Heidelberg Technologies and Service Help Printers Succeed

KENNESAW, GA—June 29, 2007—Heidelberg USA announces the following new product installations:

Century Graphics Begins a New Era with Heidelberg’s Speedmaster XL 105
Richard Bonham, owner of Century Graphics in Columbus, Ohio, has been a Heidelberg fan since he began working with the 6-color Speedmaster SM 72 more than 15 years ago. He later added another Speedmaster SM 72, this time a 5-color, to his pressroom and recently went looking for a new Heidelberg press to keep up with the company’s growth. A trip to the Print Media Demonstration Center at Heidelberg’s headquarters in Kennesaw, Ga. helped him make up his mind. “When I saw the Speedmaster XL 105 running, and became educated on its features and automation, I knew that this was the machine that would help us grow,” Bonham said. He was particularly impressed with the touch-screen controls. “This really changes the game,” he said. “The XL 105 is more than even the sales reps at Heidelberg represented it to be, with excellent productivity, quality, rate of production and automation.”

With the installation of Heidelberg’s Speedmaster XL 105 in the company’s all-Heidelberg pressroom, as well as the recent addition of a Stahlfolder TH 82 folder and POLAR 137 XT with full cutting system, including Transomat, jogger and pile turner, Century Graphics has “essentially reinvented itself,” according to Bonham. The 39-year-old company now has the ability to print 16-page signatures, and is experiencing the benefits of quick makeready times on their short-run saddle-bound jobs (12-48 pages). Operators of the new press have run the press at its full speed of 18,000 impressions per hour – each operator was trained on the press by Heidelberg instructors. According to Bonham, the company re-printed a four-color, 386-page book that originally took 100 hours to complete. On the Speedmaster XL 105, the job took only 27 hours. Century Graphics’ 34 employees serve graphic designers, advertising agencies and educational institutions in their region, as well as a national insurance company.

Lithotone Installs Latest Postpress Technology with Heidelberg Stitchmaster ST 450
Lithotone in Elkhart, Ind. has raised the performance bar by installing a Stitchmaster ST 450 from Heidelberg this month. After experiencing significant increases in productivity and quality with last year’s addition of Heidelberg’s Speedmaster XL 105 press, Lithotone once again looked to Heidelberg for this latest upgrade in postpress technology. “We are looking at significant growth in the near future, with greater ability, quicker turnaround times and deliverables on both the XL 105 and the new Stitchmaster ST 450,” Lithotone President Bob Priebe said. “We replaced three 40-inch presses with the XL 105 – that type of productivity gain is available only with Heidelberg.” The company anticipates at least a 30 percent jump in productivity on the ST 450, having seen positive results just three jobs into the stitcher. Stitchmaster ST 450 technology allows frequent format changes, responds flexibly to changing customer demands, delivers short and long runs, and runs at speeds up to 14,000 cycles an hour. Lithotone serves local, regional and national clients in the high-end wood products and fabrics industries. The company has 52 employees and was founded in 1962.

Creative Printing Presses Forward – Installs Heidelberg Printmaster PM 74, Suprasetter A74
Creative Printing in Brunswick, Ga. recently added a 4-color Printmaster PM 74 press with a new Suprasetter A74 platesetter and Prinect workflow software, all from Heidelberg, to its 12-employee shop. According to Larkin McWhorter, the company’s vice-president, “We always purchase Heidelberg equipment when we can; everything they build is like a tank.” Currently in an expansion phase, Creative Printing is changing direction and looking to the future with Heidelberg as a partner. “Before, we had always just relied on used equipment,” McWhorter said. “Heidelberg helped us map out the long-term savings and advantages of installing a press like the Printmaster PM 74 in our shop.” Makeready times that used to stretch over three hours now take only 10 minutes, and the makeready process uses significantly less paper. The 29” Printmaster PM 74 is growing Creative Printing’s business into four-color annual reports and booklets, while still allowing the company to offer its clients competitive pricing for their short-run jobs. McWhorter cites the press automation, including autoplate and autowash, as creating a more streamlined workflow and quicker turnaround times.

However, after seven years of using an imagesetter, McWhorter is even more excited about the installation of Creative Printing’s first platesetter, the Heidelberg Suprasetter A74. “The platesetter is an absolute dream,” he said. “We work in a very clean environment now, thanks to the practically chemistry-free plates.” Heidelberg touches every part of Creative Printing’s business, from prepress to postpress – the company operates several older-model Heidelberg presses, including a GTO-F 5-color press, a KORS single color, a TOK and a Heidelberg Windmill Letterpress, as well as two POLAR cutters – and will continue to look to Heidelberg as it continues to expand. “We always mention that we run Heidelberg equipment when going after new business,” McWhorter said. “The word ‘Heidelberg’ just seems to say ‘quality’ to our clients.” Creative Printing was founded in 1976, and now the general commercial shop services local, regional and national clients in the tourism, retail and education industries.

