About Us

Essex Products Group is located in Centerbrook, Connecticut and has been family owned and operated since 1980. With its extensive industry experience and vast library of press configurations, EPG is ready to customize any KeyColor Remote Ink Control Systems.


EPG History

In the 1970s Harris Graphics contracted Essex Engineering to design and manufacture the first electromechanical ink key actuator in the printing industry – eliminating the need to walk to the press fountain for color adjustments once and for all. In the 1980s Robert Perfetto purchased Essex Engineering and created Essex Products Group (EPG).

When Heidelberg acquired Harris Graphics in 1989, EPG developed its first state-of-the-art KeyColor Remote Ink Control System and improved actuator design specifically for retrofitting to any offset printing press.  Today there are hundreds of KeyColor systems worldwide, installed on a wide variety of presses ranging from 2-color sheetfed to large format web offset presses.

In 2004 Peter Griffin took over as President and then in 2015 Mr. Perfetto’s grandson, Matthew Strand joined the family business. With a B.E. in Mechanical Engineering and a Master of Engineering Management from Dartmouth College, he is revitalizing his grandfather’s company to keep up with the demands of today’s printing industry.

Peter Alfano working on EPG’s KeyColor Ink Control System. 1996.

Greaves Corporation, CNC Department. 2020.

In 2007 EPG purchased Greaves Corporation, a manufacturer of electrical connectors for the construction industry since 1947.  Greaves has added a wide range of manufacturing capabilities including metal forming and CNC machining. Greaves and EPG engineering expertise combined to exponentially benefit both companies and they continue to grow and complement each other. All design, machining and assembly is performed in house and adheres to the highest standards.

KeyColor Remote Ink Control Systems have been installed in multiple plants by R.R. Donnelley and Sons, Transcontinental Printing, and Graphic Packaging International (GPI) among others. 

In addition to retrofit installations, KeyColor Remote Ink Control Systems are also supplied as original equipment on offset printing presses manufactured by

  • Tensor Group
  • Global Web Systems
  • Web Press Corporation
  • RDP Marathon
  • DG Press 

In 2020 EPG redesigned the Harris-Heidelberg AC Ink Key with the aim of continuing to support customers using these legacy actuators.