Finishing & Screen Printing

Heidelberg UK welcomes extended Stitchmaster portfolio

Wednesday 03. July 2013 - Two new Stitchmasters, the ST 500 and the ST 200, are now available through Heidelberg UK and each features scalable automation, allowing buyers to choose which functions of the machine need to be automated based on the cost-benefit balance for their applications and business model.

Product manager Ian Trengrouse says: “These solutions offer a great step forward in stitching because they have added functionality, improved output and the technology is easy to use. We anticipate strong take up for these products in this market.”
The ST 500 which was shown at Drupa last year replaces the ST 350 while the ST 200 sits between the ST 100 and ST 500 in terms of output volume. The Stitchmaster range is a high efficiency cost-effective solution that can be used for a wide range of work.
In addition to stitching, the ST 500 is the first machine to also collate signatures into book blocks in preparation for perfect binding. This innovation opens up the opportunity for small and medium sized printers in particular to expand their portfolios beyond saddle-stitching without making an additional investment in gathering.
Another unique feature of the ST 500 is the three step indexing of product through the trimmer which allows additional tools for calendar perforation, file hole punching and multiple ups to be run simultaneously.
Chromium-plated sheet guides in the feeder reduce the risk of marking and precise sheet travel and lateral alignment using lateral joggers in the trimmer ensure exact quality results.
Both the ST 500 and ST 200 have addressed the skills shortage, an issue not only in the UK, using the Heidelberg Stitchcontrol operating interface. It guides the operator through the setup, step by step, which reduces makeready times and minimises errors. The technology is very easy to use.
The automatic synchronisation of all units using separate drives for feeders, saddle chain, stitching unit, trimmer and stacker can reduce set up times on the ST 200 by up to 62% over manual equipment.
These Stitchmasters can be connected to the Prinect Postpress Manager workflow software and linked in to MIS systems.