Heidelberg to Focus on HEI Flexibility, Hybrid Workflows at GRAPH EXPO 2012

The Hybrid Path
Alongside its iconic Speedmaster SM 52 Anicolor press, Heidelberg will present both short-run, cut-sheet and wide-format digital production equipment, including both the Linoprint ProTMC901, and the EFI Rastek H652 UV flatbed inkjet printer. The Speedmaster SM 52 Anicolor, Rastek H652 and the Linoprint C901 will be linked in a live, color-managed workflow as they print a variety of materials for the simulated promotion, showcasing Heidelberg’s unmatched cross-platform expertise in integrated production and simultaneous color-matching (via Prinect Color Toolbox) of lithographic, electrophotographic, and digital inkjet output. Visitors will learn how getting highly coordinated and superior results from all three processes can be a major competitive advantage for printers who know how to make cross-platform color management part of their everyday production routines.

Heidelberg’s unifying Prinect workflow includes integration with inline and offline finishing equipment. These flexible, automated solutions—perfectly adapted for handling digital output—will include the U.S. debut of a new small-format Polar 56 NET version with P-NET, Compucut, Bar Code Reader and Process Visualization, and a Stahlfolder TH 56.

Anicolor: Short-Run Champ
A can’t-miss highlight of Heidelberg’s GRAPH EXPO presence will be the “Anicolor 30-Minute Makeready Challenge,” running twice each day for 30 minutes. During this time, Heidelberg operators will complete between six and eight separate jobs.

The Speedmaster SM 52 Anicolor, presented at GRAPH EXPO in a five-color configuration with aqueous coater, features a zoneless, short-inking unit that makes the press cost-competitive with digital devices in quantities as small as 200 impressions. Operating with near-zero makeready waste—10-15 sheets is typical—this groundbreaking machine can be ready to print to contract color almost as soon as the plates are in place.

GRAPH EXPO 2012 also will mark the U.S. launch of the Heidelberg-branded Linoprint ProTM C901 Graphic Arts Edition high-speed color digital press, shown with an inline bookletmaker and cover interposer. Running at up to 90 ppm, this high-output press is the offset printer’s answer to short runs, variable data printing, and fast turnaround on a wide range of substrates. For the first time, the company also will exhibit the Rastek H652 wide-format, flat-bed UV inkjet printer.