In Remembrance of Chuck Malspeis

To all of our friends and associates:

Many of you have heard that our dear friend and colleague, Chuck Malspeis, died from drowning, while snorkeling in Costa Rica on Friday while on his honeymoon. Words cannot express the loss that his wife, Momi, the family, and all of us are feeling.

Chuck was the heart and Soul of Nova. It was his dream to build a successful company with the people he loved and that loved him. The creation of our company was largely due to his vision, passion and inspiration, and his incredibly diligent hours of work to make it all happen.

Chuck was one of the foremost formulators of aqueous coatings in the printing industry and loved working with the distributors, sales people and customers.

Chuck will be missed more than we can express. As he would want, we will all strive very hard to make sure that his dream of Nova will continue and thrive to meet his high expectations.

Chuck graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from The Ohio State University and has a Masters in Business Administration from University of Cincinnati. He was a diehard Buckeye.

We thank you all for the compassion you have shown and the kind thoughts and prayers.

A Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, June 25 @ 11AM at the Avondale United Methodist Church, 1651 Talbot Ave. Jacksonville Florida 32205 (904-389-1175)

In lieu of flowers, the family request that donations be made to the Avondale United Methodist Church – Roof Raising Fund.

--Ron Rose
--Ray Brady

One on One Interview With Ronald J. Rose

Ronald J. Rose is President of Nova Pressroom Products LLC.

Before starting Nova Pressroom Products in 2006, Ron had completed a 30-year career within various divisions of FujiFilm, most recently as the Vice President of Sales & Marketing for Fuji Hunt/Anchor.

Now based in Jacksonville, FL, he currently serves on the Board of Directors for NPES and is also active in local mental health care charities.

Nova Pressroom Products is an independently owned full line manufacturer of pressroom chemicals including water based coatings, UV coatings, fountain solutions and press washes. Nova products are available through a network of graphics arts dealers in the United States, Canada, Latin America and Asia.

Nova Pressroom Products is currently expanding into new markets in Canada and the Asia/Pacific rim. How will your company manage its resources to best serve its customers outside the U.S.?

From the onset, we presented Nova to our customers as a lean ‘doing more with less’ company. Now beginning our fourth year, we continue to look for ways to provide meaningful services without overwhelming our existing resources. Now, as we expand into the Americas and Asia, we are using readily available communication technologies so, regardless of their geographic location or size, we offer all of our customers direct access to our formulators for advice and product questions. We feel that the expert advice provided directly from the formula’s creator sets us apart in the marketplace and offers real value to our users. Meanwhile, we continue to invest in technical training for our dealers, sales representatives and agents since many of them represent a broad assortment of printing supplies, not just pressroom chemicals.

Nova is in its fourth year of operation, relatively young for the pressroom chemical business. What strategies do you engage, and which strengths do you feature, to promote brand awareness about the company and Nova's technical support programs?

Nova was formed by several Anchor LithKemco sales and technical managers who had long-term relationships with many dealers throughout North America. In the beginning, we got the word out simply by making telephone calls. Of course, promoting brand awareness to end-users is not so simple. Our company slogan, “You Know Us,” was chosen to remind the printing community that although our company name is new, we’ve been in the industry for years. We have invested heavily in our website so that our customers can not only find product and technical literature but also interact directly with our technical staff. But, nothing beats long-term brand awareness like word of mouth. We know that printers talk to each other and are fortunate to have experienced the benefits from early adopters in a geographic area who tell others about us. Today, we are finding that more and more printers have already heard of Nova before we initiate a sales call.

Looking ahead, what technologies and trends do you believe will impact the pressroom chemicals part of your business in the next five years?

