Phoenix Color® Transforms High-Volume Book Imposition with DALIM SOFTWARE

How a leading U.S. book printer automated complex imposition, plating, and production workflows at scale

Based in Hagerstown, Maryland (USA), Phoenix Color®, a division of Lakeside Book Company, is a premier full-service, full-color printer with more than 40 years of experience serving the publishing industry. Since 1979, Phoenix Color® has produced heavily illustrated books, value-added components, and specialty commercial products for many of the world’s leading publishers.

A defining element of Phoenix Color®’s success is its mastery of imposition - the highly technical process of arranging pages efficiently for press, finishing, and binding. As production volumes grew and formats diversified, Phoenix Color® turned to DALIM SOFTWARE to automate and scale these complex workflows across North America.

A Longstanding Commitment to Automation

Phoenix Color® began its journey with DALIM SOFTWARE in 1996, integrating DALIM LITHO into production workflows as part of a broader move toward automation. Soon after, the company adopted DALIM TWIST, enabling the creation of flexible, rules-based workflows that could adapt to evolving production needs.

When PDF became a viable production format, Phoenix Color® converted existing PostScript files to PDF - unlocking even greater automation. From that point on, plate creation and imposition workflows were increasingly managed through DALIM TWIST, a system that remains core to operations today as an integrated component of DALIM FUSION.

Expanding Capabilities with DALIM

Several years later, Phoenix Color® extended its workflow by implementing DALIM as a front-end system, initially focused on digital asset management and customer interaction. Over time, deeper integration between systems emerged.

Keith Keefer, Prepress Operations Supervisor, has attended DALIM SOFTWARE user meetings for more than two decades. Through this experience, he recognized that DALIM SOFTWARE could act as a powerful front end for TWIST-driven automation, unifying asset management, approvals, and production execution.

“DALIM SOFTWARE allowed us to bring efficiency and accuracy together, while keeping flexibility where it matters.” - Keith Keefer, Prepress Operations Supervisor

Phoenix Color®’s Specialty: Book Components at Scale

Unlike many printers focused on multipage documents, Phoenix Color® specializes in book components - particularly book covers and children’s books. These products demand complex imposition, multiple finishing techniques, and exacting color standards.

Covers are frequently printed using up to eight colors, including opaque whites on metallized stocks. All finishing - foil, embossing, spot UV, and film lamination - is handled in-house, making workflow accuracy essential.

Historically, page impositions were created using DALIM’s patented page format, which allowed pages to be dropped into templates and refreshed automatically - but still required manual oversight. As demand increased, automation became critical.

Workflow Evolution Driven by Demand

Each automation success led to further requests. Today, DALIM SOFTWARE manages the majority of Phoenix Color®’s production workflows across facilities in Maryland and Indiana.

Automation reduced manual intervention while preserving operator oversight where visual inspection is essential - particularly for color trapping and complex eight-color jobs.

“Visual inspections are still critical - especially for high-color work - but automation has removed countless manual steps.” - Keith Keefer

Imposition Precision for Interiors and Covers

For book interiors, automated workflows arrange 32-page sections into imposed forms, printed on 40-inch Heidelberg sheetfed presses in four-over-four or five-over-five configurations. The workflow automatically applies trim guides, bleed checks, and job metadata—tasks once handled manually.

“Managing these processes through DALIM TWIST is a unique way of working, and it’s extremely efficient.” - Keith Keefer

Covers follow a similar process. Customers approve single-page proofs (“one-ups”), after which impositions are dynamically built based on press size, run length, and finishing requirements. Phoenix Color® operates 11 presses in three different sizes, ensuring optimal layouts for every job.

From Approval to Plates - Fully Automated

Once approved, production is initiated through DALIM WEBLINK, providing a visual interface to trigger TWIST workflows. Plate files are generated automatically, including press-specific curves and layout configurations.

Files uploaded at the Indiana facility are submitted via DALIM SOFTWARE, which triggers TWIST workflows remotely - demonstrating seamless multi-site production.

Production at Industrial Scale

Phoenix Color® now imposes and plates 100–200 jobs per day, averaging more than 13,000 plates per month.

What once required rooms of staff manually stripping film is now handled digitally - where DALIM DAM provides the front end and DALIM Workflow Automation performs the heavy lifting in the background.

“The financial efficiency gained from integrating DALIM SOFTWARE into our workflows has been substantial.”

Results and Business Impact

By combining automation, precision imposition, and scalable workflows, Phoenix Color® has:

• Increased throughput without increasing staff

• Reduced manual intervention and production risk

• Maintained consistent quality across complex book components

• Scaled production across multiple facilities

DALIM SOFTWARE continues to play a critical role in Phoenix Color®’s long-term success.