Daily Printing Moves Fast with Heidelberg Speedmaster XL 105
When Daily Printing, Plymouth, Minn. recently installed a Heidelberg Speedmaster XL 105 with Image Control and coating unit to add capacity and boost productivity, it quickly learned what it’s like to have a very hungry press. “The press is unbelievably fast. It just devours paper,” says Dan Sandvik, vice president, production. The company feeds the XL 105’s voracious appetite for paper a diet of long-run commercial brochures, point-of-purchase materials and other commercial printing. Sandvik, who also does plant scheduling, finds that jobs are getting done in half the time, the result of greatly reduced makeready times and real production speeds of 18,000 sph on the XL 105. “We’re still getting used to it,” he says. At Daily Printing, one learning curve leads naturally into another.

The company expects to install a Heidelberg Suprasetter MCL with full prepress workflow (Printready, Meta Dimension, Signa Station) in August. The company already hosts a wide variety of Heidelberg equipment in its pressroom and bindery, including a 6-color Speedmaster CD 74 with coater, a 2-color SM 102 perfector, and a pair of 6-color CD 102s equipped with coaters, in addition to POLAR cutting systems and Stahlfolders in various sizes and configurations and a Heidelberg Stitchmaster ST 400 6-pocket saddlestitcher. “We already have a long-running relationship with Heidelberg, based on the quality and reliability of its equipment and service,” Sandvik says, “and we foresee a long and satisfying future in partnership with Heidelberg.”

Heidelberg’s Speedmaster CD 74 Delivers Results at Mollet Printing
Dave Mollet, owner of Mollet Printing Inc., has an eye for detail and excellence. He requires that his company’s equipment produce the highest quality materials for his clients – whether that client is a local business in Portland, Ore., or one of the many internationally-based Fortune 500 companies that Mollet Printing serves. With the recent installation of a new 6-color Speedmaster CD 74 from Heidelberg, Mollet Printing can offer its clients top-notch results with each job that comes off the press. The new press is a 23 x 29-inch F-format, with coater and perfector to deliver maximum results in one pass. According to Mollet, “We are averaging a production increase of at least 3,000 sheets per hour, and have seen a dramatic decrease in hickeys.” Mollet chose Heidelberg’s Speedmaster CD 74 because of its vertical integration. When it comes to servicing his new press, Mollet says “It just takes one call to Heidelberg and everything is taken care of.” Mollet Printing received Heidelberg’s systemservice36 plus package with the new press, which offers 36 months added value of repair services and repair parts, Web-based remote service and 24/7 expert access to protect its newest investment. The mid-size, family-owned shop has been in operation for more than 45 years, and is known for its excellent customer service. Mollet Printing also is committed to environmentally, socially, and economically responsible print production, shown by its FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) chain-of-custody certification.

Impression Makers Aims To Make A Splash with New Facility and New Equipment from Heidelberg
Impression Makers of Tempe, Ariz. is making a move to computer-to-plate in connection with a technology upgrade, the opening of a brand new facility, and a marketing push that will emphasize a more networked, short-run approach. The company’s expansion from 4,500 square feet to 10,000 square feet will enable it to accommodate several new pieces of equipment, including a Printmaster PM 52 2-color press from Heidelberg and a Suprasetter A52 with Meta Dimension, Printready prepress workflow and Signa Station workstation for page layout and assembly. The company, which already operates a Speedmaster SM 52 6-color press and a Printmaster QM 2-color press from Heidelberg, is seeking to augment its sheetfed capacity through a system of Web ordering and enhanced productivity that will add employees to the company’s current 14-member staff. The 13,000 sph Printmaster PM 52 will take over much of Impression Makers’ high-end commercial work. Impression Makers has been a Heidelberg customer for 32 of its 34 years in business. Says General Manager Jens Hellwig, “After more than 30 years, we obviously have confidence in Heidelberg. Over the years, and as a direct result of Heidelberg quality, we’ve needed little service and have experienced little downtime.”

