Product of the Week

It's been said before and no doubt it will be said time and time again over the coming years: general commercial printing is the most competitive sector in print. Manufacturers resigned themselves to this fact a long time ago and as a result have focused their efforts on finding new potential growth areas.

One area that many looked at closely was the large-format market, and at Drupa this sleeping giant finally roared into action. Not only were manufacturers unveiling new B1 presses in the Messe’s exhibition halls, but some of those who were already in the B1 mix made a foray into VLF. So it was no surprise that the biggest sheetfed manufacturers in the world decided to join this assault on the large-format market, and try and lay claim to a slice of the massive packaging sector.

There are 50 potential customers in the UK large-format industry who are going to be looking to invest in new presses over a number of years, says Steve Cavey, Heidelberg UK marketing manager for B1 and B2 products. It’s this group that the German manufacturer hopes to target with its new Speedmaster XL 145 and XL 162 machines.

The result of four years of R&D, everything that characterises a Heidelberg press has gone into the build of these machines and at the heart of it all is the company’s XL 105 technology, according to Cavey.

Both the 145 and the 162 are identical in terms of technology – the difference lies in the size of the cylinder inside: one boasts a width of 1,620mm, and the other 1,450mm. We are making one platform, which makes our lives easier, says Cavey. Although clearly it isn’t possible to upgrade a 145 to a 162, he adds.

It’s a major tactical play for the company: the 1,020x 1,420mm format of the Speedmaster XL 145 press is currently the most popular of those in the packaging printing sector, claims Heidelberg. Analysis carried out by the manufacturer show that the 30mm larger print sheet of the Speedmaster XL 145 delivers 10% more space for nesting individual repeats on the sheet – an advantage for printers looking to be economically competitive.

And Heidelberg is eager to prove cynics wrong about its choice, commitment or technical know-how. A raft of new products support its one solution portfolio for packaging including the new Suprasetter 145 platesetter, and Prinect packaging workflow. Still, it’s a brave decision to enter a market previously dominated by KBA and Manroland, but Cavey says he can easily see room for the firm’s own products in this mix.

There are people saying Heidelberg doesn’t know how to make VLF, but that’s not true. We brought out a version in the 1970s, but decided at the time to concentrate on the B1 market, he explains. The Speedmaster 142 VLF press never went to market – apart from a couple of installations in Germany – and it proved to be a wise decision at the time as the market for B1 presses downwards was booming.

Highly automated
So what changed? According to Heidelberg, the popularity of the XL 105. You can’t get the level of automation we’ve invested in this machine elsewhere. You wouldn’t expect a press that size to have so much automation, says Cavey.

Customer feedback also helped to influence the manufacturer’s decision according to Cavey, We already have the experience and our customers were saying, ‘we’ve got this press [XL 105], is it possible to get a larger version of it with the same automation?’

We’re not naïve, he continues. We expect our competitors to up their game, but he’s adamant that the new machines will give rivals more than a run for their money.

Much of his faith is based on the XL 145’s aforementioned level of automation. It has automatic plate changing, blanket wash, impression cylinder wash, preset functions and CIP4 compatibility all as standard. Its top speed is competitive at 15,000sph, but Cavey says, old habits die hard, printers are always going to run them at the speed they’ve always done.

Its coating system can be run as a one-man operation and if you needed to change the blanket this can be done in under three minutes, or in under 10 minutes with one operator. While to change the roller and blankets on current presses would typically take 20 minutes, on the XL 145 this job can be done in just six, according to Cavey. We’re not saying it’s a one-man job, what we’re saying is that the other operator can be doing another job while this is being done.

In addition to the AirTransfer system with air nozzles to ensure mark-free sheets, the coating unit works with a chambered blade system. There is a variable inking unit configuration so users can choose a standard inking unit, short inking unit or disconnection. A separate cooling circuit for the ink fountain roller and ink distributors ensures the ink at the relevant position is at exactly the right temperature.

Its new operating system, the Prinect Press Center, superseded Heidelberg’s CP2000 centre. The ability to control the whole press via the centre, which can be found at two positions on the press, is a big plus. There is a touchscreen at the delivery end and another at the feeder to control special functions such as washup routines. So the operator can get to the screen quickly wherever they are on the machine says Cavey. We asked printers what they would like on the press, and that’s why we have two screens rather than one.

The maximum number of units on the machine is 10, at the moment. While IR-drying and UV-drying are optional extras, this is in tune with similar presses on the market. Zonal ink temperature control, however, comes as standard, something not found on most presses.

Vast investment
Another advantage is its ease of access. Previously, if you needed to get to the heart of the machine you had to go underneath it. With this press, if you want to get to the impression cylinder you simply lift the panel off and walk into one side and change it. This may seem like a minor detail but it saves time. Opening a door on the operator side allows the user complete access to the impression cylinder washup and, if needed, the underneath of the press.

One of the new presses can replace two existing presses, says Cavey. Why have a press producing nought to seven blanks when you can have one producing 12-15?

The big question is whether Heidelberg’s vast investment will pay off. The machine has already made a significant down payment, with the company claiming orders from customers for 20-plus machines worldwide – it says that it’s in talks with at least four printers from the UK at the moment.

A long perfector version is also in the pipeline, which looks set to be launched in early 2009. Shipping for the XL 145 has already started, according to Cavey. We will be shipping to Germany, Italy, Austria, Switzerland and then to the first users in the UK in 2009. Heidelberg calculates that 3,000 142 type format presses are already installed across the globe, a number swelled by an additional 1,000 or so new printing units every year, it plans to achieve a 25% market share. Italy is the largest market producing coffee table books and large colour books. In the UK it would be packaging companies and not so much book printing, says Cavey. For a sheetfed manufacturer persevering in an extremely competitive market thinking big certainly may just have its rewards.

SPECIFICATIONS

Max sheet size 1,450x1,060mm
Min sheet size 860x630mm
Max speed 15,000sph
Max stock thickness 1.6mm
Price from £1.5m
Contact Heidelberg UK 020 8490 3671 www.heidelberg.com

THE ALTERNATIVES

KBA Rapida 142
Available as either a straight printing and perfector press, automated features such as semi-automatic plate change, blanket wash, cylinder wash, dampening control and fount control are all included as standard, but automatic plate change, pile change feed and delivery are optional extras. It reaches a speed of 15,000sph on presses with up to seven printing units. On perfecting presses printing in straight mode the maximum production speed is 12,000sph, and 10,000sph perfecting. The press has an optional board-handling equipment which can handle substrates up to 1.2mm or a corrugated package up to 1.6mm.
Max sheet size 1,020x1,420mm
Min sheet size 600x720mm
Max speed 15,000sph
Max stock thickness 1.2mm
Price from £1m
Contact KBA 01923 819 922 www.kba-print.de/uk

Manroland 900
The most popular format in the 900 range is the 1,300x1,8500mm format behemoth, but it is worth noting that it is also available in a size 6 1,000x1,400mm model. Although the maximum number of units is eight, pile change feed and delivery, links to MIS and proprietary MIS are included as standard and with the presses’ optional QuickChange coating system, every coating module has two hose and pump systems and two chambered doctor blades. Its Roland InlineSheeter is an optional extra that allows reel paper to be run on the machine rather than sheeted paper making it less expensive particularly for book printing.
Max sheet size 1,300x1,850mm
Min sheet size 600x850mm
Max speed 14,000sph
Max stock thickness 1.6mm
Price £1.8m for a five-colour press with coater
Contact Manroland GB 0208 648 7090 www.manroland.com