Heidelberg

News
The customer magazine
Since 1930 • Issue 251 • 2004

THE ART OF SURFACE FINISHING

Solutions to suit every printer

WHEN DISASTER STRIKES

Insurance under the microscope

LENTICULAR PRINTING PERFECTED

Klenke-Druck in Dissen, Germany
Heidelberg News • Editorial Contents

Contents

Profiles Innovations Perspectives

Bernhard Schreier

Dear Reader,
The edition of Heidelberg News you are now holding
represents a living piece of Heidelberg tradition. Since
its first edition in 1930, our customer magazine pledged Quality and speed Surface finishing makes all the difference Preventing downtimes
to provide its readers with “suggestions and advice for Delivery hot off the press. Sprint Copy S.L., How expensive does coating and surface finishing have Heidelberg insurance expert, Gerhard Bugla helps printshops
progressive printers.” Barcelona, Spain, works to a very high to be? What do the cost-effective alternatives have to understand risks and insurance. Glasgow-based Scottish
After a break of several years, we now want to con- standard. 12 offer, and who provides them? There are many ques- printshop McVicar found that not every cloud has a silver lining
tinue this tradition in the form of the new, redesigned tions, and you’ll find the answers starting on page 34 when their insurance company refused to pay out. 58
Heidelberg News. The latest edition, Issue 251, comes to
you in a new layout and format, but with the same com-
mitment to deliver valuable information to you, our
partners from the print media industry. Information
that is useful in your day-to-day operations, informa- Profiles Solutions Opportunities
tion about new technologies, and information which
may even help you to improve your business model. 4 The melting pot of New York City 22 Going its own way 46 Boost from UV printing
Our aim is to provide you with tips and tricks for Jimmy Lin prints for minorities. The Suprasetter is developing along interesting lines Developments and trends.
everyday practice, acquaint you with innovative prod- 8 All's well that ends well – an interview explains the hows and the whys. 50 Regions compete for the printing market
ucts and solutions from Heidelberg and highlight exem- Faller KG from Waldkirch, Germany, cracked 24 Medium format – but top class China’s vast domestic market is catching investors’ attention.
plary operations within our industry. the finishing bottleneck. The Speedmaster CD 74 is one of the most versatile Three regions are particularly attractive.
12 Quality and speed presses going.
Happy reading! They’re the key factors in the success of 28 Two for every occasion Perspectives
Sprint Copy S.L. in Barcelona, Spain. Printmaster PM 52 and PM 74.
With best wishes, 15 Happy fiftieth 54 Town with a view
Aumüller KG from Regensburg, Germany, is Innovations Leipzig: A center of print finishing for 125 years.
banking on cutting-edge technology. 58 Preventing downtimes
30 Astounding effects Glasgow-based printer McVicar is rebuilding on its own
Spectrum Dissen-based Klenke-Druck’s choice of a initiative following a fire.
Speedmaster SM 52 equipped for UV has put them 60 “Insurance policies are always just an additional protection”
18 News and events on the road to success in lenticular printing. Insurance expert Gerhard Bugla offers useful tips.
Bernhard Schreier From the Heidelberg world. 34 Surface finishing makes all the difference
CEO, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG What are the alternatives? Service
38 Perfect finish at drupa 2004
A retrospective of Heidelberg print jobs. 62 Dates and tradeshows
42 Cool-dried wears better 63 Imprint
Multicolor of Ellerau, Germany, is the first
company in Europe to use CoolCure, and has
seen it solve a ton of problems.

2 • Issue 251 • 2004 3

Heidelberg News • Profiles Profiles

CONCEPT PRESS

The melting pot of New York City

When customers of Concept Press Inc. of New York City, USA,
simply found production times too long, the company was
prompted to upgrade from a four-color to an eight-color
Speedmaster SM 74 with sheet reversal and coating unit.
Since then a growing reputation for high quality and rapid
delivery times has helped attract new customers.

