Offset Printing

Heidelberg Helps West Coast Shop Make A Speedy Recovery

Wednesday 04. February 2009 - After a major humidification system malfunction destroyed a majority of the equipment at AdPro Litho of Mulkilteo, Wash., owners Gary and Chris Smith turned to Heidelberg for help.

The company lost three six-color presses to rust and water damage. To help the family owned company get back up and running, Heidelberg expedited the installation of a new 6-color Speedmaster SM 52 press. “The Heidelberg installation team was extremely helpful with the expedited process,” said Smith. “The press was installed and in production in less than two weeks.” The company had been running a similar SM 52 press from Heidelberg before the accident, and was so pleased with the press that they decided to stick with the model when rebuilding began. “We originally replaced two older-model presses with the SM 52, which could handle all of the work of those two presses in half the time,” Smith said. Before the accident, Smith had made plans to eventually install a peak-performance Speedmaster XL 105 – plans he has kept despite challenging times. “Everything has fallen into place, even if the timing isn’t what I expected,” Smith said. “We are very proud to be the first print shop in the state of Washington to install a Speedmaster XL 105 from Heidelberg.” Though the installation is not yet complete, Smith and his family have high expectations for the press. As a trade shop that primarily prints for other printers, printing brokers and design companies, AdPro Litho has no sales staff, “But that hasn’t stopped word from spreading about the XL 105,” Smith said. The company also runs a Stahlfolder folder and POLAR cutter from Heidelberg, and plans to install another cutting system or new stitcher in the near future. The shop uses Heidelberg Saphira Consumables, including blanket wash rolls and blankets. Founded in 1983, AdPro Litho now boasts 26 employees, including three generations of the Smith family.