Printers Gain Efficiency, Productivity with Solutions from Heidelberg
KENNESAW, GA—Nov. 3, 2009—Heidelberg USA announces the following new product installations:
Premier Georgia Printing and Labels Installs Suprasetter 74
Premier Georgia Printing and Labels is a full-service sheetfed offset commercial and webfed label printing facility located in Gainesville, GA. The company recently installed a fully automated Heidelberg Suprasetter 74 MCL thermal computer-to-plate device to take advantage of its excellent imaging quality, maximum productivity and environmentally friendly, chemistry-free plate processing. The need for faster speeds and higher plate production stems, in part, from Premier’s need to feed no fewer than six presses, including the most recent addition: a Speedmaster SM 74 4-color press with aqueous coater.
“With the new Suprasetter in place, we can satisfy our pressroom’s appetite for plates,” said Steve Free, who co-owns Premier Georgia Printing and Labels with his wife, Donna. “Not only that, but our operators love the automated features and ease of use.” The company uses clean-running Saphira Chemfree thermal plates, in addition to assorted Saphira pressroom consumables, including Perfect Dot blankets, blanket wash, fountain solution, ink foils and trays, inks and coatings.
In addition to the new Suprasetter and Speedmaster 74, Premier operates a range of Heidelberg equipment, including a pair of Printmaster QM 46-2s, USA B20 and USA B26 folders, and a POLAR 92 guillotine cutter.
Based in Gainesville, GA, the self-proclaimed “Poultry Capital of the World,” Premier Georgia Printing and Labels provides flexo labels and offset-printed materials to poultry-related businesses in 19 states. According to Free, the company experienced a 6 percent increase in sales over the past 12 months.
And the value of Premier’s relationship with Heidelberg? “Peace of mind,” Free answers. “We get great service when we need it, which is rarely. Heidelberg equipment is solid. It just never breaks down.”
Worth its weight in peace of mind: the fully automated Suprasetter 74 MCL .
H&L Binders Chooses Stahlfolder TH 82
Trade binder H&L Binders of Doraville, GA, has added a Stahlfolder B30 6-plate continuous-feed folder with two gatefold attachments to a lineup that already includes a pair of Heidelberg TH 82 Stahlfolders and a POLAR 115 guillotine cutter.
H&L prides itself on manufacturing a good quality product at a fair price. “The fact that we take our commitments and the quality of our work seriously keeps us at the top of our game and is the reason customers return to us again and again,” said Marty Grogan, who co-owns the company with partner David Jacobs. Much the same could be said for the company’s relationship with Heidelberg, which hinges on the quality and reliability of its equipment. Of the new Stahlfolder TH 82, Grogan said, “Like all Heidelberg folders, it’s absolutely top of the line, and will last a very long time with proper care.”
Since the installation six months ago, said Grogan, the company has made substantial gains in productivity, along with the ability to handle larger sheets and perform gatefolding. H&L’s operators greatly appreciate the new folder’s “lower profile” and ergonomic control concept, Grogan said, as well as the higher speed and many automated features that help reduce error, shrink makeready times and permit greater utilization of the folder’s production capabilities. The flexibility of the folder is key, he said, given that the company produces work in run lengths of from 100 sheets to a million sheets, depending on the job.
H&L Binders serves a client base located throughout the Southeast and across the nation. The company provides a full range of bindery services, but specializes in the production of perfect-bound books. Depending on its workload, the company employs from 25-50 staff at any given time.
Top-of-the-line in folding: the Stahlfolder TH 82 folder.
GR Print Ramps Up Production with a Stahlfolder USA B20
GR Print, a busy gang-run trade printer located in Montebello, CA, reports a 35 percent increase in folding productivity since it replaced an aging machine with a small-format, Stahlfolder USA B20 pile-fed combi-plate folder.
“It’s fast, flexible and a lot more accurate,” said production manager Paul Pillen, citing the folder’s micro-adjustable combination buckle plates. “The ease of use is just outstanding,” he added—“so much so that an operator with no experience with automated equipment could walk right up to it and get comfortable with no problem whatsoever.” Currently, the company operates the USA B20 folder for one shift per day, although it expects to add a second shift by the beginning of February to accommodate increasing volume.
GR Print, which employs a hardworking staff of 19, uses the new folder to produce tri-fold brochures, bi-folds and letter folds up to 11x17” on 100-lb. gloss stock, in runs up to 5,000 pieces, for printers and graphic designers throughout North America. Elsewhere in the shop, the company operates a Heidelberg Speedmaster CD 102 4-color press and a POLAR 115 X programmable guillotine cutter.
“When you’ve been in the trade as long as I have,” Pillen said, “you learn pretty quickly that it pays to spend money on a well-made machine that performs reliably and produces top quality work, year in and year out. That’s what Heidelberg is all about.”
Fast, flexible, accurate: the USA B20 Stahlfolder.
GA Printing Invests in Cutting Capability with POLAR 115 X Cutter
GA Printing, Asheville, NC, a division of Golf Associates Scorecard Company, now produces rack cards, postcards, brochures and other commercially printed products with the assistance of two new programmable POLAR 115 X paper cutters, which replaced a pair of competitive machines. Since the installations took place, the company has enjoyed the advantages of higher speed, ease of operation and a 20 percent increase in productivity over the company’s previous cutter output.
