Heidelberg to Introduce New Anicolor Inking Unit for Speedmaster SM 52 at Graph Expo

KENNESAW, GA—09/12/2006—For the first time in the U.S., Heidelberg will showcase Anicolor, the world’s first zoneless short inking unit with dampening system, at Graph Expo 2006. An option on Heidelberg’s Speedmaster SM 52 line of presses, this unit, which has no ink zones, makes it possible to produce even the shortest runs using a standard offset workflow with significantly higher margins. Anicolor will be available for all four-color models of the Speedmaster SM 52 starting in the fall of 2007. Show attendees can view a Speedmaster SM 52 Anicolor press at Heidelberg booth # 1200 at the tradeshow, which is being held in Chicago at McCormick Place on October 15-18, 2006.

“Anicolor is an innovative solution for shops looking to deliver perfect offset quality at highly attractive margins for short runs,” said Joerg Daehnhardt, director of product management for general commercial print, Heidelberg USA. “Whether you print four-color brochures or flyers, invitations or business cards, you will benefit from dramatically reduced make-ready times and minimal waste with this innovative new technology.”

With market demand for short runs growing, any print shop processing runs of just a few hundred sheets on a daily basis can benefit from this new technology development in the future. Shorter make-readies provided by Anicolor translate into the ability to produce more jobs per day at reduced costs. In addition, Anicolor uses conventional plates, therefore it can be integrated seamlessly into any shop’s existing workflow environment.

A cost-effective solution based on its ability to minimize waste and reduce makeready times, Anicolor provides premium-quality printing with consistent and even ink application. Very few startup sheets are required when using the new Anicolor inking unit on the Heidelberg Speedmaster SM 52.

With Anicolor, the ink is stored in the ink chamber rather than on the surface of the rollers, where it is stored in a conventional inking unit. This means that the operator does not need to adjust any ink keys during makeready or printing. This benefit cuts make-ready times by up to 40 percent, and increases press capacity by 25 percent or more. Due to the Anicolor inking unit, the color consistency on any printed sheet - from sheet to sheet and from job to job - is excellent.

Another advantage of Heidelberg’s Anicolor inking unit is that the ink form roller and the screen roller are full-format size, resulting in no ghosting of those rollers. The Anicolor inking unit’s efficient temperature control system allows an effective control of the amount of ink transferred to the sheet. Additional innovations in the Anicolor inking unit’s chambered blade system further maximize print quality.

To view the new Anicolor technology in action, stop by the Heidelberg booth # 1200 at Graph Expo.