Offset Printing

Results-Oriented Customers Typify Visitors to Heidelberg Booth at Print 09

Tuesday 22. September 2009 - A high percentage of visitors to the Heidelberg booth (1200) at Print 09 were qualified buyers looking for solutions to specific business needs. Key elements of Heidelberg’s comprehensive print media portfolio, displayed in a 30,000-square-foot, fully integrated print shop environment, gave attendees like these an opportunity to view the range of Heidelberg’s business management, prepress, press, postpress, Saphira consumable and packaging solutions that can bring real improvement and measurable results to businesses today.

Heidelberg Exceeds VLF Expectations
Especially gratifying was the keen attention paid to Heidelberg’s offerings in the packaging area. Industry acceptance of Heidelberg’s VLF offerings was manifest in the sale of a
Speedmaster XL 162 press to Bell Incorporated of Sioux Falls, S.D., as well as in a number of upcoming installations in both the package printing and commercial printing segments.

“We are extremely pleased with our order intake over the past several months, culminating in several new orders taken at Print,” said Jim Dunn, president of Heidelberg USA. “The industry clearly has been waiting to see what kinds of innovations and improvements Heidelberg could offer this market segment, and it’s plain the industry likes what it sees.”

Peak Performance XL Technology Draws A Crowd
Heidelberg’s Speedmaster XL 75 with InterTech Award-winning Prinect Press Center with integrated Wallscreen and Intellistart process-oriented operating platform drew large, interested crowds for daily expert presentations and the opportunity to get a closer look at a technology that “[redefines] the operation of a sheetfed press,” in the words of PIA’s Mark Bohan, VP Technology and Research. Available on all Heidelberg Speedmaster presses in any format size, the high-performance Prinect Press Center combines state-of-the-art technology, smart automation and comprehensive data management to ensure efficient production and provide the long-term investment security print companies need.

Anicolor Technology Steals Digital Printing’s Thunder
Word spread fast as Heidelberg ramped up demos of its Speedmaster SM 52 with zoneless Anicolor inking technology, offset’s answer to shrinking print runs and a cost-effective alternative to click charge-laden, short-run, non-variable digital printing solutions. The contrast yielded plenty of fodder for discussion with customers as Heidelberg demonstrators explained how dramatically shorter setups mean users can print more high-quality jobs each day at lower cost and with 100 percent offset quality thanks to consistent inking. The Speedmaster SM 52 with Anicolor prints up to 15,000 11×14″ or 30,000 8.5×11″ sheets per hour with total color stability over both short and long runs.

Customer Testimonials Captivate Audience
It’s said that word-of-mouth is one of the best ways to promote a product or service. This year, Heidelberg let its customers do the talking in a series of well-attended live, in-depth interviews conducted by members of the trade press and keyed to Heidelberg equipment, technologies and workflow solutions that have helped their businesses achieve success. Topics ranged from CtP, color management and workflow integration to ultra-high-performance XL and revolutionary Anicolor technologies to postpress and packaging innovations.

POLAR Sets the P.A.C.E.
With the most comprehensive postpress product line in the print media industry, Heidelberg offers a range of postpress and packaging solutions that can transform the average bindery from a cost center to an engine of profitability. A mainstay of postpress operations the world over—as well as a sure-fire crowd pleaser at Print 09—is Heidelberg’s POLAR line of automated cutting equipment, represented at Print by the InterTech Award-winning POLAR P.A.C.E. cutting system configured for automatic loading, cutting and offloading by a single operator. As if to prove the point, the model shown at Print was sold directly off the show floor.

Heidelberg’s Packaging Solutions Theater also served as the stage for the North American debuts of the Easygluer 100 folding carton gluer and the KAMA ProCut 74 automatic finishing die cutter. The Easygluer 100 is a highly automated, remotely controllable carton maker that can turn out up to 50,000 lockbottom cartons per hour. The compact KAMA ProCut 74 makes easy work of die cutting, creasing, kiss-cutting, cold embossing and hot cutting, hot foil and hologram stamping, even for shops that are newcomers to value-added finishing. Both generated intense customer interest and yielded a number of sales. Yet another show highlight was the debut of the Stahlfolder TH 82 with the new high speed, frog fold option, which dramatically increases output.

Service, Consumables and Business Consulting
Customers continue to show interest in and support for Heidelberg’s expanded Systemservice, Consumables and Original Spare Parts offerings, including a newly implemented two-year parts warranty and flexible service price structure announced at Print 09. Likewise, discussion with customers revealed a growing interest in what Heidelberg’s Business Consulting Services can do to help their businesses achieve maximum efficiency.

Greater than the Sum of Its Parts
Beyond these highlights, Print 09 attendees also had an opportunity to see and touch a generous cross-section of Heidelberg’s comprehensive print media portfolio, displayed live in a fully integrated print shop environment. Indeed, Heidelberg’s entire booth was redesigned this year not only to showcase the technologies that are driving the transformation of the printing industry, but also to highlight the pivotal role Heidelberg’s Prinect family of workflow products plays in automating and managing the entire print production process. No fewer than 12 of Heidelberg’s outstanding hardware and software solutions were shown, united by elements of Heidelberg’s Prinect digital workflow for maximum efficiency. In a year when other vendors declined the bring equipment to the show or offered so-called “virtual” exhibits in lieu of hardware, Heidelberg’s success in mounting this unique trade show experience cannot be overstated.

While overall attendance figures for Print 09 will likely reflect the prevailing economic downturn, Heidelberg was both encouraged and gratified by the high level of interest and seriousness of purpose displayed by visitors to its booth. Likewise, discussions with customers revealed a willingness to invest in technologies and services that can help their businesses capitalize on forthcoming market opportunities.