O
ver twelve million residents from every corner of the earth
make New York perhaps the world’s most multicultural
city. Founded in 1994, printing company Concept Press is
almost a microcosm of New York. The company is located on Long
Island. Its founder and managing director, Jimmy Lin, is Chinese. Of
around 75 full- and part-time staff, native English speakers are in a
minority, and the same is true of Jimmy Lin’s customer base. “Only
20 percent of our print jobs are in English, the majority of orders are
printed for ethnic minorities in and around New York City, in Span-
ish, Japanese, Chinese, Italian, Hebrew, Arabic and Korean, to name
just a few languages,” Lin reports. Around 80 percent of entrepre-
neur Lin’s 20 million U.S. Dollars annual sales come from web offset
printing, the remainder coming from commercial printing with his
Speedmaster SM 74.

In addition to a Japanese daily newspaper for the USA’s east coast,

the web offset printer mainly prints magazines, and since January
has been using an eight-color Speedmaster SM 74 to produce covers
and high-quality pressruns. “Customers found delivery times of
almost a week for a magazine with, say, 112 pages and 10,000 copies
too long. This caused us to lose orders in recent months. That’s why
it was important for us to reap both the time and quality benefits of 

4 • Issue 251 • 2004 5

Heidelberg News • Profiles Profiles

The perfect touch – printer Panorama view of the inking unit in the Ho Ruo Li carefully inserts
Ho Ruo Li changes the plate on eight-color Speedmaster at Concept Press. the paper pile.
his Speedmaster SM 74.

sets performed on the Prinect CP2000 Center the CP2000 in his native language. This mages. “The excellent accessibility to all the ed for long-term market survival.” Business
include format matching of the lateral pile eliminates operational errors resulting setting controls on the feeder makes our is booming for the Long Island printer, who
stops, the pull lay, the double sheet detector from communication problems with the daily work much easier,” remarks Guner, thanks to the new press has also been able to
integrated in the pull lay, and the speed- press. However, Lin did not want too much who is also impressed with the new press’s attract new customers. For the moment,
compensated blast air at the suction head. automation, as he did not want to dismiss AutoPlate. “The printing plates are in the though, the company has run out of room
For Jim Guner, production manager at any of his staff. At the same time, he recog- press in less than a minute per printing for further expansion. This is a problem
Concept Press, who is of Turkish descent, nized that his operational workf low would unit,” he says, “which further reduces make- that Jimmy Lin wants to solve in the near
the Alcolor continuous dampening system, have to be further optimized in order to ready times.” However, the high-pile deliv- future to make sure he can continue to grow
which is fitted as standard, delivers further shorten makeready times and deliver more ery also saves Concept Press time, reducing in the years ahead. ■
improvements in quality: “It applies a thin, quickly. “I don’t think there’s any point in- the number of pile changes in large print
even film of dampening solution onto the vesting in faster and faster presses if it takes runs and featuring, like the feeder, excel- Further information on the company is available
A New York success story: Jimmy Lin, printing plate, enhancing the brilliance of too long to get the printing job onto the lent accessibility to all delivery components from: www.conceptpress.net
Managing Director of Concept Press Inc. the images.” press in the first place,” says Jimmy Lin. involved in sheet transport, stacking and
drying. “The delivery’s key functions can be
upgrading from a four- to an eight-color 32 language versions on the CP2000 New feeder boosts productivity. Jim programmed centrally and easily on the
Speedmaster,” says Lin. The new Speedmaster Center – including Chinese. Jimmy Lin’s Guner is convinced of the quality of the new CP2000 Center,” says Jim Guner. Supporting
can process up to 15,000 sheets per hour, choice of the SM 74 was also dictated by the Speedmaster, pointing to the new feeder printing stock thickness of 0.03 to 0.6 mm
even when perfecting. This now enables fact that the CP2000 Center includes 32 lan- which further boosts the press’s already (0.0012 to 0.024 in), a maximum sheet for-
Jimmy Lin to fulfil his orders in less than guage versions, including Chinese. It was high productivity. “The new feeder features mat of 530 x 740 mm (20.87 x 29.13 in) and a
two days. The preset functions on the new important that his printer Ho Ruo Li, who is separate lifting and forwarding suckers and maximum print format of 510 x 740 mm
Speedmaster 74 provide Lin with more of Chinese, and for whom English is a foreign permanent monitoring of the front lays and (20.08 x 29.13 in), the SM 74 is ideally suited
the time saving benefits he needs. The pre- language, could perform all operations via pull lays by control elements, making sheet to its range of applications at Concept Press.
transport 100% reliable. Sheets are then
transported by a central suction tape. This True to his visionary nature, Jimmy Lin’s
removes the need for transport rollers, elim- thoughts are already turning to the future:
inating the danger of markings,” explains “We are on the right track with the new

