Inkjet & Digital Printing

Print Shops Tap New Sources of Revenue with Linoprint C Digital Printing Systems from Heidelberg

Monday 30. December 2013 - Heidelberg's Linoprint C series digital color production systems are paving the way to the lucrative markets of the future for print shops nationwide. The 90 ppm Linoprint C901 and 75 ppm Linoprint C751 are fast and versatile enough to handle both short-run and variable data print jobs at a fraction of the cost of many high-end digital machines, while providing print quality that is nearly indistinguishable from offset. Whether adding or upgrading their digital capacity, users of Heidelberg's Linoprint C series presses are meeting the growth in digital demand with value-added solutions ideally suited to their customers' budgets and quality requirements.

Out with the Old, In with the New
TPM Graphics, Inc. in Arlington Heights, IL recently replaced an underperforming name-brand digital production printer with a Linoprint C901+ digital printing system with collator and corner stapler from Heidelberg. The Linoprint C901+ is now the company’s only digital production machine.
The all-Heidelberg shop operates no fewer than five Heidelberg small- and medium-format offset presses, in addition to a Suprasetter Chemfree platesetter with Prinect Prepress Manager workflow.
“The biggest reason we installed a Linoprint C901+ digital press was that we could use it with our existing Heidelberg Prinect workflow to gain more control over our quality, consistency, and repeatability,” said Paul Mongoven, president. “With the older machine, we were all over the map in those areas. The Linoprint click charges are also more competitive and the capacity is better than the machine we removed,” he said. “We’ll be able to benefit more and more as our volume increases.”
Sweet spots for TPM’s Linoprint C901+ are runs under 500 sheets and variable-data work, which Mongoven identifies as a likely growth area. He’s also very happy with the stock flexibility afforded by the Linoprint C901+, which is specified for stocks up to 16-pt. thick. “We’re up to 14-pt. cardstock and have encountered no problems whatsoever,” Mongoven said.
Established in 1985, TPM Graphics provides fine offset printing and multiple binding services to clients in the Chicago metropolitan area, with fulfillment nationwide.
Dance with One That Brought You
With no fewer than six Heidelberg presses in every format size on the floor, including a Speedmaster XL 105 6-color with coater, Jones Printing Service in Chesapeake, VA was inclined toward the Linoprint C901+ from the get-go. “Our 30-year relationship with Heidelberg is based on trust, an outstanding record of service and support, and easy parts availability,” said Harry Jones, president. “When the time came to add our first in-house digital press, we naturally wanted to stick with Heidelberg as our supplier.”
Consistent with its strategy of embracing new printing technologies to offer better service and competitive pricing, the company installed a Linoprint C901+ digital press, complete with in-line bookletmaker, in June. The installation also includes the Prinect Color Toolbox, Heidelberg’s powerful suite of integrated color management solutions, which enables the company to produce jobs on any of its presses without degrading the look or the quality of the final product.
“We wanted to be able to offer our customers high-quality, short-run digital printing that would match the color of our Heidelberg offset presses,” Jones said. “With Prinect Color Toolbox, our digitally printed sheets are color-calibrated and G7-qualified to match our offset-printed sheets and proof sheets.”
While Jones has yet to tap the variable data capabilities of his new digital press, the arrival of the Linoprint C901+ has already yielded increased business, primarily from digital customers bringing in additional offset work. For the present, he said, the company uses the Linoprint for runs under 500 sheets, including multiple-ups.
In Control
Higher quality, lower manufacturing costs, and a better competitive position were the chief objectives driving National Multiple Listing, Inc. (NML)’s decision to install a Linoprint C901+ digital printing system from Heidelberg. According to CTO Paula Small, the company uses the new press for short runs (<1000 sheets) and longer-run variable data printing. Given that the quality of output is nearly indistinguishable from offset, NML also plans to use the Linoprint C901+ as a color-proofing device. The installation also includes Prinect Color Toolbox and Digital Print Manager, as well as a high-capacity stacker.
“It was time to upgrade our digital capacity,” Small said, referring to the company’s 10-year-old digital production press. “Where the old press took a long time to warm up, the Linoprint machine is faster, and has a smaller footprint.” Best of all, she explained, “Click charges on the Linoprint C901+ already include the cost of maintenance and consumables, so it’s overall cheaper to run, compared with systems where those items are charged separately. Knowing what our costs will be up front gives us better control.” As a result of the savings the company expects to realize with the Linoprint C901+, NML hopes to be able to bring down costs for all of its customers, becoming more competitive against non-print media and web-to-print providers.
Third-generation, family run NML specializes in real estate promotion, where the appearance of company logos and other branding elements of various marketing materials must be accurate and consistent, whether produced on the Linoprint machine or on one of NML’s two 29″ Speedmaster offset presses. Prinect Color Toolbox ensures the highest color reliability, independent of printing process. Heidelberg’s Digital Print Manager, meanwhile, enables complete integration of the Linoprint C901+ digital printing systems into NML’s Apogee prepress workflow.
What’s Not To Love?
Heidelberg’s Linoprint C series digital printing systems effectively eliminate the obstacles that have made it difficult for printers to gain easy entry into the digital print market. At speeds of 90 ppm with Linoprint C901+ or 75 ppm with Linoprint C751, commercial jobs such as brochures, training documentation, event programs, calendars and postcards can be produced in short runs using offset papers up to 350 gsm, including heavily structured materials and films.
Linoprint C systems also enable in-line integration of postpress steps such as stitching, cutting, die cutting, folding, collating, ring binding, and gluing. In combination with a Heidelberg Speedmaster SX 52 or XL 75 Anicolor, users can retain existing offset customers while winning new customers in other areas. For the ultimate in hybrid production, Heidelberg’s Digital Print Manager option enables print service providers to control and calculate both offset and digital print jobs from a single workflow and choose the most cost-effective or fastest production method for each job.