We used to watch California as an ‘early warning predictor’ of future regulatory trends that will eventually impact the rest of the country. Now, in today’s global business environment, the world has become smaller, and I feel many regulatory changes that have impacted printing in Europe will find their way to North America. Recent regulations have affected UV inks and coatings, fountain solutions and washes. Digital printing will continue to grow at the expense of sheetfed during the next five years, but as long as toner costs more, longer runs will always belong to traditional technologies. Technology often overlooked, but that will continue to influence our business, is the continual improvement of offset printing presses. While there is still a need for a professional to operate the press, equipment manufacturers have taken much of the guesswork out of routine printing. Newer presses require chemical manufacturers to formulate fountain solutions that operate effectively at higher press speeds. This, combined with economic pressures faced by all printers, has led to many to rely more and more on the expertise of suppliers.

How has NPES been able to assist Nova Pressroom Products adapt and grow through our industry’s peaks and valleys?

Actually, I had been active in NPES with another company, so when we formed Nova, one of my first decisions was to reconnect with this preeminent trade organization. Based on the information gleaned from NPES market data over the years, we knew there was a niche for a small, well-grounded operation focused on superior customer interaction. We are pleased that our first three years have proven the model correct, allowing us to grow and plan new, innovative products that printers need. Now we use the NPES Market Data Program and PRIMIR research reports to help us plan our expansion strategy. I consider NPES one of our key partners as we continue to seek out new opportunities and navigate through today’s challenging business environment.

The preceding One on One interview with Ronald J. Rose, the President of Nova Pressroom Products LLC, appeared in the NPES News, Volume XXIX, Number 4, April/May 2010. NPES is The Association for Suppliers of Printing, Publishing and Converting Technologies.

If you would like to obtain a reprint of this interview, please email Ron Rose at rrose@novapressroom.com.

Ask the Wizard Ray Brady for Help

Yes, you can talk directly to one of the Wizards of Nova, the Wizard Ray Brady. Get the technical help that you need.

Meet Ray Brady, he is a bit of an expert in the field of Blanket and Roller Washes, Cleaners, and Silicone Emulsions for the Graphic Arts printing industry. Got a question? Think of Ray as your go-to guy for the answers!

Ray Brady is one of the leading formulators in the pressroom chemical business, with 25 years of experience developing presswash and silicones for industry leaders like Anchor.

Ray is the chemist behind Nova's unique line of products. He has extensive on-press experience and works closely with press manufacturers.

If you have a question about sheetfed or web washes, automatic blanket washes, low VOC washes or silicones, Ray's help and advice is just a click away.

Ray can help on a variety of solvent or press cleaning issues. If you have a problem on-press, a need for a more environmentally friendly product, a need to reduce VOC or have a permitting or regulatory issue, ask Ray.

• Does your press have an automatic wash system perhaps?
• What kind of washes do you use?

For Blanket and Roller Washes, Specialty Pressroom Products, Plate Cleaners, Press Lubricants, and Web Silicone ... think of the Wizard of Nova, Ray Brady, as your go-to guy! Give Ray a try.

Ask the Wizard Chuck Malspeis for Help

Yes, you can talk directly to one of the Wizards of Nova, the Wizard Chuck Malspeis. Get the technical help that you need.

Meet Chuck Malspeis, he is a bit of an expert in the field of Aqueous Coatings and UV Coatings for the Graphic Arts printing industry.

Chuck Malspeis has formulated, technically supported and serviced Graphic Arts aqueous and UV coatings for over 20 years.

Chuck heads up the Coating Group at Nova Pressroom Products headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida.

He is responsible for the NovaCoat Aqueous and UV product line which includes unique new products like Soft Touch Matte Aqueous and Strike-Through UV Coatings.

Chuck understands the coating environment, so if you need help or advice for an inline or offline application, have questions about anilox rollers or UV lamps, you can ask Chuckfor help!

For the past 20 years, Chuck has been assisting printers with the technical rigors of aqueous and UV coating. Whether it has to do with adhesion, dry speed, blocking/offsetting, rub resistance, cure rates or foaming, Chuck has worked with hundreds of printers to find practical solutions to their production challenges.

Have you got a coatings question about:

• Adhesion
• Blocking/Offsetting/Picking
• Cure
• Dry speed
• Foaming
• Gloss
• Recoatability
• Rub resistance

Check out the Wizard of Nova, Chuck Malspeis!