“Only printers who deploy state-of-the-art presses can provide Guner. Many functions on the new suction
tape feeder have been automated, helping
Speedmaster 74, and will make further in-
vestments in future. Only printers who de-
Guner and printer Ho to perform quick ploy state-of-the-art presses can provide the
first-class quality at competitive prices.” Jimmy Lin changeovers to other formats and gram- first-class quality at competitive prices need-

6 • Issue 251 • 2004 7

Heidelberg News • Profiles Profiles

FALLER

All’s well
that ends well!
T
elevision viewers are continually bombarded with informa- Peter Ganter,
tion about epidemics and infectious diseases. Images of ter- Production Manager at Faller.
ror and misery usually require little comment. However, The company specializes in
thanks to modern medicine these epidemics can usually be combat- packaging for medicines.
ed in a swift manner. The latest example of this was the bird f lu that
recently raged in Asia. This illness is primarily combated using med-
ication, but no supplies of this were kept in stock for use in the event
of such an epidemic. When an emergency of this kind occurs, not
only must the medicines be produced as quickly as possible, so must
their packaging. The folding cartons in this case were printed and
delivered in a run of 250,000 within just five working days in Wald-
kirch. This job was unplanned but Faller was still able to deliver ‘just subject to laws relating to the manufacture and distribution of med-
in time’! This shows how important optimized organization and a icines and have a simple graphic design. The other half are over-the-
state-of-the-art machinery can be for a printshop. counter products which have exacting graphic design requirements.
“Our output of this type of product is set to rise steadily,” predicts
Market share of 27 percent. Faller is increasing its globalization Nikolaus Reichenbach, Branch Manager of Faller in Waldkirch, “in
through cooperation with the COPACO/COPAPHARM Europe al- view of the new laws introduced as part of the health reform in Ger-
liances, which together form the third largest supplier of secondary many.”
packaging in Europe. By extending its service portfolio, August Faller
KG has managed to catapult itself to second place on the German Partnership and service pay handsome dividends. As a quali-
market for pharmaceutical folding cartons with a market share of fied supplier, Faller is committed to its integrated pharmaceutical
Founded in 1882, Waldkirch-based SMB Faller KG, which recorded annual sales of 27 percent in this segment. This success was made possible by opti- concept and in the future would like to offer a complete production
mized strategic planning, reorganization into “PharmaServiceCen- line consisting of folding cartons, packaging inserts and labels. Im-
over Euro 70 million in the last fiscal year, developed from a printshop pure and
ters” and the deployment of state-of-the-art machinery. The two pressive results have already been achieved in this context with one
simple into a system supplier for secondary board and paper packaging. Using PharmaServiceCenters in Waldkirch and Binzen produce folding pilot customer. “Just-in-time delivery” meant that this customer no
cartons and packaging inserts for the pharmaceutical industry. The longer needed to construct a high-bay storage system and was thus
Heidelberg machines, including four Speedmaster CD 74 presses and two Diana Pro
third site in Schopf heim, the Faller LabelCenter, specializes in ad- able to make significant cost savings. “We currently provide only 60
units, 660 staff at three sites produce over a billion folding cartons, a billion pack- hesive labels. Over 92 percent of Faller’s production is destined for percent of our customers with folding cartons and packaging in-
the pharmaceutical and healthcare sector. serts at the same time”, explains Reichenbach. “We would like to ex-
aging inserts and 500 million adhesive labels per year.
tend this in future and thereby provide our customers with even
The customer roster boasts around 150 names spanning a broad better service”, he continues. Considerable savings can be made here
spectrum of company sizes ranging from very large corporations to since, according to Reichenbach, around ten percent of packaging is
small and midsize pharmaceutical companies. With customers in discarded in the pharmaceutical industry. A systematic purchasing
France, Austria, Benelux and Switzerland, just under 20 percent of and ordering policy would prevent this. This is a process which re-
Faller’s business is export. Faller also creates customer-specific quires considerable organizational changes within companies and
packaging solutions in its own development center. Almost half of this takes time. However, such strategic planning ensures that cus-
its products consist of packaging for prescription drugs that are tomers establish a lasting relationship with Faller. The company 

8 • Issue 251 • 2004 9

Heidelberg News • Profiles Profiles

The Diana Pro features a highly versatile folding station

and supports various different fold sequences.

aims to keep pace with its customers’ growing expectations, espe-

cially when it comes to product quality. Faller has been using two
Speedmaster CD 74 presses, one six- and one four-color, for about a
year. An additional Speedmaster CD 74-4+L joined the collection a
few weeks ago, and another Speedmaster CD 74-6+L has just been
installed.

