drupa Presses Preview
25.02.2004
Unusually Heidelberg has announced two new presses ahead of Drupa,
the B3 Printmaster PM 52 and the new generation B1 Speedmaster with
a new feeder on the Speedmaster SM 102 and feeder and delivery on
the Speedmaster CD 102. And with the promise of 50 innovations and
a premiere on its stand visitors must expect more surprises yet.
Other hot topics in the press arena will be CIP 4 networking (there are already 400 Prepress Interfaces in use in the UK), colour management, dedicated UV presses and one stop productivity through the use of long perfectors and straight presses with comprehensive coating choices.
The Printmaster range is suited to those seeking an entry level purchase. The Printmaster PM 52 is built on the market leading Speedmaster SM 52 platform but with various levels of automation available to suit different budgets. It will ship directly after drupa.
"It is a Speedmaster in all but name in terms of print quality although there is,of course some compromise on speed." says Richard Bradley, marketing manager for small format products at Heidelberg UK. "It is the ideal press for a user wanting high quality but without huge capacity, working one shift or extended days. It has the power and speed of the Speedmaster but scalable automation so a buyer can decide how much automation is needed. There is also a format development path with the B2 Printmaster 74 to aspire to."
At the top of the range Heidelberg is unveiling an upgraded Speedmaster range with a new feeder on the Speedmaster SM 102 and new feeder, delivery and improved coating technology on the Speedmaster CD 102. And there is the promise of a redesigned and even further integrated Logistics materials handling system as well.
"The new Preset Plus feeder is a real breakthrough in that it will give greater throughput and the ability to run lighter and heavier or cheaper stocks more reliably," says Steve Cavey, marketing manager for B1 and B2 products. "The system features a central suction tape without guide rollers. "The Preset Plus feeder and Preset Plus delivery have been designed to reduce make-ready times and improve sheet travel efficiency so that there is minimal waste and maximum production. The reality is that even without an increase in rated speed presses will output more work per hour than they have to date. An 8-10 percent improvement in productivity on the CD 102 is real added value and will help achieve the ever faster turnrounds required, the quality that is needed but also the unit costs that could safeguard margins."
Other hot topics in the press arena will be CIP 4 networking (there are already 400 Prepress Interfaces in use in the UK), colour management, dedicated UV presses and one stop productivity through the use of long perfectors and straight presses with comprehensive coating choices.
The Printmaster range is suited to those seeking an entry level purchase. The Printmaster PM 52 is built on the market leading Speedmaster SM 52 platform but with various levels of automation available to suit different budgets. It will ship directly after drupa.
"It is a Speedmaster in all but name in terms of print quality although there is,of course some compromise on speed." says Richard Bradley, marketing manager for small format products at Heidelberg UK. "It is the ideal press for a user wanting high quality but without huge capacity, working one shift or extended days. It has the power and speed of the Speedmaster but scalable automation so a buyer can decide how much automation is needed. There is also a format development path with the B2 Printmaster 74 to aspire to."
At the top of the range Heidelberg is unveiling an upgraded Speedmaster range with a new feeder on the Speedmaster SM 102 and new feeder, delivery and improved coating technology on the Speedmaster CD 102. And there is the promise of a redesigned and even further integrated Logistics materials handling system as well.
"The new Preset Plus feeder is a real breakthrough in that it will give greater throughput and the ability to run lighter and heavier or cheaper stocks more reliably," says Steve Cavey, marketing manager for B1 and B2 products. "The system features a central suction tape without guide rollers. "The Preset Plus feeder and Preset Plus delivery have been designed to reduce make-ready times and improve sheet travel efficiency so that there is minimal waste and maximum production. The reality is that even without an increase in rated speed presses will output more work per hour than they have to date. An 8-10 percent improvement in productivity on the CD 102 is real added value and will help achieve the ever faster turnrounds required, the quality that is needed but also the unit costs that could safeguard margins."
On the Speedmaster CD 102 there is also the Preset Plus delivery.
Sheet travel is performed using gripper bars which have undergone
extensive wind tunnel tests and computer simulations to ensure
aerodynamics are exactly right. By combining the gripper bars with
Heidelberg's Venturi guide plate, sheets can be transported
extremely smoothly. The delivery can be controlled remotely using
Prinect CANopen software from the Prinect CP2000 console.
The length of delivery will vary depending on the drying requirements a new generation of Drystar infrared/hot air driers, combined with a narrowing of the gap between the sheet and guide plate, means that drying can be 30-50 percent more efficient. Additional control panels on the sheet guide plates allow fine-tuning of the air guidance and direct visual control of sheet travel.
