PRODUCT NEWS
FROM HEIDELBERG’S DESK…..
HEIDELBERG DRIVES DIGITIZATION FOR CUSTOMER BENEFIT
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- Heidelberg Primefire 106 digital printing system and Prinect Press Center XL 2 machine control station win iF Design Award 2017
- Cleanly structured design of the digital unit and press platform of the Primefire 106 – for easy operation of all functions
- Ergonomic design of the Prinect Press Center XL 2 machine control station for uniform operator guidance for all digital and offset printing systems
Digitization in the print media industry is also making an impact on the machine design of a variety of systems. With industrial-scale and therefore especially high performance production systems in particular, it is important that the operator can constantly monitor every function and can keep an eye on all the relevant processes. Another key factor is easy access to all the operating controls. They must be designed to ensure that they require as little physical effort as possible, while guaranteeing maximum safety. Furthermore, modern machine workstations should enable the user to exploit the potential of a machine to the full and reduce operating errors – while at the same time, the systems also need to be eye-catching. The aim of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) and its design department is therefore to allow customers to easily use the digitization trends, thus becoming more successful in the long term.
Heidelberg Primefire 106: The structured design of the digital unit and the press platform ensures easy operation of all functions
The Heidelberg Primefire 106, the first industrial digital printing system for B1 format, is the best of both worlds with respect to its design as well: it combines the flexibility of digital printing with the reliability and precision of offset printing.
The new digital printing unit integrates harmoniously into the design of the Speedmaster XL106 press platform. Due to its clean structure, operators can familiarize themselves with the machine very quickly. Ergonomics is the main focal point aimed at facilitating easy operation of all functions. Moreover, the machine control station and the print output form a single unit, ensuring that the printed sheet is automatically presented directly to the operator for assessment on the table, without the inconvenience of sheets having to be pulled.
Prinect Press Center XL 2: Ergonomic design, down to the smallest detail, for uniform operation of all digital and offset printing systems
The Prinect Press Center XL 2 is the new generation of the machine control station from Heidelberg. Its detailed ergonomic design ensures simple, uniform operator guidance for Heidelberg digital and offset printing systems. Clean, geometric shapes define the work areas. Additional functions and dialogs can be called up quickly via the high-resolution Wallscreen XL. The patented assistance system Intellistart 2 automatically generates all the steps required for intelligent job changes and provides maximum transparency across all active and queued processes. Operation and selection are performed via the integrated touchpad. The intuitive user software at the multi-touchscreen with its user-friendly menus reliably guides the operator through all the various processes. The newly-developed standard daylight lamp facilitates non-glare illumination for optimum sheet assessment.
All these factors convinced the Industrie Forum Design jury to present the Heidelberg Primefire 106 and the Prinect Press Center XL 2 with iF Design Award 2017. Heidelberg had introduced both innovations at drupa 2016.
Operation of our products must be intuitive and efficient. Customer benefit is therefore our main objective in design development”, explains Stephan Plenz, Member of the Management Board responsible for Equipment at Heidelberg. “Digitization and design innovations from Heidelberg thus constitute a perfect, uniform solution. This is impressively highlighted by winning iF Design Award 2017 for the Primefire 106 and Prinect Press Center XL 2.”
About the iF Design Award
The Industrie Forum Design accolade is an internationally-known, renowned award for excellent design innovations. Since 1953, the award has been presented annually in a variety of categories for achievements in the area of product design. The award is presented by International Forum Design (iF), based in Hanover. iF aims to cultivate and develop industrial design and to increase companies’ awareness of the commercial importance of the design in terms of a product’s market success. This year’s winners will be officially announced at a ceremony on March 10, 2017.
Photo 1: The Heidelberg Primefire 106 is the first industrial digital printing system in B1 format and is an outcome of the development partnership between Heidelberg and Fujifilm.
Photo 2: The central element of the new Speedmaster generation is the new Prinect Press Center XL 2 machine control station. The intelligent interface between the user, the machine and the workflow helps the operator to utilize the full performance of the printing systems.
Photo 3: The Industrie Forum Design accolade is an internationally-known, renowned award for excellent design innovations.