The high expectations which Faller satisfies in relation to its cus-

tomers must also be met by its own suppliers. When Faller was in-
vesting in new presses for the Waldkirch plant, it issued a request
for proposal with comprehensive specifications including various All’s well that ends well. The finished product leaves the company packaged to perfection.
print tests. No less than five printing press manufacturers submit-
ted proposals. In the end the order was won by Heidelberg. “We
quickly established that Heidelberg was on our same wavelength,”
recalls Reichenbach, “Just like us, Heidelberg sees itself as a solution
provider which places great value on issues such as sustainability,
“The two Diana Pro machines enable us to process a virtually
environmental protection and efficient service.”
unlimited range of folding cartons.” Nikolaus Reichenbach
The finishing bottleneck – no longer a problem! For full-service
printshops like Faller, finishing is the key issue for the end product.
After all, everything printed by the high-speed presses has to pass
through this bottleneck. This makes it crucial to ensure that the
bottleneck never gets clogged up, i.e. that the machines can meet all Pro machine can be easily set using DigiSet. At Faller, the two Diana single and double folding, partition cartons, record sleeves, CD cov-
the demands placed upon them and downtime is restricted to regu- Pro machines are only used for gluing special designs. “The blank ers, envelopes, 4- and 6-corner collapsible boxes and many other
lar servicing. To this end, a total of twelve Diana folder gluers, in- squaring module following the feeder is a great help to us in achiev- specialty cartons.
cluding two Diana Pro models, at Faller’s Waldkirch and Binzen ing precise gluing,” explains Reichenbach.
sites keep makeready times to a minimum and help maintain high In addition, the Diana Pro now has video monitoring of the transfer
versatility, productivity and reliability. “The two Diana Pro ma- Where needed, the Diana Pro machines used at Faller can also be fit- station fitted as standard. The monitor screen is positioned at the
chines enable us to process a virtually unlimited range of folding ted with an add-on module which lengthens the folding path by feeder so that the operator can keep an eye on the machine while
cartons. The modular design enables us to use the machines exactly 1,500 millimeters (59.06 inches), the Japack Pro case packer and the loading blanks. “Machines like these allow us to respond quickly
how we need them, whether it’s processing cardboard for folding Jagfeed prefeeder for blanks. The Diana Pro is then capable of at- when needed, as in the case of the bird f lu. This provides both our-
cartons or corrugated board,” says Nikolaus Reichenbach. The Diana taining speeds of up to 650 meters per minute (711.1 yards per selves and our customers with a measure of added reliability,” ex-
minute) processing straightline glued cartons. This means that up to plains Reichenbach happily. ■
200,000 folding cartons an hour can be produced. The machine
processes board of between 200 and 900 gsm and N, F, E and B cor- Further information on the company is available from:
rugated board. The range of folding cartons which can be processed www.august-faller.de
on the Diana Pro is virtually unlimited: Straightline and conical
folding cartons, miniature cartons, lockbottom cartons with or
without prefolding of creaselines 1 and 3, double-wall cartons with

10 • Issue 251 • 2004 11

Heidelberg News • Profiles Profiles

SPRINT COPY

Quality and speed …

R
... are the key factors in the success of Sprint Copy S.L. The printshop, which was founded by Rosa Anna osa Anna Borrás Fontanills started out in 1975 with a simple
50 m2 (59.8 square yards) copy shop. The company grew at a
Borrás Fontanills and is located in the center of Barcelona, Spain, discovered that an avantgarde image, rapid pace under her management. Around five years later, it
smart ideas and good-value, high-quality printed products make satisfied customers. One of the secrets invested in its first offset press, followed by a GTOZ that it still uses.
With a staff of 16 and 600 m2 (717.6 square yards), around 80 percent of
of the company's success is its four-color Speedmaster SM 52. the company's annual sales of some Euro 1.5 million (approx. 1.8 million
U.S. Dollars) come from offset printing and the rest from the copy shop.

