Printers Boost Productivity with Heidelberg Intelligent Automation Installs

KENNESAW, GA—Feb. 2, 2012—Heidelberg has announced the following new press and postpress product installations:

Mercersburg Printing Opts for Peak Performance with Speedmaster XL 75

Mercersburg Printing in Mercersburg, PA, has taken delivery of a Speedmaster XL 75 five-color press with Inpress Control, integrated Wallscreen application, and Peak Performance Package to improve its flexibility and increase its pressroom capacity. Because the 29˝ XL 75 replaces not one but two smaller format presses, said General Manager Doug Shenberger, the company will be able to handle a greater variety of large jobs.

The single-shift operation also expects to see a substantial increase in overall throughput, thanks largely to the 18,000 sph running speed, coupled with Prinect Inpress Control’s ability to measure and correct color on-the-fly. The new Speedmaster XL 75 takes its place alongside the company’s remaining small-format Speedmaster SM 52 with Axis Control.

Second-generation, family run Mercersburg serves a regional clientele with a staff of 23. Services include commercial offset printing, digital black-and-white and color printing, and direct mail services, along with Website design and hosting. Additional Heidelberg equipment used in the shop includes two POLAR cutters, a POLAR jogger, and a pair of Stahlfolders, one of which is fully automated. The company also has a quick print location in Waynesboro, PA.

Ledgeview Printing Installs USA B20 Stahlfolder to Break Bindery Bottleneck

Ledgeview Printing in Westford, MA, reports the installation of a USA B20 Stahlfolder with right-angle folding unit from Heidelberg. The new, two-station, pile-fed folder joins the company’s existing TF 56 Stahlfolder in handling an increasing volume of Ledgeview’s commercially printed work.

“As our folder capacity has increased, our bindery bottleneck has vanished,” said company owner Rich Maggio. “Thanks to the B20’s faster speed and quicker makereadies, we’ve been able to significantly improve our customer service.”

Available in pile or continuous-feed models, the USA B20 offers commercial-grade, high-quality folding and high productivity for small formats and short runs. Combination buckle plates with micro-adjustments are standard in all plate positions.

Ledgeview Printing serves a clientele made up primarily of local associations and non-profits, Fortune 500 companies, universities, and healthcare organizations. Solutions include offset and web printing, color digital printing with full variable imaging, print on demand, graphic design, composition, CD/DVD, Internet, and mailing services.

The company also operates a Heidelberg Prosetter 74 platesetter with Signa Station and MetaDimension PDF-based RIP and workflow, used to image Heidelberg Saphira violet plates; a 29˝ Heidelberg Printmaster 74; a five-color MO press; as well as a POLAR 72 ED cutter. It employs a staff of 11.

HardingPoorman Installs POLAR Cutting System with Advanced Robotics

HardingPoorman Group has installed a POLAR P.A.C.E. 137XT fully automated cutting system with robotic loading and stacking and automatic presetting via Compucut in its recently expanded Indianapolis facility.

“The new system has taken over the lion’s share of our cutting work, which includes anything and everything from finished trim to posters, signatures, and diecut sheets,” said Steve Anzalone, COO. “It’s also our first piece of postpress equipment with connectivity. We can take the cutting file directly from layout with virtually no makeready time. ”

The new POLAR system replaces two existing standalone POLAR machines. It now operates alongside the company’s remaining POLAR 115 EMC programmable cutter, which the company reserves for smaller jobs. Even minus two cutters, Anzalone said, “We’re much more productive and have no problems keeping up with the workload.”

The time-saving automated setup, preparation of the cutting material via stacklift and jogger, and unloading via Transomat mean that HPG’s cutter operators are spared the wear and tear of repetitive bending and lifting. POLAR Autotrim automatic waste removal further improves performance by removing cutting waste during the cutting process, eliminating the arduous manual picking of waste strips.

Anzalone concluded, “We weren’t looking at this level of automation, but we’re really glad we went ahead with it. The ROI is in line with expectations and the benefits have been outstanding.”

HardingPoorman Group’s broad portfolio of services includes computer-to-plate offset printing, UV printing, digital printing, variable data services, CD/DVD replication and automated packaging, mailing, comprehensive bindery, wide format signage, and fulfillment. The company, which serves the area within a 150-mile radius of Indianapolis, has 155 employees, and records annual sales of $34 million.

Binderyonics Adds Stitchmaster ST 350 to Equipment Lineup

Binderyonics Inc., a trade bindery located in Elk Grove Village, IL, recently took delivery of its third Heidelberg saddlestitcher, this one a Stitchmaster ST 350 with fourth and fifth knife options and counter stacker. According to company president Dan Griffin, Binderyonics specializes in the binding and finishing of high-volume direct mail catalogs for a variety of Fortune 500 companies doing business across the Midwest and nationwide.

Given its history with multiple Stitchmaster models, including the ST 350 and ST 270 it still operates, Binderyonics selected Heidelberg once again, based on the equipment’s exceptional operator friendliness, quality and reliability. “We love it,” Griffin said. Elsewhere in the shop, the company operates no fewer than six POLAR cutting systems and 22 Stahlfolders.

With annual sales in the $10 million range and 150 employees, Binderyonics Inc. is a high-volume cutting, folding, saddlestitching, inkjet imaging, shrink wrap and mailing service facility specializing in large production runs at competitive prices.

Lew A. Cummings Gains Greater Sheetfed Offset Firepower with Speedmaster XL 75

Lew A. Cummings Co., a full-service publication printer based in Hooksett, NH, recently supercharged its pressroom with the addition of a Speedmaster XL 75 with Prinect Inpress Control, AutoPlate XL simultaneous plate-changing, extended delivery, and integrated Wallscreen. In addition, Heidelberg’s JDF-based, Prinect Pressroom Manager workflow communicates preset data intelligently from prepress so that print jobs are automatically available to the press at the right time.

According to Pressroom Manager Dan Trudel, the new press will enable the company to supplement its web offset publication printing with a larger volume of commercial sheetfed offset work. The new XL 75 joins Cummings’s 1997 Speedmaster SM 102 in the production of sheetfed offset-printed components for web runs from 2,000-100,000. Cummings selected Heidelberg again, based on its trouble-free history with the SM 102, and because of the many time- and labor-saving features of the XL 75. The company’s bindery hosts assorted POLAR cutters and Stahlfolders.

Richardson Independent School District Adopts CtP with Suprasetter A52 from Heidelberg

The print shop serving the Richardson Independent School District in Richardson, TX, reports the recent installation of a Suprasetter A52 platesetter with MetaDimension RIP. The new platesetter is used to image Saphira Chemfree plates for two offset presses. The installation marks the shop’s transition from a film-based to a computer-to-plate workflow, as well as its first foray into 4-color process printing, which it previously outsourced.

In addition, said Print Service Manager Daniel Najera, “It has sped up our process tremendously and given us an opportunity to cross-train our people on the new technology.” The print shop, which employs a staff of seven, provides all manner of printed materials for the 52 schools and associated parent-teacher organizations that comprise the Richardson Independent School District.

Source: Heidelberg.