Heidelberg Solutions Help Installs Keep Their Businesses Humming

KENNESAW, GA—May 4, 2009—Heidelberg USA announces the following new product installations:

Tepel Brothers Credits Speedmaster XL 105 UV with Business Growth

Tepel Brothers Printing, Troy, Mich. liked its first Heidelberg 6-color Speedmaster XL 105 so well, it purchased another just six months later. The company’s original XL, a 6-color conventional model installed in April 2008, now shares the spotlight at Tepel with a 6-color Speedmaster XL 105 with full interdeck UV, acquired the following October. According to company president Jim Tepel, the new XL is already 50 percent more productive than the two-year-old Heidelberg Speedmaster CD 102 UV it replaced, thanks to higher runs speeds, faster makereadies, ease-of-use and print predictability — even accounting for the fact that the company runs a large volume of UV printed plastic materials and other nonstandard substrates on the new press. These features, combined with the Heidelberg Image Control color management and Ink Optimization, substantially increase the company’s already formidable production capabilities.

“We wanted to expand our horizons, and that is exactly what we’ve done,” Tepel said. “We are one of just a few printers in southeast Michigan with the ability to print a wide range of specialty work — static cling, signage and floor decals, etc. — not to mention special effects like strike-through UV with reticulating varnish. As a result, we’ve grown our business substantially, expanding the types of work we do for existing clients and attracting new clients from as far away as Chicago and Indianapolis.”

What Tepel likes best about the XL 105 is its predictability: “To know I can set up the most difficult job, hang the plate, and get a saleable sheet on the first pull with no tweaking, usually within 125 sheets,” he said. “Not only is the XL 105 a tremendous waste saver, once we derive a perfect sheet, we can proceed to run it at 18,000 sheets per hour. The press has exceeded my expectations in so many ways.” As for the XL 105’s larger sheet size, “We utilize it every chance we get — at least once a week,” Tepel said. With the able assistance of its XL 105s, the company also is developing its packaging business, “a great little growth area” that now represents about 10 percent of its job mix.

Founded by Jim and Harriet Tepel in 1989, Tepel Brothers Printing employs a staff of 110. The company specializes in high-impact work on plastic and synthetics for a diverse client base that includes automobile and greeting card manufacturers, casinos, financial concerns and magazine publishers. In addition to the two Speedmaster XL 105s, the company’s pressroom is home to a 13 x 19” Heidelberg Printmaster two-color press, a 14x201/2” Heidelberg 2-color perfector, a 2-color Heidelberg Speedmaster SM 74 perfector, and a 6-color Speedmaster SM 74 perfector with in-line coater. Its bindery holds an assortment of Heidelberg POLAR programmable paper cutters, Stahlfolders, an ST 270 saddlestitcher and a 20x28” Heidelberg die cutter.

Tepel credits the new press with helping his company to build “a bigger, better business, even in this economic climate. The XL 105 was a marvelous investment that has enabled us to do what we do as efficiently and reliably as possible,” he said. “We consider it a game-changing press and a huge part of our continued growth.”

Curious about the ultra-high-performance, ultra-productive Speedmaster XL 105: http://www.us.heidelberg.com/www/html/en/content/products/sheetfed_offset/70x100/speedmaster_xl_105,overview

Modern Litho-Print Co. Chooses Speed and Flexibility with Stitchmaster ST 450

Modern Litho-Print Co. in Jefferson City, Mo. is the proud owner of a new Heidelberg Stitchmaster ST 450 6-pocket saddlestitcher with two cover feeders. According to President Darrell Moore, the company prizes the ST 450 for its makeready and running speed, flexibility and configurability, the better to handle the multiple daily setups and changeovers that typify Modern Litho’s short-run (Image Pressworks Takes A Shine to the Speedmaster XL 105

To accommodate growth in volume and facilitate customer needs, Image Pressworks, Inc., Portland, Ore. installed a 5-color Heidelberg Speedmaster XL 105 late last year. Since then, the company has had ample opportunity to experience a handsome return on its investment in terms of both the quality and consistency of its printing. “The XL 105 had the larger format, unmatched quality and consistency, the ability to accommodate longer runs at faster speeds — everything we needed to provide our customers with top-quality printing. In fact, said Production Manager Chris Chase, “The further we push the XL 105, the better it performs. A lot of presses aren’t built to run at 18,000 sph, but the XL 105 lives up to its advance billing. That means we can live up to ours and be the perfectionists our customers expect us to be.”