According to Ronnie Vardeman, production manager, employees are delighted with the trouble-free operation of the cutters, including the conveniently located control panel with easy-to-read display that permits the user to select program functions and adjust machine parameters.
“The cutting department is a linchpin of our operation,” Vardeman explains. “Everything we print (in runs that average 10,000 pieces) flows through it, so we can’t afford to create a bottleneck at the cutter. The addition of these new POLAR machines enables us to serve our established niche more efficiently.”
Elsewhere in the shop, GA Printing operates a Heidelberg Speedmaster 52 5-color press, as well as assorted Heidelberg cylinder and Windmill presses. It also makes use of Saphira pressroom consumables, including ink fountain liners, blanket wash cloths, and water pan rollers. Of the company’s relationship with Heidelberg, Vardeman said, “You have to go with performance and longevity in this business. Heidelberg has never steered us wrong, and the service is outstanding.”
GA Printing employs a staff of 40 and serves a North American client base.
Banish bottlenecks with the POLAR 115 X programmable cutter.
Printmaster QM 46 Is Centerpiece of Appalachian University Program
The Graphic Arts and Imaging Technology (GAIT) program at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC (http://www.tec.appstate.edu/gait/index.htm), is the proud owner of a Heidelberg Printmaster QM 46 2-color press, which has quickly become the centerpiece of its graphic arts curriculum.
“It’s good for students to experience the newest technology in the form of this state-of-the-art small-format press,” said Dr. John R. Craft, Professor and Program Coordinator. Later on, he added, that experience could translate into improved job prospects, “because it sends human resource officers and future employers a message that there’s a quality program underway at Appalachian State.”
Not only are students attracted to the press for its contemporary look and design, automated features and ease of use, Craft said, but several students also have logged significant extracurricular time on it for special independent projects, some of which have won awards. Classroom lab assignments have included the production of limited quantities of newsletters and postcards, but the program also works with Appalachian State’s Printing and Publishing in-plant to produce longer-run materials for the University at large.
Appalachian State University is one of 16 campuses that comprise the University of North Carolina System. The Graphic Arts and Imaging Technology program has been training and educating students for more than 40 years, and currently graduates about 20 students a year. Around 150 students rotate through the program at any given time, not including 11 students with declared minors in the field. Appalachian State’s Graphic Arts and Imaging Technology facility is presently the largest of any program at the University, Craft noted, with obvious pride. The program actively supports the annual SkillsUSA partnership of students, teachers and industry representatives working together to ensure America has access to a skilled work force, which also has enjoyed the longstanding enthusiastic participation of Heidelberg.
The program’s choice of a Heidelberg Printmaster QM 46-2 to upgrade and enhance its student offerings was a no-brainer, Craft said. “Heidelberg presses are built for the ages. I can’t think of a better investment.”
A generation of printing students have cut their teeth on a Heidelberg Printmaster QM 46 .
Angelo State University In-Plant Trades Outsourcing for Printmaster GTO Workhorse
The in-plant print shop at Angelo State University in San Angelo, Texas, is keeping more of its small-format printing in house since it installed a Heidelberg Printmaster GTO 52 4-color press in August.
“A lot of things used to go off-campus,” said production supervisor Henry Begil, resulting in a loss of control over projects and higher costs. Now, however, the in-plant is saving the University money by exercising a larger measure of control over the production of brochures, postcards, recruitment and other materials in run lengths from 1,000 to 15,000 pieces. Managing the shop’s increased capacity “has definitely kept us busy,” Begil said, and underscored the value of various time- and labor-saving features of the new Printmaster GTO press, especially the Prinect Classic Center control console, which makes short, convenient work of remote ink and register settings.
Established more than 30 years ago, the busy in-plant also operates a Heidelberg Quicksetter polyester platesetter. It also utilizes Heidelberg Cristala poly plates and a host of Saphira pressroom consumables, including inks, blankets, blanket wash, fountain solution and more.
A press that works as hard as you do: the Heidelberg Printmaster GTO 52.
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen
A technology provider and partner in the print media industry, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) is, with its sheetfed offset printing machines, one of the leading solution providers for the print media industry. All over the world, the name Heidelberg is synonymous with state-of-the art technology, top quality, and closeness to the customer. The core business of this technology group covers the whole value-added and process chain for the 35 x 50 cm (13.78 x 19.69 in) to 121 x 162 cm (47.64 x 63.78 in) format classes in the sheetfed offset sector.
Heidelberg develops and produces precision printing presses, platesetters, postpress equipment, and software for integrating all the printshop processes. Environmental protection has an enduring importance in this regard. Solutions for the development, production, and utilization of presses help to conserve resources, reduce emissions, and cut wastage. The Heidelberg portfolio also provides general and consulting services ranging from spare parts and consumables to the sale of remarketed equipment, and training at the Print Media Academy.
Based in Heidelberg, Germany, with development and production sites in seven countries and around 250 sales offices across the globe, the company supports around 200,000 customers worldwide. All Heidelberg presses destined for the world market are manufactured at the Wiesloch-Walldorf site in line with strict quality standards. Standardized presses in all standard format classes and folding machines for the Chinese market are produced by Heidelberg in Qingpu near Shanghai.
Heidelberg presses worldwide produce high-quality print products such as business cards, brochures, posters, and folding cartons.
In financial year 2008/2009, Heidelberg recorded sales of EUR 2.999 billion. As of March 31, 2009, the Heidelberg Group had a workforce of 18,926 worldwide, including 707 trainees.
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