PACE: AUTOMATES THE CUTTING PROCESS
Quite often, people deem the cutting process to be a necessary evil. This is why when making their investment decisions they do not put much emphasis on this factor. But it’s exactly here that an enormous optimization potential lies dormant. When a printing house automates its cutting process this will either increase its efficiency or save personnel while keeping the output at the same level. POLAR not only offers a comprehensive analysis to make such potential visible, but also offers attractive solutions for exploiting them.
With its PACE Cutting System, POLAR provides a benchmark in cutting efficiency. An automated cutting system of this kind is able to process up to 45,000 sheets in 60 minutes. This means that a single PACE system easily cuts the material produced by two Speedmaster XL 106 printing presses. The additional costs for this automation pay off after only two to three years. Figures show that it may be entirely worthwhile to take a closer look at the cutting process.
POLAR Automation for Cutting Efficiency
PACE is synonymous with automation of the cutting process and an acronym for “POLAR Automation for Cutting Efficiency”. The Autoturn turning gripper and the Autotrim high-speed cutter are the key components of our PACE Cutting System. At least five automatic cuts can be performed this way. Meanwhile, the operator has time to prepare the next cutting ream, laying the foundation for the high quality of the final product. Consequently, the operator works much more efficiently while at the same time the working load is enormously reduced. A real win-win story!
The POLAR PACE CuttingSystem perfectly complements the printing presses that run without interruption in accordance with the principle of “Push2Stop”. PACE forms a part of the Smart Print Shop and is integrated in the printing house’s digital workflow. The key to minimizing set-up times is the well-established and proven Compucut® software. This makes the operation of the Cutting System child’s play while ensuring the highest flexibility. Automation safeguards a consistent cutting quality – 24 hours a day.
Further automation options
For more than 15 years now POLAR automation solutions have been very successful. While PACE focuses on automating the cutting process, POLAR also offers various solutions for preparing the material, such as EasyLoad and Autojog. Our EasyLoad loading aid is the perfect alternative to both, manual and automatic jogging. A gripper system supports the operator when the automatic jogger needs to be loaded and still allows him/her to check the quality of the cutting ream. Autojog, on the other hand, automates the complete jogging process, from separating the untrimmed stack into partial reams and jogging right through to the completely cut ream.
STEPHENS & GEORGE SPENT £700,000 ON TWO NEW STAHLFOLDERS:
Stephens & George have ordered a second Stahlfolder TH 82-P after a first one installed in November, and proved to be “very, very impressive”.
Managing director Andrew Jones and colleagues inspected the TH/KH 82-P series when they were unveiled by Heidelberg at Drupa 2016. The total outlay for the two machines was in the ballpark of £700,000, he said.
Heidelberg claims the TH 82-P, featuring the PFX shingle feeder, can process up to 16,000 16pp A4 sections an hour at a machine speed of 150m/min. The ‘shingling’ of sheets enables the machine to fold a higher quantity without ramping up the speed, resulting in better-quality folds as well as greater output, according to Heidelberg.
The first Stahlfolder installed at Stephens & George’s Merthyr Tydfil factory in November is handling 16pp sections, while the second will be configured for 32pp sections.
During January the £27.5m-turnover magazine and commercial printer handled 14 million 16pp sections and 4 million 32pp sections. The plant’s bindery already had 10 folders, eight Heidelberg’s and two MBOs, and Jones said two older TH 82-H models – installed back in 2005 – would be retired once the two new Stahlfolders are up and running.
The company operates five Speedmaster XL 106 presses – a 10-, eight- and five-colour, each fitted with spectral measurement, CutStar reel to sheeters and enhanced plate-changing. These require finishing kit that can keep pace, according to Jones.
Stephens & George sticks with Heidelberg to replace two folders, Stephens & George operate around the clock and now employ 231 staff. Around 40% of its work is magazines, another 40% comes from commercial contracts and the remaining fifth is one-off jobs.
Just last year the group invested £4.2m in two new Muller Martini stitching lines and two Bolero perfect binders, in what was touted as the biggest finishing spend by any printer in the UK for over a decade.
In 2016 the group also acquired The Magazine Printing Company (TMPC) and all its production has now been moved from its Enfield base into the Merthyr Tydfil plant.
Jones said that even though the company would continue to operate the same number of folders once the old machines are decommissioned, the increased speed of the new Heidelberg’s would provide additional folding capacity. This was needed to cope with the extra work created by the integration of TMPC as well as some organic growth.
The business had hit its latest target of £30m turnover and was now aiming for £40m within the next five years, Jones said