Image Pressworks, which also operates a Heidelberg Speedmaster CD 74, has taken some pains, “to get both of our Heidelberg presses on the same page,” Chase explained, upgrading the CD 74 with Prinect Axis Control to achieve closed-loop color control and quality assurance comparable to the XL 105. A Suprasetter 105 computer-to-plate system with Prinect workflow, installed along with the XL 105, provides efficient, reliable plate production with no degradation of quality when different components of the same job, e.g., text and covers, are run on different presses. Heidelberg Saphira aluminum thermal plates and assorted Saphira pressroom consumables provide even greater consistency and high-quality performance.

Although the company describes itself as a general commercial printer, Image Pressworks actually “dabbles in everything,” Chase said, including pharmaceutical printing and folding. Its extensive bindery includes a 36” POLAR 115 cutter, 29” KAMA die cutter, Stitchmaster ST 90 8-pocket saddlestitcher with cover feeder, as well as a pair of Stahlfolder Ti 36 pharmaceutical folders. “We feel strongly that the more we can do in-house, the better service we can offer our customers,” Chase said. “That ‘one phone call’ philosophy is also one of the reasons we partner up with Heidelberg. With Systemservice36 on the new XL and web-based remote service on the CD, expert technical help is always and immediately available to us, as is fast, knowledgeable on-site service when we need it.”

Thirty-year-old Image Pressworks serves a Pacific Northwest regional clientele. The company employs a staff of 30.

For more about the versatile, high-performance Speedmaster XL 105: http://www.us.heidelberg.com/www/html/en/content/products/sheetfed_offset/70x100/speedmaster_xl_105,overview
To learn more about the Suprasetter 105: http://www.us.heidelberg.com/www/html/en/content/products/prepress/suprasetter/suprasetter_75_a105_105,overview

HM Graphics Stays Ahead of the Pack with Heidelberg

Forty-year-old Milwaukee-based HM Graphics, Inc. recently replaced a 16-year-old UV double-coating machine with a new Heidelberg Speedmaster CD 102 convertible UV press. The company, whose reputation for quality and comprehensive service is well-established, installed the first 40” UV double coating press in the U.S. in 1992, and has been building its UV expertise into a formidable specialty ever since. The company gets an able assist from a powerful pressroom lineup that also includes a pair of Heidelberg 6-color Speedmaster SM 102 single coaters with in-line aqueous, a 2-color Heidelberg TOK and two Heidelberg Printmaster QM 46 2-color presses.

“Whenever we replace a press, we look to get our money back within four years,” said company president Jim Sandstrom. He explains that this calculation is based on productivity gains the company achieves with the new press and the fact that “our last two installations have exceeded these expectations.” That said, the new Speedmaster CD 102 “is at least 50 percent more productive as the older machine, enabling us to be more competitive in this soft market. The print quality also is significantly better,” Sandstrom said. He also praises the CD 102’s faster makereadies and ability to change over quickly from conventional to UV operation.

Family owned and managed since 1969, and with 200 employees, HM Graphics serves a national client base of Fortune 500 companies, global advertising agencies and other businesses large and small “with a passion for perfection.” The company performs all prepress, printing, postpress/finishing and direct mail, warehousing and fulfillment functions in-house under strict quality control conditions. “With Heidelberg, we know we’re getting an exceptionally reliable machine that prints beautifully and wears well, year in and year out,” Sandstrom said. “Heidelberg sets the industry standard for excellence.”

For a profile of the Heidelberg Speedmaster SM 102: http://www.us.heidelberg.com/www/html/en/content/products/sheetfed_offset/70x100/speedmaster_sm_102,overview?resetBreadCrumbs=true

Hawaii Department of Education Builds Better Bottom Line with Heidelberg

Facing budget constraints, the Hawaii State Department of Education (DOE) recently instructed its various departments to funnel the majority of their printing work to the DOE’s 35-year-old in-plant reprographics operation rather than outsource it. The challenge was to upgrade the shop’s existing capabilities to accommodate an influx of work from more than 250 public schools across all seven Hawaiian Islands, including an increased demand for more color printing. Anticipating the increased workload, the DOE shrewdly replaced an aging competitive single-color press with a Heidelberg Speedmaster SM 74-two-color perfector. Now, said Administrator Jason Seto, “I can’t see how we did without a perfecting press. We already are showing that we can do many more jobs in-house, which makes for a better bottom line for the entire Department.”