But growth brings its own problems in a city like Barcelona where both
commercial and residential rents have risen meteorically over the last
few years. The company is therefore divided into three parts. The three
sites are housed in shops with small entrances, as is the norm in Spain.
Only when you go inside do you realize their size. The headquarters
with the copy shop is located in the same street opposite the print-
room. A few meters from this are rooms housing the prepress depart- Quintessential Barcelona – the small entrances
ment. belie the actual space within, housing the wider
perspectives of the printing hall. (Top)
Sprint Copy’s customers include high-profile companies, some of them
internationally active. “We are very successful with high-quality print
products in medium runs, particularly with short production times,” Carlos Garcia operates the forwarding sucker on
says Luis Martínez Borrás (35), Managing Director and son of the com- the feeder of the Speedmaster SM 52 – “Up to
pany's founder Rosa Anna Borrás Fontanills. 15,000 sheets per hour can be reliably processed.”
(Middle)
Stable business relationship. There is no storage area, mainly be-
cause of the lack of space. When a print job is finished, it is dispatched
immediately, so customers don’t have to wait. Most of Sprint Copy’s
customers have been with the company for many years, some even
since the company was founded. The company is very proud of this, and
deservedly so. “However, such stable customer relationships are only
possible when you regularly invest in state-of-the-art equipment and
can offer customers the very latest quality. That's why we decided on a
Speedmaster SM 52,” explains Luis Martínez Borrás. It is the only A3 for-
mat press that is also available as an eight-color press and it can also
boast the highest global market share in the 35 x 50 cm (13.78 x 19.69 in)
format range.

The four-color Speedmaster 52 is ideally suited to Sprint Copy’s needs,

featuring a user-friendly press control system and an optimized con- Sprint Copy operates without a warehouse.
nection to the prepress department. “The feeder ensures effortless Carlos Gonzalez Osete explains – “All orders
Company founder Rosa Anna Borrás Fontanills and her son Luis Martínez Borrás at their Speedmaster SM 52. format and material changes, from lightweight paper right through to  are delivered as soon as they are ready.”

12 • Issue 251 • 2004 13

Heidelberg News • Profiles Profiles

AUMÜLLER

th
Happy 50 …
... new printing unit. Being a jack of all trades but master of none is just not good enough for Aumüller Druck KG in Regensburg,
Germany. While other printshops are busy expanding their service portfolios from prepress to finishing and embarking on
adventures like founding publishing houses and agencies, in Regensburg they’re focussing on sheetfed offset in 70 x 100 format.
The company is able to supply customers with high-quality printing using Heidelberg Speedmaster models. A new eight-color
Speedmaster SM 102 with sheet reversal unit is its most recent investment.

“High-quality printed products produced in mid-size runs,

and, crucially, short production times, have proven very
successful for us.” Luis Martínez Borrás

light cardboard. The side lays and printing Sprint Copy produces f lyers, catalogs, cov-
stock thicknesses can be controlled at the ers, annual reports and books in the re-
touch of a button, which saves a lot of time,” quired quality on the Speedmaster 52. The
says Luis Martínez Borrás. The feeder on the company also has a state-of-the-art prepress
SM 52 is equipped with combined lifting department, offers product design in its
and forwarding suckers which reliably sepa- own layout department and still runs its
rate the sheets, even when the press is run- original copy shop. Luis Martínez Borrás has
ning at top speed. Electronic eyes continu- plans to expand in the near future, “Over
ously monitor when the sheet arrives at the the next few years we might move to an in-
front lays and the orientation of the sheet in dustrial zone on the city outskirts, because
travel direction. Any deviations are signaled here in the center of Barcelona there’s sim-

