State Graphics Streamlines Production with Five HEIDELBERG Versafires

State Graphics, a leading marketing and commercial printing company with two locations in Illinois, recently enhanced its digital print operations with two new Versafire presses from HEIDELBERG, marking its fifth Versafire installation in the past four years. Together with Prinect Production, the company’s fleet of HEIDELBERG digital print engines has streamlined production across the company’s locations – boosting uptime, efficiency, and color consistency.

“Speaking the Same Language”

State Graphics began as a small commercial print shop in 2012, and through years of organic growth and strategic acquisitions of “mom and pop” shops, has become one of the Top 300 printing companies in the U.S. Today, the company operates out of two large facilities in Lake Barrington and Northbrook – offering offset and digital printing, mailing and fulfillment, wide-format graphics, apparel/embroidery, and short-run packaging.

As the company evolved and production capabilities spread between its various locations, State Graphics invested in Prinect Production from HEIDELBERG in 2022. “With Prinect, we have a consistent workflow,” said Bob Schroeder, Owner, State Graphics. “The whole company can ‘speak the same language,’ allowing everyone to work from the same standards for file transfer, prepress preparation, and color management.”

With Prinect and HEIDELBERG’s Print Color Management services, State Graphics has standardized color not only between facilities but also amongst its three printing processes – digital, offset, and wide format – and significantly improved its proof to print color accuracy. The company recently installed an Epson proofer from HEIDELBERG and is working towards improving its color consistency even further as it switches to HEIDELBERG Saphira inks and plates for its offset presses.

Additionally, Prinect Production has improved efficiency by automating tasks in file preparation, imposition, proofing, and cutting schemes for the company’s POLAR cutters – all leading to faster turnaround times and enhanced quality for customers.

“I could go on at length about the impact Prinect has had on streamlining our production,” said Patrick Managan, Vice President at State Graphics. “We’re now exploring how it can better our efficiencies in other areas of bindery and even wide format.”

Improving Efficiency

To further boost production efficiency, State Graphics invested in a Versafire EP – its first digital investment with HEIDELBERG – concurrent with its Prinect implementation. At the time, the company was operating 12 digital presses from another manufacturer and facing ongoing challenges with uptime and service support reliability.

“It was clear we needed to make a change,” said Schroeder. “We were impressed not only by the print quality of the Versafire, but also by the seamless integration with the Prinect workflow through the Digital Front End. We started with one Versafire to make sure it was the right fit for our operation and haven’t looked back.”

Since then, State Graphics has installed four additional machines – a Versafire EM monochrome press equipped with a Plockmatic booklet maker, two Versafire LV presses at its Lake Barrington facility – one featuring five-color capabilities – and another Versafire LV installed at its Northbrook location. The company’s five-color Versafire LV, which is capable of printing with white, silver, gold, and clear, has become a valuable tool for attracting new business and producing specialty applications. “It’s really allowed us to separate ourselves from our competition because not everybody has that capability,” said Managan.

Thanks to the Versafires’ higher speeds, better uptime, and “excellent” service, State Graphics has been able to eliminate three digital presses while increasing throughput and capacity. One factor contributing to the Versafires’ high uptime is HEIDELBERG’s Trained Customer Replaceable Units program, which allows State Graphics operators to replace key components themselves without waiting for a service technician. “That capability has given us a level of uptime and operational efficiency we hadn’t experienced before,” said Managan.

State Graphics has also been impressed by the Versafires’ ability to efficiently handle longer-run applications with consistent reliability. As run lengths decline on many traditional offset jobs, the company increasingly is shifting work to its Versafires. “Last night, I left and the Versafire was running unattended – the lights were off and the press was still going. We came in the next morning, and the run was complete without a single jam,” said Schroeder.

As the company looks to more strategic investments in the future, Schroeder said, “We see HEIDELBERG as a forward-thinking company that continues to lead with innovative technology. That’s extremely important to us. We needed to stabilize our workflow, improve consistency for our customers, and create a more reliable operation overall – and with HEIDELBERG’s help, we’ve been able to accomplish that.”

Source: Heidelberg

The preceding press release was provided by a company unaffiliated with Printing Impressions. The views expressed within may not directly reflect the thoughts or opinions of the staff of Printing Impressions.