The automated features of the new Speedmaster 74 have earned the enthusiastic unqualified approval of Seto and his staff of 16. “It’s a pleasure to run. Program controlled wash-up and automatic plate changing mean no more wrenches or manual adjustment, the ease of switching from straight 2-color printing to perfecting is amazing, and the print quality is fantastic,” Seto said. “We run full solid bleeds on 20x26” sheets with no streaking or ghosting, and the register is dead accurate. We all love it.” The shop continues to “run the heck” out of its existing Heidelberg GTO and QM 46 single-color presses, and utilizes Saphira blankets, packing materials, ink foils, rollers, wash-up cloths and other consumables, Seto adds.

Because postpress operations were not exempt from the DOE edict to limit outsourcing, Seto’s department also purchased a Stahlfolder B20 with right-angle attachment and Eurobind 600 hotmelt machine to handle the bulk of its finishing needs. “We no longer have to outsource our perfect binding,” Seto said,” and we’ve dramatically reduced the amount of GBC binding we used to do. The results are much more durable and professional looking,” he said.

Having worked previously in the commercial sector, Seto and his staff are well acquainted with Heidelberg’s reputation for quality, service and a “no baloney” approach to its customers. “The service people are knowledgeable and responsive, and I can get parts when I need them,” Seto said. “That’s why we prefer Heidelberg, and why we will continue to work with them.”

Ready to raise your game? Check out the Speedmaster SM 74: http://www.us.heidelberg.com/www/html/en/content/products/sheetfed_offset/50x70/speedmaster_sm_74,overview

Powell Offset Services Installs ‘Marvelous’ Suprasetter 105

Plate remakes are a thing of the past for Powell Offset Services, Austin, Texas, since the company installed a Heidelberg Suprasetter 105 CtP device. The new thermal device, which anchors a Heidelberg Prinect Prepress Manager prepress workflow, replaces an existing violet platesetter. According to company president Bobby Powell, it has vastly improved not only the company’s platemaking capability, but also the quality and consistency of its printed work. “The Suprasetter is absolutely marvelous,” Powell said. “The plates hold color and run clean - every plate is good – and I know my prepress operator enjoys not having to clean out the processor. This is trouble-free printing the way it ought to be.”

The new Suprasetter feeds Heidelberg Saphira Chem-free aluminum plates to all of Powell Offset’s Heidelberg presses: a 5-color Speedmaster SM 52 with coater, a 4-color Speedmaster SM 74 perfector, and a 6-color Speedmaster SM 102 perfector with coater. They are also a supplier of imaged plates to other shops in the area with Heidelberg presses. About 50 percent of the company’s job mix represents specialty printing that demands the kind of dot-for-dot precision the Suprasetter 105 is well equipped to provide. “It has to do with the way it develops the dots and the way the dot adheres to the plate,” Powell explains, “We are now very confident about accuracy because this system gives us better dot size. That is a huge statement when dealing with density-sensitive images.”

In business since 1955 and with 10 employees, family run Powell Offset has been a ‘Heidelberg shop’ since the beginning. Its 6-color, 40” Speedmaster press produces about one-half million specialty-printed sheets per month, filling in with other commercial printing when the schedule permits. The company sticks with Heidelberg as its primary prepress and pressroom supplier, based on the superior service it receives when problems occur, as well as on the quality and reliability of Heidelberg hardware and software. “The equipment works the way it’s supposed to, that’s the bottom line,” Powell said. “Heidelberg is a partner we trust.”

Need plates now? Go here: http://www.us.heidelberg.com/www/html/en/content/products/prepress/suprasetter/suprasetter_75_a105_105,overview

Edward Enterprises Marks Golden Anniversary with XL 75 Purchase

Edward Enterprises, Honolulu, Hawaii, always had two 40” presses in the shop, but broke with tradition last fall by replacing one of its two full-size presses with a 6-color, 29” Heidelberg Speedmaster XL 75 perfecting press. “Going to a smaller format was a gamble at the time,” said President Mark Ibara. “We weren’t sure if we were doing the right thing. Now I can’t imagine what would have happened if we hadn’t made that decision. Looking back, two 40” presses would have been a handicap in this market. Instead, we’ve not only upgraded and added capacity, but we’ve been able to retain market share.” In addition, he said, the “super-efficient” new Speedmaster SM 75 uses 10 percent less in raw materials and only one-half the energy to do the same amount of work as the press it replaced, while providing the company with added speed, automation and flexibility. The press is so easy to run, Ibara said, that “It allowed our crews to reach a very high level of productivity within a very short time.” The company continues to operate a 6-color CD 102 with hybrid UV, as well as a 2-color Speedmaster SM 52. It also chooses Heidelberg Saphira pressroom consumables, including blankets, press powder and coatings.