B
to the operator immediately. The feeder and ply not enough affordable space for larger rothers Christian (44) and Stefan Aumüller (45) have been weeks ago. “We have two ten-color presses, two eight-color and one
delivery can be set quickly and without the machines.” ■ working as Managing Partners of the family firm since 1987. four-color in Regensburg. We work in three shifts,” says Stefan
need for tools. The side lays and the shaft on “The company goes back to 1888 and we enjoyed consider- Aumüller. The Regensburg site has been printing with 40 printing
which the six front lays are mounted can be Further information on the company is able growth in the 1990s. Today the firm has a total of 90 staff. An- units for a good five years, and one press is replaced every year. “Of
remotely set via the control console. “The available from: www.sprintcopy.com nual sales are around Euro 18 million (approx. 22 million U.S. course, we don’t just replace the presses with similar models. We’re
formats of the SM 52, ranging from 105 x Dollars), and important customers include BMW, Audi, Adidas and always looking to use the latest models,” explains Christian Aumüller.
145 mm (4.13 x 5.71 in) to 370 x 520 mm various fine art publishers. We typically produce prospectuses, cata-
(14.57 x 20.47 in), and the maximum speed The four-color version of the Speedmaster SM 52 logs, art books and brochures in runs of 300 to 300,000 copies,” Few printshops have matched Aumüller’s degree of investment in
of 15,000 sheets per hour are ideal for the at Sprint Copy. The high-quality results keep reports Christian Aumüller. recent years. “This is an integral part of our strategy, whereby we
kind of work we do,” says Luis Martínez customers coming back. aim to focus on, and offer the very highest quality in, sheetfed off-
Borrás. The company is strongly positioned with 40 printing units at the set in 70 x 100 format. This means working with cutting-edge equip-
Regensburg site, and none of the presses in use is more than two- ment. We do not consider ourselves a media service provider, but a
and-a-half years old. A Speedmaster SM 102 was installed just a few high-performance printer,” explains Stefan Aumüller. This message 

14 • Issue 251 • 2004 15

Heidelberg News • Profiles Profiles

when perfecting. “Since in perfecting the freshly-printed front page abling the new Speedmaster SM 102 to enhance the cost-effective-
is transported through the entire press so that the reverse can be ness of the production process. It ensures that sheets are transport-
printed, the impression cylinders, or rather their surfaces, have a ed smoothly and reliably from the pile to the feed table. “The new
major impact on the quality of the print product,” explains Mr. smoother sheet guidance system greatly enhances print quality, al-
Aumüller. TransferJacket Plus, which is available for transfer cylin- lowing precise pile stacking even with the trickiest materials,” says
ders 1 and 3 and can be retrofitted on all Speedmaster models, fea- Stefan Aumüller.
tures a surface coated with an extremely ink-repellent coating,
which minimizes contact with the ink and cuts cleaning times. The “We have achieved very positive business results in the last three
TransferJacket Plus also makes it possible to print on a larger range years and have grown on average five to ten percent every year. Last
of materials in both straight printing and perfecting. year staff received a special bonus,” reports Stefan Aumüller. This
would not have been possible without the consistent strategic align-
Michael Trauner at the Prinect CP2000 Center The commercial department also plays a High-quality print products ready for The best example of the many components that have contributed to ment that includes using state-of-the-art presses. ■
of the Speedmaster SM 102. key role in the success of Aumüller Druck KG dispatch in the warehouse. a significant increase in productivity, the new Preset Plus feeder
in Regensburg. with a single central suction tape and pneumatic pull lays is already Further information on the company is available from:
in use at Aumüller. This is yet another press-automation feature en- www.aumueller-druck.de

