Dayton Newspapers Installs First Two-up Heidelberg Long Perfector in North America

Kennesaw, GA—March 22, 2007—Heidelberg is pleased to announce that Dayton Newspapers of Franklin, Ohio, recently installed a Heidelberg Speedmaster SM 52 8-color perfector with Prinect Axis Control color measuring system. The new press will handle the production of color pre-prints for insertion into four daily and six weekly newspaper publications. It is the first installation of this powerful small-format long perfector in North America.

Dayton Newspapers initially entered the sheetfed printing business as an extension of its newspaper pre-print inserting operation. At the time, the company’s goal was to print 8.5 x 11” single-sheet inserts in two-up configuration for its advertisers. Based on its business plan, the company determined that a small-format press would be a good fit, given anticipated volumes and space considerations. The SM 52 4-color would join Dayton Newspapers’ existing full-size newspaper web presses, packaging equipment, and various support equipment.

According to Packaging/Print Department Manager George Bomberry, “The SM 52 4-color press was an excellent fit for us initially, and our business grew at an astonishing rate. In a little over two years of operation, we produced more than 120 million pieces or 60 million impressions. It was at that time that we made the decision to increase our capacity,” and upgraded to the SM 52 8-color perfector.

“The new small-format press fit our operation for the same reasons that led to our original decision to go with this size press,” Bomberry says. “We liked the ease of operation that we experienced with our first small-format press and the footprint of the new eight-color press was comparable to that of the existing four-color press with aqueous coater.”

Even if space had not been a consideration, Bomberry reports, the run length and type of work the company processes would have driven the decision to install a small-format press. “The bulk of our work is 8.5 x 11” work, mostly single sheet, and mostly less than 75,000 copies, with many short-run jobs around 5,000 to 10,000 copies. A small-format press fits not only the footprint but also the work. The new 4/4 works well because it can produce these two-up jobs at a rate of 25,000 to 30,000 finished pieces per hour. This fits in very well with our requirements in the packaging department.”