by an in-house commercial bindery, direct-mail department, and packaging-finishing operation.
Acquired in 2019 by CEO Jennifer Pettinger and CFO Sara Deneau, the 100% woman-owned business has focused on building upon its long-standing legacy through strategic, modern equipment investments and streamlined operations. The new Komori press is the latest step in that effort, replacing older offset equipment and expanding the capabilities of Sun Print’s offset department.
For Chief Operating Officer Stefan McTee, integrating the Sentinel iPro with the new press addressed a familiar challenge in the pressroom: manually monitoring and replenishing ink in the press fountains.
“Before we installed our new press with the Sentinel system, our operators had to scoop ink out of tubs and keep track of everything manually,” McTee explained, noting that high-speed runs on heavy stock made manual upkeep especially demanding. "The operator had to watch the feeder and ink fountains at the same time, and it was very hard to keep up."
Sentinel iPro addresses this by automatically delivering ink to the press fountains on demand, while low-ink alarms alert operators when a cartridge needs changing. "The Sentinel alerts really give press operators peace of mind," McTee said, noting that pressroom staff no longer need to make constant laps around the press to check levels. When a cartridge swap is required, operators can complete the replacement in as little as 10 seconds.
Beyond labor efficiency, McTee highlights the color stability gained from Sentinel’s continuous ink delivery as another major operational advantage. By maintaining a stable, controlled ink film, iPro eliminates the color fluctuations that occur when ink is manually added to the fountains. For Sun Print’s high-volume runs, which can reach hundreds of thousands of sheets, that consistency is critical.
“Having the ink distributed continuously is a color-consistency feature that we really appreciate,” said McTee. “From the first sheet to the last, we don't experience the surges that came with the old way of putting ink into the fountains.”
Material efficiency also improves through Sentinel’s sealed, air-pressurized plunger cartridges, which deliver precise quantities while utilizing approximately 98% of the ink in each container. This dramatically reduces leftover ink, spoilage, and the messy cleanup associated with traditional ink handling.
David Doucette, Director of Sales at Sentinel, highlighted the broader impact of automating routine pressroom tasks. “Sun Print’s experience is a great example of what happens in the pressroom when you take a repetitive manual task and replace it with automation,” said David Doucette, Director of Sales at Sentinel. “iPro is designed to give operators one less thing to constantly monitor while helping maintain the ink conditions needed for stable color throughout a run. That combination of automation and consistency is especially valuable on high-volume production.”
The operational benefits have been clear enough that Sun Print’s press operators are now advocating for the technology on other offset equipment. "Now that many of the press operators have worked on this machine and used Sentinel, they're asking us to add the system to the older press as well," McTee said, “We’re looking into adding it so that we can have Sentinel on both machines and everyone can have that peace of mind.”
By automating ink management on its newest press line, Sun Print Solutions has transformed a labor-intensive process into a streamlined one, allowing press operators to focus on overall production while safeguarding color consistency from the first sheet to the last.