Four Printers Among the Latest Heidelberg Product Install Sites

KENNESAW, GA—June 3, 2011—Heidelberg has announced the following new computer-to-plate, press and postpress product installations:

Absolute Graphics Aims High with New Suprasetter A75 from Heidelberg

Absolute Graphics, a high-end, short-run, trade printer in Davie, FL, is thrilled with its new Suprasetter A75 CtP device with MetaDimension RIP and impositioning via SignaStation. The single-feed, top-loading model images Saphira Chemfree thermal plates for the company’s five-color Heidelberg Printmaster GTO 52, two-color Printmaster QM 46 and other presses with “perfect consistency,” according to company president Evan Owen.

Owen also goes out of his way to praise the new Suprasetter’s performance and “outstanding” ease of use, while noting the longevity of the company’s previous Suprasetter, which was a mainstay of the operation for seven years. Other big plusses for the new platesetter include its compact footprint and minimal power consumption.

“I can’t say enough good things about the equipment, the updated software, and the Saphira Chemfree plates themselves,” he said, adding, “our Heidelberg installer and trainer did a stupendous job helping us negotiate a pretty steep learning curve.”

Established in 1992, Absolute Graphics serves a clientele made up of brokers and other printers with agency, retail and commercial customers. The company employs nine full-time staff members.

Foresight Group Upgrades Small-Format Capability with Speedmaster SM 52

The Foresight Group in Lansing, MI, reports the installation of a Speedmaster SM 52 four-color press to handle its short-run color work, including the production of full-color envelopes that it couldn’t handle in-house prior to the installation. According to Foresight’s president, Bill Christofferson, the installation was part of a plant-wide upgrade undertaken in connection with consolidation of the company’s operations, previously housed in four separate buildings, into a single facility.

“We had no loading docks, and for years had been driving paper all the way around the block to our different buildings,” Christofferson said.

The company, which also had outsourced its envelope work to a converting facility 90 miles away, is pleased to be able to bring that capability back in house, thereby regaining an important measure of quality, cost control and convenience. Foresight’s new, 30,000-square-foot plant also made room for a new Polar 137 XT cutter with P-Net and Compucut, two lifts, jogger, and scale, along with several pieces of used equipment, including a Heidelberg Stitchmaster ST 270. The company also has a Printmaster QM 46 two-color press.

Christofferson expects the new installations will give the Foresight Group a competitive advantage on both the small-format side and in its cutting and stitching departments. Foresight’s pressroom also is home to a 40” sheetfed offset press, acquired when the company removed three half-size presses and installed the new Speedmaster SM 52. In the bindery, the folding area is home to a pair of Stahlfolders with knife- and gatefold attachments, recently rebuilt and updated by Heidelberg Systemservice technicians.

The Foresight Group describes itself as a general commercial printer with a growing digital print business, including wide-format display graphics and direct mail. Customers include insurance, companies, educational institutions, associations and hospitals within a 90-mile radius of Lansing. The company employs a full-time staff of 34.

NCL Graphic Specialties Subjects New Stahlfolder Ti 36s to Punishing Pace

NCL Graphic Specialties in Waukesha, WI, reports the installation of a pair of Stahlfolder Ti 36 specialty folders, to which the company added wet score and crushing units. NCL acquired the folders after it was awarded a 100 percent supply contract for package inserts by an existing customer. According to Director of Operations Kirn Hermberg:

“We’ve run Stahlfolders for 20 years or more, so we are very comfortable with the technology. The durability of these machines in our hard-use applications is something we value. Typically we change over jobs three or four times a day on our other folders,” Hermberg said. “In this particular application, however, both of the new folders are producing a single product around the clock, seven days a week.”

The new folders bring NCL’s total number of Ti 36 Stahlfolders to eight. The company also operates four Stahlfolder Ti 55s, and a mass of POLAR equipment that includes four SC-21 Autocut Label Systems, five POLAR 36” cutters, four Polar 45” cutters, some equipped with Autotrim automatic waste removal, and multiple Polar paper handling equipment such as stacklifts, joggers and Transomats.

Established in 1963, NCL Graphic Specialties manufactures a wide variety of packaging components for a variety of consumer product companies. About one-half of the business is dedicated to the production of cut-and-stack paper labels; the other half is focused on in-pack and on-pack promotional materials. The company has 205 workers across three facilities; of these, 180 work in the Waukesha plant.

Henry Wurst Installs Polar 115 XT Cutter in Denver Facility

Henry Wurst, Inc., headquartered in Kansas City, MO, recently installed the second of two Polar cutters in its Denver, Colo. facility. The new cutter is a 45” programmable Polar 115 XT, which replaces an aging competitive cutter, and which the company uses for postpress cutting and trimming of paper stock for general commercial work, as well as for prepress trimming for its digital department. According to General Manager Bill Levinson, the company chose a Heidelberg Polar cutter based on its positive experience using an existing Polar 137 XT with Autotrim automatic waste removal.

As a result, Levinson said, “We knew we were getting a solid, dependable machine that would perform consistently, day in and day out. As a large, very busy commercial printer, we tend to run our cutters hard, and know that Polar will stand up to the demands we place on them.”

Featuring optimized workflow, frequency-controlled back gauge, and short setup times combined with high advance speeds, the Polar 115 XT offers fast, efficient cutting of paper, card stock, paperboard, and foils. It also can be combined with stack lift, automatic jogger, buffer, gripper loading system, and loading and unloading equipment to form a complete cutting system. The direct selection of program functions, operator assistance and pre-adjustable machine parameters are advantages exclusively offered by Polar.

Founded in 1937 and with facilities in Kansas City, Denver and Apex, NC, family owned and operated Henry Wurst, Inc. partners with some of the largest and most recognizable Fortune 500 companies in America. The company furnishes its clients with full-service printing and specialized management and development of print marketing solutions, including customized printing, inserting, mail list development and mailing, as well as warehousing, fulfillment and multi-point distribution. The Denver facility employs a staff of 160.

Source: Heidelberg.