Heidelberg Details its Latest Installs of Prepress, Press and Postpress Products

KENNESAW, GA—April 30, 2010—Heidelberg USA announces the following new prepress, sheetfed press and postpress product installations:

Girlie Press Finds New Reasons to Smile with Suprasetter A52 Install

Risa Blythe, founder of Girlie Press, Inc. in Seattle, Wash., admits her company was “happy” with the results from an older, competitive CtP system—right up until it installed a two-up Suprasetter A52 thermal platesetter with Prinect workflow from Heidelberg in January. “We hadn’t realized how much happier we could be,” she said. “We wanted not only to improve our workflow, but also to enhance our environmental profile by using fewer chemicals. We also wanted a higher level of service and support. Heidelberg has definitely enabled us to achieve all three of our goals.”

The new Suprasetter produces plates for the company’s three hardworking presses, including a 5-color Heidelberg Printmaster GTO. Since the company also switched to cleaner-running Heidelberg Saphira Chemfree plates, Blythe said, the Suprasetter spends significantly less time in maintenance mode. Thanks to the automated top-loading feature, it also runs unattended, a must for the busy shop. Print quality has also improved, Blythe added: “We are holding a 1 percent dot with no problem, our mid-tones are sharper, and our plates are lasting longer.”

Along with the Suprasetter A52, the company also installed Heidelberg’s Prinect Prinance MIS, which Blythe expects will be of significant benefit in helping the company to assess potential cost benefits and savings, and improve customer service.

Girlie Press, Inc. was founded in 1995 and is a past recipient of the Greater Seattle Business Association’s Business of the Year award. The self-described “custom offset” printer prides itself on its ability to execute creative manufacturing ideas—primarily high-end stationery and corporate identity packages—for its loyal clients, which include huge nonprofit organizations, high-end ad agencies and architectural firms throughout North America. “We have a wealth of experience on staff and lots of tricks up our sleeves,” Blythe said. The company employs a staff of nine.

Suprasetter A52/A75 : The most compact, high-performance platesetter in its class.

Ginny’s Printing Brings Bindery Up to Speed with TH-82 Stahlfolder

Ginny’s Printing in Austin, Texas, continued its transformation from quick print shop to full-service commercial printer with the installation of a Stahlfolder TH-82 folder from Heidelberg.

“As we branch out more fully into general commercial printing, we’ve been getting more and different kinds of work,” said Johnny Weaver, plant manager. “In the bindery department, we wanted to have a machine that could handle 16-page signatures and complex folds more efficiently. Our operators love it.”

Elsewhere in the rapidly evolving shop, Ginny’s operates a Heidelberg Speedmaster SM 102 8-color perfector, a Speedmaster CD 102 6-color with coater, as well as a Speedmaster SM 52 5-color press and a Printmaster PM 52 4-color perfector. Postpress improvements such as the addition of the new TH-82 Stahlfolder mark an effort to bring Ginny’s bindery up to speed with its Heidelberg-powered pressroom, Weaver said.

In business since 1971, Ginny’s Printing serves a Texas-based clientele made up primarily of corporate accounts. The $28 million company employs 200 at its 108,000-square-foot production facility in Austin.

“We’re a bit biased, but from a pressroom standpoint, we’re sold on Heidelberg,” Weaver said. ”Our operators are just more familiar and comfortable with Heidelberg machines. They—and we—trust the brand, and that gives Heidelberg a strong competitive advantage with its postpress product offerings.”

Check out Heidelberg’s TH/KH generation of folders: Intelligent automation for shorter changeovers and makereadies.

Jenco Productions Adds Pair of POLAR Cutting Systems

Headquartered in San Bernardino, Calif., Jenco Productions is a specialty fulfillment house for high-end agency accounts and clients in the entertainment business. The company, which performs specialty bindery and packaging services, recently purchased and installed POLAR 137 XT and POLAR 115 XT high-speed, programmable cutting systems to replace a pair of aging cutters with maintenance issues.

According to plant manager John Imbriani, Jenco’s cutter operators are thrilled with the new cutters, especially the big, convenient, touchscreen for direct selection of program functions, and a back gauge that spins at twice the speed of Jenco’s older machines. “The cutters are so user-friendly and so much fun to run that our operators compete for the privilege,” Imbriani said. The new cutters take their place alongside three existing POLAR cutters on Jenco’s production floor.

