Heidelberg Technologies Bring Speed, Quality & Growth Opportunities for Printers Across the Country

KENNESAW, GA—April 30, 2007—Heidelberg USA announces the following new product installations:

Doubled Capacity and New Business in 2007 for Walker Printing Company, Inc.
Owner Taylor Blackwell of Walker Printing Company, Inc. has worked hard to gain loyal customers. With the installation of Heidelberg’s 4-color Speedmaster XL 105, the customers are now coming to him. “Our customers are excited about everything the press can do” Blackwell said. “They want to come in and see it run.” Walker Printing Company has more than doubled its capacity since the new press was installed in December, replacing an older Heidelberg model. The company’s new press comprises the latest technology, including Prinect CP 2000 Center Color Assistant, CP 2000 InstantGate and CP 2000 DryStar Advanced. “The Speedmaster XL 105 has already brought in some new work for us, including publications and catalogues,” Blackwell said. He reports that the quality on the new press, with Prinect Axis Control technology, gives consistency on color throughout the run. Walker Printing Company’s press operators report that they consistently run the Speedmaster XL 105 at its maximum speed of 18,000 impressions per hour, stating, “This is the first press we’ve ever seen that can run at top speed almost all the time.” The all-Heidelberg shop, located in Montgomery, Ala., serves associations and ministry organizations on a national level, with a satellite office located in Atlanta. The shop’s 65 employees expect to have their most successful year this year since their founding more than 60 years ago.

Robin Enterprises Installs Two Heidelberg Suprasetters
Robin Enterprises Co., a $23 million general commercial printer in Westerville, Ohio, recently made the move to a PDF/JDF-based workflow with the aid of twin Heidelberg Suprasetter E 105 platesetters with Multi-Cassette Loaders, Prinect Prinance Prinect Meta Dimension RIP, Prinect Meta Shooter imaging software console, and Prinect Prepress Interface. Why two Suprasetters? “We produce around 100 plates per day, which a single Suprasetter handles easily,” acknowledges Production Manager Duane Moore. “However, because our customer commitment is to service, having a backup platesetter enables us to keep going if anything should go wrong.” Of Robin Enterprises’ 129 employees, 30 are deployed in the company’s pressroom, which hosts an array of Heidelberg presses, including two 6-color Speedmaster CD 102 presses with coaters, a 5-color Speedmaster CD 102 press with coater, 2- and 4-color Speedmaster SM 102 presses, a Speedmaster SM 102 5-color with 3/2 perfector, as well as 2-, 4-, and 6-color Speedmaster SM 52 presses – 40 Heidelberg printing units in all. The company’s bindery features three POLAR paper cutters. The company boasts the largest installation of Prinect Prinance in North America. “We chose Heidelberg platesetters because we believe the company has a serious, long-term commitment to prepress development to complement its expertise in press technology,” Moore says. Robin Enterprises serves a national and international clientele, including many Fortune 500 companies.

Browning Communications Relies on Heidelberg Technology with New Press
One of the largest minority-owned print shops in Florida, Browning Communications has expanded its pressroom with the installation of a new 4-color Printmaster PM 52 from Heidelberg. Dean O’Brien, president of the company, felt the pressure of high demand from many of his clients – so he turned to Heidelberg. “We had so many requests, especially with short-run projects, and we needed more capacity,” O’Brien said. “I needed a press that would deliver good color quality, and Heidelberg’s technology has a solid reputation.” Operators at Browning Communications are running the Printmaster PM 52 at its full capacity, already producing short-run brochures, tri-folds, postcards and other color-critical jobs, in both 11” by 17” and 8 ½” by 11” sizes. “Having the additional press capacity gives us more fire power,” O’Brien said. Browning Communications also houses large-format presses for longer runs as well as a digital press and several two-color presses. The 22-year-old print management company has 54 employees that serve both local and national accounts in the hospitality, healthcare and automotive industries, along with general commercial work. The Printmaster PM 52 joins a Stahlfolder and several POLAR cutters from Heidelberg in the DeBary, Fla. shop.

Grove Printing Stays a Cut Above the Competition with its New POLAR 78X
Grove Printing in Kensington, Md. recently increased its efficiency with the purchase of a new POLAR 78X from Heidelberg. Owner Steve Braswell said his shop would normally cut six press sheets in 12 hours, but with the addition of the new POLAR cutter, it’s cutting 12 sheets in eight hours. “I love these cutters because they’re automated to make multiple cuts,” he said. Braswell bought the new POLAR to keep up with customer demand and provide a back-up cutter for the shop’s other POLAR 78X, which it purchased six years ago. Established in 1935, Grove Printing primarily uses the new cutter for entertainment postcards, including invitations, art gallery openings, club events and concerts that occur in glamorous cities like Los Angeles, New York, Boston, Miami and Las Vegas. Grove Printing has 13 employees.