is underlined in the company’s customer communications and most they see a distinct benefit in using our services. Outperforming A powerful line-up – a new eight-color Speedmaster SM 102 augments the
customers appreciate this type of dedication. “This strategy means the competition in our niche is our greatest advantage,” explains printing hall at Aumüller Druck KG.
that we can offer our customers very high capacity and enables us Christian Aumüller.
to realize rush jobs and very high print volumes. Using the latest
presses means we can provide consistency of quality. In addition, de- Many customers visit the company to approve final printing and are
ploying two ten-color and two eight-color models makes for reliable impressed by the new presses. “Customers only have to see our new
production. We can always change machines when processing an or- Speedmaster presses to know that we are a professional, cutting-
der, and nobody will be able to discern any difference. An added fac- edge service provider,” says Christian Aumüller. A further major
tor is the extreme speed of the new presses from makeready to benefit the company gains from having a continually updated ma-
printing,” continues Christian Aumüller. The company’s wealth of chine park is constantly improving productivity, which in turn has
experience with the large Speedmaster series serves it well in its a significant effect on the cost structure. “The most recent develop-
dealings with customers. The company had the world’s first ten- ments from Heidelberg in particular have had a very strong impact
color SM 102, which was installed at Aumüller in 1996. on productivity. Cost issues restricted us to large orders. Thanks to
short setup times and CtP, that has changed. The sum of continuous
Good corporate strategy = success. The company’s strategy is al- improvements to the Speedmaster models has done a lot to boost
so ref lected in its headcount, with a low number of staff per print- our competitiveness,” he says. ImageControl, the measuring and
ing unit. “We do not do prepress work, and only perform selected control system to which all four long perfecting presses are con-
finishing operations – cutting, folding and saddlestitching. Normal- nected, has also contributed to this. This system, which ensures con-
ly a printshop would have around 25 printing units, since the ma- sistent inking over the entire print run, is particularly useful for
jority of workers are office staff, or work in finishing and prepress. print jobs requiring premium quality.
But our strategy is tailored to our location at Regensburg, a periph-
eral region. Our customers are based in Munich, Nuremberg, Preset Plus feeder and modified sheet-reversal unit. The mod-
Stuttgart and even further afield, i.e. customers come to us because ified reversal unit on the newly-installed Speedmaster includes a
full cylinder with a modified contour, which both improves the
transfer register, especially with thin, static materials, and produces
higher printing quality when perfecting. The next generation of the
PerfectJacket Plus impression cylinder jacket, which exhibits an
even finer layer structure, also enables significant jumps in quality

16 • Issue 251 • 2004 17

Heidelberg News • Spectrum Spectrum

Simply fabulous!
Speedmaster SM 52-8 Singapore. Dreams come true in Singapore – in 1993, Francis Siow Dollars) for the coming year. Rating agency “DP Information Net-
founded the family firm “Fabulous Graphic”, which two years later work Group” lists “Fabulous Printers” among Singapore’s fifty
The Speedmaster SM 52 had its premiere at drupa 2004 as an eight- was absorbed into a limited company called “Fabulous Printers fastest-growing companies. The proud Managing Director of a
color press with a completely redesigned sheet transfer system and Pte. Ltd.”. This marked the start of a “fabulous” success story for “Fastest-Growing 50” operation, Francis Siow is now planning an
extended functionality. This A3 press now also produces 4/4 jobs and Mr. Siow and his partner A.K. Samy. Beginning in 1996 with a sec- assault on the wider regional market – a mission set for success
jobs with up to eight colors in a single pass. ond-hand press and three staff, the company’s shrewd investments with the support of his Speedmaster CD 102.
in technology have transformed it into a 60-strong organization
that uses state-of-the-art printing technology. The company is Further information: www.fabulousprinters.com
forecasting a profit of around Euro six million (7.3 million U.S.

