New Presses And Ancillaries At Drupa 2004

Heidelberg has announced two new presses ahead of Drupa, the B3 Printmaster PM52 and the new generation B1 Speedmaster with a new feeder on the SM102 and feeder and delivery on the CD102.

Heidelberg has announced two new presses ahead of Drupa, the B3 Printmaster PM52 and the new generation B1 Speedmaster with a new feeder on the SM102 and feeder and delivery on the CD102.

The company is also promising another 50 innovations and a premiere on its stand visitors.

Other hot topics in the press arena will be GIP 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, believes the company.

The PM52 is built on the Speedmaster SM52 platform but with various levels of automation available to suit different budgets.

It will be available directly after Drupa.

"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 Speed master 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," said Richard Bradley, marketing manager for small format products at Heidelberg UK.

Heidelberg is unveiling an upgraded Speedmaster range with a new feeder on the SM 102 and new feeder, delivery and improved coating technology on the Speedmaster CD102.

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," said Heidelberg's marketing manager for B1 and B2 products Steve Cavey.

"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% improvement in productivity on the CD102 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," he added.

Sheet travel is performed using gripper bars that 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 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% 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 CD102 means that corrections of plus or minus 2mm in circumferential and lateral directions and plus or minus 1 mm 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 a faster pace.

There are also many more complex formats available today, such as the Duopress CD102 L Y - 6 LYYL (X) feature a pre-coater as well as double coater at the end of the press.

It is unlikely to be shown in Dusseldorf.

Dedicated UV production is of growing interest in the UK market and now in addition to the CD102 version a Speedmaster CD74 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 Imagecontrol (which reads the printed page) and the entry level 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.

"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 make-ready tool.

It allows printers to colour up quickly to an accepted standard and to reduce waste," said Cavey.

Long perfectors, too, have been a 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," said Cavey.

"Expect developments at Drupa.

Press technology is changing faster than ever and printers cannot afford to overlook any 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," concluded Cavey.

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