Supplier News

President's Event Honors Jim Dunn, Demos New Low Energy UV Technology

KENNESAW, GA—The 150 VIP attendees at Heidelberg USA's 
two-day President's event Jan. 25-26 witnessed a mix of high and low energy. The "high" was a kickoff tribute dinner held in the Print & Packaging Technology Center for former president 
Jim Dunn, honoring his 35 years of industry leadership and service to Heidelberg. The "low" was an educational program the following day focused on UV printing opportunities and featuring Heidelberg's DryStar UV technology on a newly installed, six-color Speedmaster XL 105 with in-line coater.

Demonstrating a scalable, low energy solution, running with traditional UV inks, followed by a four-color "ozone-free" commercial job using high-reactive inks, the 18,000 sph "Peak Performance" XL 105 UV press was also equipped with Prinect Press Center with Wallscreen, Prinect Inspection Control, Prinect Inpress control, as well as Autoplate XL simultaneous plate changers and an X3 extended delivery.

Clarence Penge, vice president, sheetfed, reviewed how the new DryStar low energy UV configuration incorporates one to three UV lamps (typically one interdeck and one or two at the delivery), URS reflectors and e3 shutters, Electronic Lamp Control, a standard mercury lamp and two floor space-saving cabinets. The integrated system results in $175,000 to $250,000 in hardware savings alone, he noted, in addition to significant electrical power consumption savings compared to systems that require 
six UV lamps.

Scalable for future growth, the DryStar system is compatible with traditional UV inks/coatings and opens up new packaging and commercial opportunities for special effects, substrates and higher gloss. According to Penge, more than 60 percent of the 40˝ Heidelberg presses ordered in the United States (FY2011) included UV capabilities, reflecting UV printing's 10 percent annual global growth rate.

Marcel Kiessling, member of the Heidelberg management board in Germany, also provided a brief preview of Heidelberg's Drupa exhibition plans. They include perfecting configurations for the XL 105 and XL 145/XL 162 press platforms; Prinect workflow integration with MIS, Web-to-print and digital printing operations; Eurobind Pro perfect binder; Stahlfolder Flexomailer with inkjet print heads; and a new line of Saphira Eco environmentally-friendly consumables. Heidelberg will also expand its Pro C901 digital press sales and service agreement with Ricoh to include the new Ricoh C751 series. PI