It’s unlikely Jenco’s operators will ever be bored with their cutting duties. The diverse mix of cut products the company turns out every day include spacer boards for disc books, flatbed cut wraps for entertainment covers, ”fake” perfect-bound books, pharmaceutical inserts folded multiple-up and cut to final size, chip board products for the entertainment industry, as well as plastic lenticular, 3-D materials, cloth, and more. Turnaround times can range from hours to months, depending on the project and client. Thanks to the new cutters, “Our efficiency has improved, as well as our ability to give our customers what they want,” Imbriani said. “We’ve always had POLAR cutters, and we love them.”

Established as a print brokerage in 1995, Jenco began offering production services in 1998, and now owns four production facilities between the United States and Mexico. The company employs 2000.

POLAR, the first name in trend-setting cutting technology.

Postal Systems’ New Stahlfolder TH-82 Forms Integral Part of Mailing Line

Postal Systems, Inc. has installed a continuous-feed Stahlfolder TH-82 with 11-foot mailing table with scoring, perfing and timed cross-perfing capabilities; and Robatech hot glue system. The new folder is embedded as part of a mailing production line that also includes a Videojet inkjet system and Multi-feeder for use with tip-on cards. The TH-82 folder is the first piece of Heidelberg equipment for the Hayward, Calif.-based mailing house.

According to company owner Salvatore Perez, the integrated folding system, acquired at the request of a longtime customer, enables Postal Systems to feed, score, perf, inkjet, cross-perf, glue and mail in one continuous operation, without having to outsource the folding. The ability to feed an open sheet rather than a folded mail piece with the purpose of being able to print in different areas of the sheet and then fold, is of tremendous practical value to his business, Perez maintains. The new arrangement not only saves money and helps the company maintain better control over quality and scheduling, but also has the net effect of getting product out faster. An optional contactless double sheet detector is able to spot other problems and halt the machine before more than a single sheet of paper is wasted.

While run lengths typically fall in the 300,000-500,000 range, Postal Systems’ new mailing line with integrated folder endured a baptism by fire with an initial run of 1.5 million sheets. Perez credits “extremely good” Heidelberg service and attention to detail with helping to get the system up and running in a timely and efficient manner.

Established 16 years ago, Postal Systems serves a regional client base. The company employs a staff of 14.

New dimensions in professional folding: TH/KH generation of folders.

Spring Industries Brings Folding Carton Gluing Home with ECO Folder-Gluer

The in-house print shop for Spring Industries, Inc. in Lancaster, S.C. reports the installation of a Heidelberg ECO 105 folder-gluer with automatic lock bottom capabilities and a 4-channel, 3-gun, cold glue system. The installation marks the shop’s initial foray into folding carton packaging.

“Before we purchased this machine, we had no folding and gluing capabilities at all, and were limited to flat, die-cut packaging,” said Wayne Tull, shop supervisor. “Now we have the ability to do straightline folding, book folding, auto lock bottom and gluing, all of which expand our market and save us the money we previously spent outsourcing these types of jobs.”

In continuous operation since the 1950s, the all-Heidelberg shop prints exclusively for Springs Industries packaging plants across North America, as well as externally for customers across North America. Additional Heidelberg equipment includes a pair of 6-color Speedmaster 74 presses, as well as a high-speed POLAR cutting system with scale, jogger and lift.

“I’ve always recommended Heidelberg when equipment purchases are contemplated,” Tull said. “Service after the sale, including training, is outstanding, and the mechanical reliability of Heidelberg machines is superior.”

The shop employs a staff of 20.

Top productivity and low cost: Easygluer 100 .

EcoGraphics Gets Down to Business with New Printmaster QM 46

EcoGraphics of Kirkland, Wash. reports that it recently purchased and installed a new Printmaster QM 46 2-color press from Heidelberg. The new press replaces an aging QM 46-2, giving the company the ability to reuse printing plates created for the older machine. The staff’s ready familiarity with the QM 46 also enables the company to pick up where the old press left off with minimal disruption to the business, which consists primarily of the production of newsletters, envelopes and bulk mailing pieces for its nonprofit clients.

Established in 1992, EcoGraphics is a small printing company with 3-4 employees, located in the Puget Sound region of Washington State. The company has won awards and garnered praise for its environmental activism. It continually seeks ways to minimize waste and the use of hazardous materials, as well as to encourage recycling. Wherever possible, the company uses pressroom-friendly chemicals, soy-based inks and high post-consumer-content recycled paper stocks. The business focuses chiefly on meeting the special printing needs of environmental and community-oriented nonprofit organizations located mainly in western Washington.

Productivity and flexibility in tandem: Printmaster QM 46