Employee-owned Edward Enterprises provides quality commercial printing services to a local client base made up of advertising agencies and graphic design firms. The company, which celebrates its 50th anniversary in business this year, recently moved into a new, greener and more efficient facility, where there’s no room for less-than reliable equipment. “No matter how punishing the workload, we just can’t worry about our equipment. It’s the nature of the business we’re in; we depend on those presses and we cannot compromise on their durability. We’ve operated Heidelberg presses for decades, and they run and run and then run some more. When the stakes are high, you chose the best, and that’s Heidelberg.”

Takes a licking and keeps on ticking: the Speedmaster XL 75: http://www.us.heidelberg.com/www/html/en/content/products/sheetfed_offset/50x70/speedmaster_xl_75,overview?resetBreadCrumbs=true

City Print’s Formula for Success Begins with Heidelberg

For City Print, Inc., Wichita, Kan., the value of owning Heidelberg equipment boils down the quality of the finished piece and a lack of unproductive downtime. The ambitious commercial printer, which installed its first Speedmaster SM 52 4-color press four years ago, recently acquired a second press identical to the first, but with the addition of Heidelberg’s Peak Performance Package and high-pile delivery, which enables City Print to compete against larger presses. To date, the older SM 52 has logged more than 30 million impressions and, incredibly, just two minor service calls. The new press is catching up fast, however, logging more than three million impressions in less than six months of operation.

“The Speedmaster 52 performs flawlessly, no matter what we’re running,” said General Manager Steven Harshbarger. “A lot of our business is geared toward shorter runs of a variety of materials, so quick setups and changeovers are important for us. With Heidelberg, we never have to worry about reliability. It’s mind-boggling how well their equipment holds up.”

City Print’s customers have taken notice. Founded in 1978, the $4 million, family run company is growing by leaps and bounds, serving some of the biggest direct mail marketers in the country. As long as “we keep installing faster, more efficient equipment,” Harshbarger said, he anticipates continued success for City Print.

The company also operates four existing Printmaster QM 46 2-color presses, a POLAR 78 X and 92 XT high-speed programmable cutters, a pair of Stahlfolder B20 folders with right-angle attachments, and a violet Prosetter 52 CtP device with front-end software by Heidelberg. The company employs 28.

Make downtime a thing of the past with the Speedmaster SM 52: http://w2ww.us.heidelberg.com/www/html/en/content/products/sheetfed_offset/35x50/speedmaster_sm_52,overview?resetBreadCrumbs=true

ABOX Packaging Supports Growth with Investment

ABOX Packaging Company in Kaufman, Texas has replaced an aging off-line blanking system with a Heidelberg Dymatrix CSB (cutting/stripping/blanking) die cutter. The move saves time previously spent transporting materials to and from the company’s existing die cutters, and has increased the company’s productivity more than 25 percent over a comparable piece of machinery. “We pick our targets carefully and seek out the best long-term investments we can find,” said Keith Thompson, company president. “We spent more than a year researching the new Dymatrix and felt it was the most substantial piece of equipment available for the money.”

Since the installation last November, the new Dymatrix has performed admirably, Thompson said, citing the die cutter’s fast makereadies, photo-eye registration, horizontal sheet path, automatic pallet feeding, and minimal downtime. “It’s our first fully automated blanking tool,” he adds. “The user-friendliness is outstanding.” In addition, he said, “Because Heidelberg brought the right crew in beforehand, our need for training was minimal. We knew exactly what to expect.”

ABOX Packaging is an independent manufacturer of custom folding cartons for a wide array of industries including medical, food packaging, and office products. The company runs primarily 12- to 36-point paperboard stock, as well as a large volume of e-flute corrugated. According to Thompson, this is one of the reasons it purchased the versatile Heidelberg Dymatrix, which easily handles a broad spectrum of paperboard up to 2,000 gsm (410 lb/1000 sq ft) and 4mm (0.157 in) corrugated.

ABOX Packaging also has been enjoying an extended period of growth, supported by a forward-thinking investment strategy, in which Heidelberg is likely to play a continuing role. Since Thompson and his wife purchased the company in 2003, employment there has risen from 50 to 120, while annual sales have increased threefold over the same period. The company achieved a 9 percent growth in 2008, and is on track to show 12 percent growth this year.

For more on Heidelberg’s “gentle giant”: http://www.us.heidelberg.com/www/html/en/content/products/postpress/die-cutting/dymatrix_106,overview?resetBreadCrumbs=true