Caskey Printing, Inc. Doubles Results with Heidelberg Stitchmaster Technology
Caskey Printing, a full-service commercial print company in York, Pa., has experienced an 80 percent increase in throughput with the installation of a new Heidelberg Stitchmaster ST 350 saddlestitcher. Jim Chioda, the company’s plant operations manager, cites the automated features and technology on the stitcher as reasons why the Stitchmaster ST 350 was chosen to compliment Caskey’s operation. “We now can offer our customers a wider variety of sizes,” Chioda said. In addition, our bindery operators can produce booklets at double the speed as before, since the automated offerings on the stitcher have eliminated the need for hand work. “We produce stepped booklets for our customers, and the Stitchmaster ST 350 allows us to feed the sheets directly into the pockets – the time saved is absolutely phenomenal,” Chioda said. More than 6,000 of the booklets are now produced per hour, up from 1,500 per hour before. Caskey Printing has an all-Heidelberg bindery, including a POLAR cutter and a Stahlfolder folder, and uses Heidelberg Consumables, including wire for the stitcher and blankets. The shop also uses Heidelberg’s Speedmaster CD-64 sheetfed offset press to produce its newsletters, magazines, fliers, booklets and other general commercial work. Founded more than 20 years ago, Caskey Printing currently employs 41 people.

Direct Advertising Response Takes Control with Equipment and Workflow Solutions from Heidelberg
Data management and direct mail house Direct Advertising Response, Inc., Anaheim, Calif., outsourced its print work until it became more expensive and less profitable to do so. The answer? Bring work inside to keep the revenue stream in house and exercise greater control over projects and deadlines. The move from film to computer-to-plate has been a very big deal for Direct Advertising Response, which selected Heidelberg to help manage the transition and hired Freddy Ramirez, a former print shop owner, to superintend its fledgling commercial print operation. The company recently installed a Heidelberg Prosetter P102 SCL platesetter with Meta Dimension and a POLAR 115 XT paper cutter and also purchased a Speedmaster SM 74 5-color press with aqueous coater and extended delivery. Direct Advertising Response uses Saphira Violet plates and chemistry in the new platesetter. With the new equipment in place, says Ramirez, “We definitely feel more in control of jobs coming in.” The company’s 45 employees serve a local, regional and national client base. The healthcare industry is an important niche for Direct Advertising Reponse. The company’s relationship with Heidelberg seems to have gotten off on the right foot. Says Ramirez: “The sales experience was absolutely great. Heidelberg lent us excellent support during the process of choosing our equipment. We look forward to a productive partnership with them.”

Bob Jones University Chooses Printmaster QM 46 for Small-Format Jobs
Bob Jones University in Greenville, S.C. recently replaced an aging one-color press with a 2-color Printmaster QM 46 from Heidelberg. The new small-format press joins the in-plant’s 8-color Speedmaster SM 102 with coater and an existing Web offset press, all of which the busy shop uses to produce book components for Christian textbooks, as well as brochures, magazines, letterheads and other materials for the university community. According to Operations Manager Jim Golla, the addition of the P-QM 46 will relieve the burden on the shop’s eight-color workhorse by taking over some smaller jobs, resulting in a more efficient use of equipment resources. “We’ve seen a definite step up in quality,” Golla notes. Established in 1955, the university’s in-plant employs 65. The longtime Heidelberg customer also operates a pair of POLAR paper cutters and uses a vintage Heidelberg Windmill press for numbering and perforating. “We not only are very impressed with the quality and sturdiness of Heidelberg equipment, but also very satisfied in our working relationship with the company in terms of both sales and service,” Golla says.

Heidelberg Gives Type Etc. a New Advantage with Prepress and Sheetfed Technology
Type Etc. has just installed a 4-color Speedmaster SM 52 press and a Suprasetter A52 platesetter from Heidelberg at the company’s new and improved location in Denver, Colo. Business continues to grow in the local community, and Type Etc. must grow with it. For this reason, the company turned to Heidelberg for a technology upgrade. “We needed to increase our speed and productivity to meet our customers’ requirements,” said Mike Cross, the company’s president. Heidelberg’s Speedmaster SM 52 press was installed with coating and perfecting devices, as well as Prinect Axis Control – a measuring device which provides spectrophotometric color measurement of a color bar placed anywhere on a sheet, and can measure special colors. The Suprasetter A52 that was installed represents one of Heidelberg’s most cost-effective thermal platesetters, configured for small to medium shops like Type Etc., which currently houses eight employees. Type Etc. produces a large range of business materials, including short- and long-run marketing collateral and direct mail pieces for its local clientele.

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.