Heidelberg Does Double Duty at Sprint Print
Craig Winstead, president of Sprint Print, Inc., recently replaced two presses with Heidelberg’s 4-color Speedmaster SM 74 with perfector and high-pile delivery. Winstead chose the press to compliment Heidelberg’s Suprasetter A74 that was installed earlier this year, and said that “we were tired of running four-color work on two-color presses.” Winstead is particularly pleased with the results that he has seen from using high-quality plates developed on the Suprasetter. “The advantage is that we have better quality from the start with the platesetter, and we can see the finished product on the first pull,” he said. “Before, when we had a problem, we didn’t realize it until later on.” The press operators at Sprint Print are running the Speedmaster SM 74 at full speed. The shop currently uses the full spectrum of Heidelberg Prinect software, two Printmaster QM 46 presses, two POLAR cutters (30” and 45”), and a Stahlfolder. Customers in a 100-mile radius of Sprint Print’s two locations usually include major corporations, for which Sprint Print’s 26 employees create business materials and newsletters. The Madisonville, Ky. shop has been in operation since 1976.

Northern Ohio Printing Installs KAMA TS 74-60HF, Creates Niche Market to “Die” For
Little more than two months since it installed a KAMA TS 74-60HF die cutter with foil-stamping and embossing features from Heidelberg, Northern Ohio Printing has been reaping the results. The Cleveland-based commercial printer was spending $8,000-$10,000 monthly to outsource die cutting work when it changed course and decided to bring those jobs in-house. In so doing, says President and Owner Gary Chmielewski, Northern Ohio has begun to create a profitable niche market for itself. Thus far, the company has logged more than 40 die cutting, foil stamping and embossing jobs on the KAMA, and is on its way to racking up more work as word of the company’s new capabilities begins to spread. “We’ve learned a lot about die cutting in a very short time,” Chmielewski says. “The quick makeready and the speed of the KAMA make it a profit center for our company.” Northern Ohio, which specializes in short- to medium-run commercial printing, runs between 100 and 5,000 pieces for foil stamping and embossing, and 50,000 and under for die cutting. The company also operates a Heidelberg Speedmaster SM 74 6-color press with coater, a Printmaster PM 74 2-color press, and a pair of Quickmaster 2-color, small-format presses. The postpress lineup features a pair of programmable POLAR 115 paper cutters. Northern Ohio also uses Heidelberg’s Prinect Printready workflow anchored by a Prosetter 74 MCL and is currently the only Prinect Prinance installation in the U.S. to include every available module. “We are a complete Heidelberg shop because of the reliability and consistency of Heidelberg’s equipment,” Chmielewski affirms. “We have always had a good experience. Service and installation have been phenomenal, especially in terms of response time.” Established in 1994, Northern Ohio Printing has experienced 30 percent growth in each of the past three years, and is on track to reach $4.5 million in revenue this year. The company’s 22 full-time and five part-time employees serve a national customer base comprised of retail and manufacturing clients.

Heidelberg Technology Abounds at Greenwell-Chisholm Printing Company
The decision to add Heidelberg’s 6-color Speedmaster SM 74 with coater to the pressroom at Greenwell-Chisholm Printing Company was an easy one for owners Tony Trego and Carl Greenwell. “All of our front-end systems and prepress equipment are Heidelberg, so we wanted a press that would be easy to integrate,” Trego said. “We have already been impressed with the short makeready time and the press speed overall.” Heidelberg is now aiding the company in almost all areas of the shop – Greenwell-Chisholm uses Heidelberg Consumables and installed a POLAR cutter just last month. “The ease of use, speed, and accuracy of the cut on the POLAR is far above other cutters we have used,” Trego said. For its existing Printmaster QM 46 press, the company recently decided to add Heidelberg’s 36-month full service package, which will allow for 36 months of repair services and repair parts, labor, travel, and preventative maintenance to ensure the press is operating at maximum capacity. Started in 1919, Greenwell-Chisholm Printing Company is a full-service printing and mailing facility in Owensboro, Ky. Though the company started as a small local print shop, it has grown to serve national accounts, including corporations, advertising agencies and large marketing groups.

