Starline Printing Boosts Efficiency for Web-to-Print Business with Versafire EP from Heidelberg

Martin Bonillas, operator, stands with the Versafire EP from Heidelberg.

Starline Printing, one of the largest commercial printers in New Mexico, needed a digital printing solution robust enough to keep up with the demands of its sophisticated web-to-print platform. Previously equipped with a digital solution from a competitive manufacturer, the Albuquerque-based printer turned to the Versafire EP from Heidelberg for better uptime, color consistency, and production efficiency.

Less Machines, Better Uptime

Starline Printing offers a variety of standard products ranging from business cards to newsletters to promotional booklets available to order from its website. Since installing the Versafire EP, boasting speeds up to 135 letter pages per minute and industry-leading uptime, Starline has been able to considerably improve its efficiency and provide faster turnaround times for its web-to-print customers. According to Owner Bill Lang, “Previously, we needed two digital machines because of the amount of downtime we used to experience. Now equipped with just one Versafire, we have much better uptime, and it has been so much more reliable and economical for us to run.”

In addition to the Versafires’s reliability, Starline’s customers have been very pleased with its color consistency. Thanks to the Versafire’s exceptional output, Starline has been able to shift some of its work from offset to digital for more economical shorter runs. “Our color-sensitive customers are really happy with the quality that we achieve off the Versafire. Our sheet-to-sheet color uniformity is outstanding,” said Lang. The Versafire’s color consistency is achieved through inline sensors on the machine that control the color automatically during the print run and also with the Prinect Digital Front End (DFE), which uses Heidelberg’s color management and renderers (both tried and tested in offset printing).

Additionally, the Prinect DFE enables automated and standardized print production for excellent efficiency, greater transparency, and faster job flow. Other productivity-boosting add-ons include the Plockmatic inline saddle-stitcher, which the company uses to produce a variety of short run booklets. “Once the job is set-up, we don’t have to touch the product until the final trim. It just makes the whole process so much more efficient for our operators,” said Lang.

Currently equipped with a Speedmaster CD 102 and SM 52, Starline Printing, a long-time customer, has come to expect a high level of reliability and exceptional service from Heidelberg. According to Lang, “We’ve had a long-term relationship with Heidelberg on the offset side. But we knew that as an industry leader, they would need to become a strong player in digital printing as well. Based on our experience with the Versafire, they’ve certainly proven themselves to be.”

Source: Heidleberg