Heidelberg Installs Raise Bar for Performance Across the Process

Texas State Department of Health Boosts Cutting Capability with POLAR 92 XT

The in-house print shop of the Texas Department of State Health Services in Austin, Texas produces all manner of health-themed printed materials intended for public consumption in quantities up to several million at a time. According to assistant print shop manager John Moses, the recent installation of a new high-speed POLAR 92 XT guillotine cutter with jogging unit, scale and lifts has greatly relieved the burden on cutter operators, who use it to fulfill all of the shop’s cutting needs from prepress media to finish trimming for brochures and booklets. The new machine replaces a pair of 25-year-old cutters that were increasingly unable to keep pace with the workload. The shop also retains an older model POLAR 115 machine.

“The transition from old to new was swift and painless,” Moses said, citing the new cutter’s ease-of-use and touchscreen programming. “Our operators are especially happy with the material handling peripherals, which we didn’t have before. The scale enables us to get a better handle on where our cut sheets are going. We have fewer miscounts coming in and going out, and when they do occur, we can now find out where they occur and correct them.”

The longtime Heidelberg customer also operates a 4-color Speedmaster SM 72 perfector, a 2-color Speedmaster SM 74 perfector, a straight 2-color Speedmaster SM 52, and a 2-color MO perfector. The new cutter joins a 4-station, 8-pocket Stitchmaster with cover folder feeder in the shop’s bindery.

The Texas State Health and Human Services Printing Services was founded in the 1920s as a multigraphics shop supporting the Texas State Department of Health. Today, the operation employs a staff of 51 dedicated to the dissemination of health-related materials throughout the Longhorn State.

Support from Heidelberg is a mainstay of the busy operation. “Heidelberg is a quality organization and the equipment is always reliable. The service and support have been excellent,” Moses said, adding, “They’re also some of my favorite folks.”

For more information about the POLAR 92XT, click here.