Precision Graphics Trades Up To Fully Automated Heidelberg Suprasetter 105
Precision Graphics, a high-end commercial printer in Mohnton, Pa., now feeds its four Heidelberg Speedmaster presses with the output from a fully automated Suprasetter E105 thermal platesetter with internal punching, multi-cassette loader and Prinect MetaShooter. The new platesetter replaces the company’s existing Prosetter 102. “It’s efficient, chemistry-free and clean,” said Tom DiLullo, president. “Our employees are excited about it, and it’s no wonder. It takes less time, material, and effort with very little maintenance to output the 900+ plates we use every month. The Suprasetter 105E is truly hassle-free.” A longtime Heidelberg customer, Precision Graphics operates two 5-color Heidelberg Speedmaster SM 102 perfectors, a 6-color Speedmaster CD 102 with aqueous coating, and a 5-color Speedmaster SM 52 press. The company’s full-service bindery hosts a POLAR 137 XY programmable cutter. Heidelberg Consumables are in use throughout the shop, including Saphira Chem-Free thermal plates, ink foils and blankets. Established in 1979, privately-held Precision Graphics employs 40 people and serves regional manufacturing clients.

Printing Students at Warren Career Prep Go Hands On with Heidelberg QM 46
The 70 students in instructor Michelle Nunez’s print tech classes at The Career Preparation Center in Warren Consolidated School District received a late Christmas present in January when the Center installed a 2-color Heidelberg Printmaster QM 46 press. The arrival of the Printmaster QM 46, which also marked the departure (trade-in) of three existing small-format presses, will be a definite boon to her students, Nunez predicts. “The P-QM 46’s reliability and ease-of-use make it an ideal teaching tool for eager but inexperienced students. If they can run this press, there’s no small-format press they can’t run.” Moreover, Nunez adds, “The Heidelberg P-QM 46 is so widely installed around the industry that it’s likely to be a fixture wherever our students wind up working.” In existence for 35 years, the Warren Career Prep Center of Warren, Mich. serves the Warren Consolidated School District and a number of private schools in the surrounding area, offering Visual Communication curriculums in creative art, graphic design and printing technology. “Heidelberg’s education discount was a major incentive for us in purchasing the Printmaster QM 46. The ease of the transaction was wonderful. Our students now have an opportunity to learn on the absolute best equipment available. That can only help them in their future careers.”

IMEC Steps Up Its Capabilities with Speedmaster SM 74 and Prinect Axis Control
IMEC knows color quality, and has built its business on that knowledge. Recognized as a prepress color specialist, the Memphis, Tenn. company recently decided to expand its press offerings and installed a Heidelberg 5-color Speedmaster SM 74 with perfector and coater, as well as Prinect Axis Control and Color Assistant. IMEC Vice President Jacob Cole says the new Heidelberg solution has “been quick to get projects up to color” and provides “consistent sheet-to-sheet color quality.” The new SM 74 is used to print brochures, catalogs, posters, sales sheets and other business collateral for advertising agencies and manufacturers of cosmetics and home furnishings, among others. Cole says the company already sees growth potential on the SM 74 and a great return on its investment. IMEC, formally known at Memphis Engraving Co., also owns a Heidelberg Prosetter 74, and uses various Heidelberg Consumables, including plates, blankets, fountain solutions, lubrications, grease and paper. Founded in 1923, the family-owned business has 135 employees at its six Tennessee locations.

Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
With a global market share for sheetfed offset printing machines of more than 40 percent, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) is the world’s leading solution provider for commercial and industrial customers in the print media industry. Headquartered in Heidelberg, Germany, the Company focuses on the entire process and value chain for popular format classes in the sheetfed offset and flexographic printing sectors. Apart from printing presses, the product portfolio includes plate imaging devices and finishing equipment, as well as software components designed to integrate all print manufacturing processes. In addition, Heidelberg offers a wide range of spare parts, consumables, used equipment and services, along with extensive training programs provided by the Print Media Academy. Furthermore, the Company assists its customers’ investment plans by offering financing concepts.

Heidelberg is most active within the major OECD industrial regions and is expanding its involvement within growing markets such as Asia and Eastern Europe. With development and production sites in six countries and some 250 sales offices world-wide, the Company offers services to more than 200,000 customers around the globe. Heidelberg generates 85 percent of global sales through company-owned sales offices and well above 80 percent outside of Germany. In fiscal year 2005/2006, Heidelberg achieved sales of Euro 3.586 billion referring to the divisions Press, Postpress and Financial Services as well as a net profit of Euro 135 million.