Coating innovations include remotely adjustable diagonal register and a modified screen roller system. Diagonal register on the Speedmaster CD 102 means that corrections of plus or minus 2 millimetre in circumferential and lateral directions and plus or minus 1 millimetre on the diagonal access can be made. Coating jobs with spot coating or fine founts can be set up much faster as a result. Coating is much more of a standard product as printers seek to offer customers something new and different and to push work through to finishing at an ever faster pace. There are also many more complex formats available today, such as the DuoPress Speedmaster CD 102 LY - 6 LYYL (X) feature a precoater as well as double coater at the end of the press. This is unlikely to be shown in Dusseldorf, however.
Dedicated UV production is of growing interest in the UK market and now in addition to the CD 102 version a Speedmaster CD 74 UV press will be shown in tandem with a UV supplier. UV can now be a factory-fitted option rather than an add on as it was before.
Across the range of presses colour management will become a key issue as printers look for ever more precision in the science of printing. Heidelberg offers both Prinect Image Control (which reads the printed page) and the entry level Prinect Axis Control (which reads colour bars) spectrophotometry and the manner and means of measuring colour and adapting to changes on press, such as roller wear, is becoming cleverer by the day. Developments in this area will be worth a look.
"With runs coming down and print on demand expected in every format there is a need to produce fast but with exact colour match with different operators, changing light conditions and so on. ImageControl can work across up to three presses and is becoming a vital makeready tool. It allows printers to colour up quickly to an accepted standard and to reduce waste," says Mr Cavey.
Long perfectors, too, have been a huge success story and the ability to produce complete full colour work on both sides of the sheet without quality compromise, thanks to enhanced jacket technology, will continue to make this a popular buy. "In some markets it will be hard for users of work and turn technology to compete at effective unit costs so this is becoming a 'buy or die' business," says Mr Cavey. "Expect developments at drupa."
He concludes: "Press technology is changing faster than ever and printers cannot afford not to look at every means to bring greater efficiency to their production. Market prices will be hard to change so to secure profits printers must either minimise their costs or enhance the value added elements they offer and these are the approaches visitors to drupa must take. We expect a strong turnout from the UK this time round."
The length of delivery will vary depending on the drying requirements a new generation of Drystar infrared/hot air driers, combined with a narrowing of the gap between the sheet and guide plate, means that drying can be 30-50 percent more efficient. Additional control panels on the sheet guide plates allow fine-tuning of the air guidance and direct visual control of sheet travel.
Coating innovations include remotely adjustable diagonal register and a modified screen roller system. Diagonal register on the Speedmaster CD 102 means that corrections of plus or minus 2 millimetre in circumferential and lateral directions and plus or minus 1 millimetre on the diagonal access can be made. Coating jobs with spot coating or fine founts can be set up much faster as a result. Coating is much more of a standard product as printers seek to offer customers something new and different and to push work through to finishing at an ever faster pace. There are also many more complex formats available today, such as the DuoPress Speedmaster CD 102 LY - 6 LYYL (X) feature a precoater as well as double coater at the end of the press. This is unlikely to be shown in Dusseldorf, however.
Dedicated UV production is of growing interest in the UK market and now in addition to the CD 102 version a Speedmaster CD 74 UV press will be shown in tandem with a UV supplier. UV can now be a factory-fitted option rather than an add on as it was before.
Across the range of presses colour management will become a key issue as printers look for ever more precision in the science of printing. Heidelberg offers both Prinect Image Control (which reads the printed page) and the entry level Prinect Axis Control (which reads colour bars) spectrophotometry and the manner and means of measuring colour and adapting to changes on press, such as roller wear, is becoming cleverer by the day. Developments in this area will be worth a look.
"With runs coming down and print on demand expected in every format there is a need to produce fast but with exact colour match with different operators, changing light conditions and so on. ImageControl can work across up to three presses and is becoming a vital makeready tool. It allows printers to colour up quickly to an accepted standard and to reduce waste," says Mr Cavey.
Long perfectors, too, have been a huge success story and the ability to produce complete full colour work on both sides of the sheet without quality compromise, thanks to enhanced jacket technology, will continue to make this a popular buy. "In some markets it will be hard for users of work and turn technology to compete at effective unit costs so this is becoming a 'buy or die' business," says Mr Cavey. "Expect developments at drupa."
He concludes: "Press technology is changing faster than ever and printers cannot afford not to look at every means to bring greater efficiency to their production. Market prices will be hard to change so to secure profits printers must either minimise their costs or enhance the value added elements they offer and these are the approaches visitors to drupa must take. We expect a strong turnout from the UK this time round."
Global, Regional, Local
Heidelberg's 250 support centres in 170 countries and a team of over 7,500 sales staff, 3,800 of which are service technicians, mean we have the most compre- hensive sales and service network in the entire indus- try. Heidelberg generates 85 percent of its sales through its own sales companies and achieves around 87 percent of its sales abroad.
