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 Many people see Research and Development as the pursuit of "blue sky" futuristic ideas, but we view it differently. We devote substantial resources to ensure that US Ink will have the correct ink products available for whatever printing process or press equipment are applied to the future of newspaper production.Our R&D efforts are also driven by our commitment to a continuing search for more environmentally friendly ink technology. Examples of past successes of such long-term R&D work are the development of soy oil-based inks, water-based inks for flexographic printing and inks suitable for use on keyless offset presses. Another key area of involvement for US Ink's Corporate R&D Laboratory is providing troubleshooting capabilities and technical support either directly to our customers or via the technical departments in each of our branches. This is the area of our work that provides immediate, day-to-day assistance to our customers on all technical areas. To assure rapid response, our first line of support is through the regional labs. However, we have equipment, capabilities and expertise at our Corporate R&D facility in Carlstadt that are not available in each of our branch laboratories. Our chemists, engineers and analysts stand ready to assist in problem solving, even if the problem is not directly related to ink. Recommended solutions may involve an ink formulation change or may identify necessary changes in some other component of the printing operation such as substrate, plates or rollers. We believe that US Ink's combination of local technical presence and centralized scientific capabilities provides the best balance of technical resources to our customers. |