Heidelberg Installs Raise Bar for Performance Across the Process

KENNESAW, GA—March 31, 2010—Heidelberg USA announces the following new product installations:

Moquin Press Adds Capacity with Easygluer 100

Moquin Press, an $11 million trade printer located in Belmont, Calif., reports the installation of an Easygluer 100 folder-gluer from Heidelberg to supplement the work performed by an aging, competitive folder-gluer. “Not only have we increased our capacity, but we’ve also cut down on makeready, becoming faster, more efficient, and 35 percent more productive,” said company president Greg Moquin. “The Easygluer is exceeding our expectations in every way.”

With the addition of the Easygluer 100, Moquin Press turns out high-quality straight-line, lockbottom and storybook cover cartons with ease, thanks in part to an optional blank alignment module that significantly reduces set-up times and improves folding results by precisely aligning the carton blanks. Among the benefits Moquin hopes to realize from these new efficiencies is the ability to drive increased business by driving down prices.

Moquin Press has furnished Bay Area printers, print brokers, in-house print shops and designers with specialty printing, die cutting, foil stamping and finishing capabilities since 1988. The company operates no fewer than three Speedmaster XL 105 presses, a 6-color Heidelberg Speedmaster CD 74 and a 4-color Heidelberg GTO, as well as three programmable POLAR cutters and two continuous-feed Stahlfolders. Ready access to service and parts is a given, Moquin confirms, terming Heidelberg Systemservice “the best there is.” Founded in 1985, Moquin Press employs a staff of 105.

Top productivity, low cost: Easygluer 100.

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.

The Little Print Shop Trades 38 Million Impressions for New QM 46

It was 38 million impressions and counting on an aging Printmaster QM 46 when its owner, The Little Print Shop in Rapid City, S.D. replaced it with a new machine, also a QM 46 2-color press.

Said Alan Sewell, president and owner of the self-described “quick printing” company, “The new machine feels and runs tighter. Adjustments stay put and the pressmen don't have to fight as hard to get the ink balance where we need it to be. We loved the old machine and knew it well, but it definitely was time for an update.” The company uses Heidelberg Saphira consumables, including inks, blankets and rollers.

Like its predecessor, the new QM 46 is deployed turning out 1- and 2-color commercially printed products in short-run quantities for a primarily local clientele that includes corporations, small businesses and retail customers. Sewell applies a simple yardstick to the performance of his new press: “If it will produce the quality I want and need, that’s the biggest issue. Second, the press and its features need to help the pressmen get the jobs out quickly. Productivity is the name of the game in the pressroom. The old Quickmaster never let me down, and while I am thankful for that, I am counting on the newer Printmaster to do even better.”

The history of The Little Print Shop dates back to 1976, when Sewell, then only 16 years old, began printing horse racing programs with a used press placed on the dirt floor in the basement of the Central State Fairgrounds in Rapid City. The company now owns its own building, complete with kitchen, gym, and 10,000 square feet of production space. The Little Print Shop markets itself as Rapid City’s premier "Digital Printing and Copying Center." Over the past two years Sewell has had to cut back to a staff of seven, but says he is ready to start hiring again.

Good things come in small packages: Printmaster QM 46.

Graphicolor Plays It Cool with Suprasetter A52

Graphicolor Printing, Inc. recently replaced an existing thermal platesetter with a 2-up Suprasetter A52 CtP device from Heidelberg.

“Our old platesetter ran too slowly, diminishing our plate production capability,” said Mike Huebner, president of the nine-year-old commercial printer in New Berlin, WI. In contrast, the new Suprasetter A52 runs cleaner and cooler, consumes less power, and runs unattended, thanks to an optional Automatic Top Loader that reduces manual labor in plate preparation by removing slip sheets from between the Saphira thermal Chemfree plates used to feed Graphicolor’s 5-color Speedmaster SM 52 and 2-color Printmaster QM 46 presses. Best of all, Huebner said, “Our print quality has improved. We now print at 200-line screen, up from the 175 lpi we achieved with our older equipment.” The new machine integrates easily with Graphicolor’s existing prepress workflow, while its compact footprint and ease-of-use were important factors in its selection. Standard equipment includes a debris removal vacuum and filtration system that removes loose particles and dust.

Graphicolor Printing serves a primarily local clientele including freelance designers, nonprofits and schools, although the company also handles online ordering for a number of national franchise operations. According to Huebner, Graphicolor is distinguished by its collaborative approach to customer service, as well as by its reliance on Heidelberg as a valued supplier partner. “Heidelberg equipment absolutely does what Heidelberg says it will do,” he said, “The quality and reliability are second-to-none.”

For more on the Suprasetter A52 platesetter, click here.

Bestprint and Design Enjoys Enhanced Quality and Reliability with Prosetter 74

Bestprint and Design in Decatur, Ga., has made the transition to a PDF-based CtP workflow with the installation of a 4-up Prosetter P74 violet CtP device with MetaDimension RIP and PDF Toolbox from Heidelberg. The new platesetter replaces an aging imagesetter that had been increasingly inefficient and unreliable.

“It’s like a magic wand has been waved,” said Scott Jackson, prepress manager. “Not only is the Prosetter amazingly quick, but I can accurately predict what I’m going to get. Our dots are sharper, images crisper, and we’re printing up to 200-line screen with confidence. There’s a definite ‘wow’ factor to our printing now.” The new platesetter supplies Saphira violet plates to all of Bestprint’s presses, including a Printmaster GTO and a 2-color SORKZ.

Established in1999, Bestprint and Design is a general commercial printer with a steady retail clientele and a focus on religious and political printing. The company employs a staff of nine and reports annual sales in the $1 million range.

Heidelberg’s Prosetter family : Gateway to automated CtP production.

Menasha Opts for Increased Speed and Efficiency with Diana Pro and Diana Packer

The folding carton group of Menasha Packaging Co., LLC in Neenah, Wis. has taken delivery of a Diana Pro 114 high-performance, straight-line folder-gluer and Diana Packer from Heidelberg. The new additions, which replace a pair of competitive machines, have yielded an increase in productivity of around 30 percent, based in part on reduced makeready and changeover times. These efficiencies are made possible, in part, by the AUTOset automatic setup option, whereby blank lengths and widths can be entered directly on the touchscreen display, saved, and later recalled for machine setup. “Our belt speeds reach to 650 mpm on the Diana Pro 114,” said Operations Manager Tim Castor. “We’ve actually doubled our speed on a couple of jobs, and greatly improved our overall efficiency.” In addition, “The Diana Packer is very well-integrated with the folder-gluer and capable of packing more than 200,000 cartons an hour,” he explained.

Elsewhere on the floor, the Wisconsin plant operates three hardworking Heidelberg presses: a 6-color Speedmaster CD 102 with double coater, a second 6-color Speedmaster CD 102, and a 5-color GTO. Service and support on these machines, as well as the new Diana folder-gluer and packer have been exemplary, Castor reported, adding that the division uses only Original Heidelberg Replacement Parts in its Heidelberg equipment.

“We’ve always been very happy with Heidelberg in terms of price, efficiency and reliability,” Castor said.

Menasha Corp. is a niche-based packaging, logistics and marketing services company with four operating units, including Menasha Packaging, of which the folding carton group is a part. In addition to its plant in Neenah, Wis., the group operates a second plant in Raleigh, N.C. dedicated to pharmaceutical packaging. Altogether the group has 230 employees.

Professional, cost-effective, flexible: Diana Pro folding carton gluer with efficient, automatic packing.