Offset Printing

Short-Run Solutions from Heidelberg Deliver Quality and Cost-Efficient Production in Equal Measure

Wednesday 15. October 2014 - Heidelberg invited customers and prospects to review its comprehensive portfolio of short-run solutions at a series of three special events held this summer at its North American Print and Packaging Technology Center in Kennesaw, Ga. The themed open houses were the most recent evidence of the success of Heidelberg's shift to a homegrown marketing strategy focused on creating more opportunities for 1:1 engagement with qualified decision-makers.

At each of the events, held in May-August, those in attendance walked through equipment and workflow demonstrations, guided technology overviews and interactive seminars showcasing Heidelberg’s short-run offerings from prepress to finishing. Highlights included the Speedmaster XL 75 Anicolor offset solution for digital market run lengths; Linoprint C901/751 digital printing systems for high-quality, cost-effective production of very short runs and variable data; the EFI H652 wide-format UV hybrid printer; and the LED-based EFI VUTEk GS3250 LX Pro for high-speed, wide-format printing.
Cross-Platform Excellence
According to Jürgen Grimm, President of Heidelberg USA, “Customers repeatedly confirm the value of the intimate, consultative marketing strategy we initiated over a year ago. Day-long custom events, like the recently concluded Short-Run Solutions series, encourage participants to raise specific questions with Heidelberg presenters, as well as network with one another to discover how Heidelberg’s solutions can work together to help them become more efficient, productive and profitable.”
“The main benefit customers tell us they derive from these events is an opportunity to see offset, toner-based digital and wide-format inkjet printing technologies, all color-managed to the highest standard,” said Andy Rae, Senior Vice President, Equipment. “Many can’t believe the quality and consistency of the toner-based Linoprint devices versus the Anicolor offset output. Because we are able to show how all of this is managed by our Prinect workflow—including the ability to determine which device the job goes to, based on costing parameters—many customers tell us it’s the best one-day overview they have seen.”
“Customers want to be able to say ‘yes’ with confidence to short-run, quick-turn job requests, and to do so cost-effectively,” said Dan Maurer, VP Digital Print and Postpress Product Management. “From our standpoint, the best short-run solution we can present to a customer is one that fits their unique needs, regardless of print engine technology. Because of this, Heidelberg is uniquely well-positioned to construct a financial model for our customers that optimizes their cost efficiency, while also offering precise, high-quality color matching across the various platforms.”
See for Yourself
Print shops need to remain profitable despite shrinking run lengths. This means cutting makeready times and waste, and ramping up production to handle fast job changes. In addition to highly automated platesetters, fully automated job presetting, and automatic plate changeovers, Heidelberg offers highly specialized digital printing and short inking unit (Anicolor) presses, together with flexible postpress equipment.
When it becomes necessary to produce very short runs and variable data printing quickly and profitably, Heidelberg’s Linoprint C751 and Linoprint C901 digital printing systems support users in combined digital-offset applications. These systems also can be integrated into the Prinect print shop workflow via Prinect Digital Print Manager, which enables digital jobs to be seamlessly planned and managed (including standardized color management via Prinect Color Toolbox) with offset presswork.
In short: Heidelberg’s Short-Run Solutions portfolio provides all the tools you’ll need to increase your competitiveness and profitability on a sustainable basis—without sacrificing the quality you expect from Heidelberg.