FARMINGTON — Members of Franklin County Chamber of Commerce gathered at Franklin Printing Thursday for Business After Hours.

The time for networking among business owners and representatives is held monthly at different businesses where sometimes tours of the facility or demonstrations are given.

At this Wilton Road commercial printer, participants were shown the printing process as employees were actually printing this year’s Franklin County Chamber of Commerce Welcome Guide.

The guide should be available next week, Penny Meservier, executive director of the chamber, said.

The publication showcases attractions, events and the businesses of Franklin County as a guide for visitors.

David Nemi, marketing and sales manager, explained the process used on the large offset printer, a method used for 100 years, he said.

Technology has improved the process though making it much more automated and with increased speed. The printer can print 12,000 sheets per hour, he said.

A local business since 1969, Franklin Printing serves the community here and also ships their work all around the world.  Printing orders can range from 100 business cards to 2.5 million flyers for businesses like FairPoint, he said.

During 2014, the company, which employs 50 people, processed 5,000 orders, he said.

A variety of machinery can cut, fold, sort and prepare the product for mailing. Boxes of addressed flyers sat ready for delivery to the post office to be mailed around the country, Nemi said.  Colorful straps indicated those to be mailed out of state.

Another new printing machine allows individual cards to be customized so they are unique for the person to whom it is sent, Nemi said. Variable imaging allows for the constant changes although it prints slightly slower with about 3,600 sheets printed per hour on both sides.

Chamber members received one of these as an invitation, each one a little different and with the persons name on it and calling it “one of New England’s premier printers, right here in your backyard.”  Franklin Printing does a lot of printing for the state’s two casinos and can alter a flyer to speak to the individual game player.

The machine can also produce banners, he said.

abryant@sunmediagroup.net