// Add Print in Australia gets a major boost //

60 percent increase in productivity

Fabulous Printers set for Singapore success //
Australia. Add Print in Australia gets a mance combination which has had a mension RIP software and therefore of-
boost – by introducing a Heidelberg considerable impact on the family-run fers all the benefits of the latest JDF-
prepress and print solution, the family operation’s productivity. Gone are the and PDF-based RIP technology. Heidel-
firm was able to increase its producti- days when Russell McGowan started berg customer services are another rea-
vity by around 60 percent within a very work at three a.m. seven days a week son why Russell McGowan is today look-
short time frame, realizing significant just to cope with all the orders. “Our ing forward to the challenges of the fu-
cost reductions along the way. new Speedmaster 52 enables us to work ture. “Reliable local customer service,
Russell and Sue McGowan’s family much more effectively and profitably coupled with the new Remote Services
operation, Add Print, has been based in than before,” he says. “We now com- from Heidelberg, give us the peace of Prinect Signa Station 1.0
Echuca, a good two-and-a-half hours’ plete our orders on average about 60 mind of knowing we can always com-
drive from Melbourne, since 1999. Dur- percent faster.” plete our orders perfectly, quickly and
ing that time the McGowans’ entrepre- The Polysetter 52 also provides last- on time.” Heidelberg presents Prinect Signa Station 1.0, a completely newly- positioned on one print sheet, or one folding sheet can be combined
neurial spirit has been livening up the ing added value – whereas Add Print developed impositioning software that simplifies the creation and with individual print objects such as business cards or individual
printing industry in the small Aus- previously had to rely on external part- Further information: www.addprint.com.au management of print sheets. Using a wizard, the JDF-based soft- pages. The Prinect Signa Station also generates reliable data for
tralian town, a popular destination for ners, the company now performs all ware quickly and easily guides users step-by-step through the im- printing and finishing, minimizing makeready times and virtually
tourists. Last year Add Print decided on plate imaging in-house, saving both positioning process. The impositioning concept of the new Prinect eliminating the risk of incorrect inputs into the Prinect workf low.
some new production investments. They time and money in the process. Signa Station also provides great f lexibility, with the separation of Prinect Signa Station 1.0 had its premiere at drupa 2004.
chose a Heidelberg Speedmaster SM 52 Imaging almost takes care of itself folding and print sheets enabling a swift response to changes in
two-color press and a Polysetter 52 with the Heidelberg Polysetter 52 sys- production plans, such as a changeover from the Speedmaster SM 74
polyester platesetter – a high-perfor- tem, which is operated with Meta Di- to a Speedmaster SM 102. In addition, several folding sheets can be

18 • Issue 251 • 2004 19

 Heidelberg News • Spectrum Spectrum

Award-winning packaging printing

Brazil. When Sidney Anversa Victor founded the printshop Congraf in a small shed in 1972, he
started out printing mainly business cards and wedding invitations. Today the former “garage
business” has grown to a 100 employee-strong company that prints high-quality packaging at
premises totaling 4,000 square meters (4,784 square yards) in South São Paulo. Congraf ’s hard
Sidney Anversa Victor, founder of work is regularly heaped with laurels – five of the prestigious “Fernando Pini Printing Excel-
multiple award-winning printshop lence Awards”, two commendations from packaging trade magazine “EmbalagemMarca” and a
Congraf in São Paulo, is confident quality prize from the Avon company speak volumes. Thanks to his Speedmaster CD 74 with six
about the future. inking units and coating, Sidney Anversa Victor is confident he has no need to fear the competi-
tion in future.

Prosetter – surge in demand from Eastern Europe Further information: www.congraf.com.br

Slovenia. Heidelberg is pleased to report the consider- market in 2002 with the Prosetter 102, Trajanus invested
able sales success of the Prosetter CtP system. The growth
markets of Eastern Europe in particular are currently
in a second Prosetter just one year later. At drupa 2004
the company ordered a new Prosetter 74 for a second
Congraf, Brazil is heaped with victory laurels //
home to intensive investment in violet technology, printshop site, which it will use not only to produce for
whose cost-effective concept is appealing to printing its own needs, but also to supply printshops in the re-
companies in the region. Demand is keenest in the gion with imaged printing plates.
Czech Republic, Russia and Slovenia. Slovenian printshop
Trajanus, for example, is currently using three Prosetter
systems at two sites. After successfully entering the CtP Dymatrix 106 CSB
The new Dymatrix 106 CSB (cutting, stripping,
blanking) die cutter cuts, embosses and creases
paper at processing speeds of up to 9,000 sheets
// Eastern Europe invests in violet technology // an hour.

Modular Coating System for Speedmaster SM/CD 102

Quickmaster DI-46-4 Pro with ProSpot
Looking to start coating? It's now even easier than ever Speedmaster CD 102 presses without coating units. As a
The Quickmaster DI-46-4 Pro is now available with the all-new ProSpot to get started in coating. The Modular Coating System result, the final printing unit can now also apply full-
imaging technology. The major benefits are improved print quality (MCS) for the Speedmaster SM/CD 102 is a cost-effective area protective, glossy or matt coatings rather than sim-
through harmonious screen vignettes and a detailed print image. alternative to a conventional coating unit in coating ply ink. This solution, which was demonstrated on a
Also new on the QM DI Pro are the Prinect MetaDimension in its role applications where registration is not critical. What's ten-color SM 102 at drupa 2004, boosts demand at all
as raster image processor (RIP) and the Remote Service functionality. more, the investment costs for this technology are customers with ten- or twelve-color presses.
extremely low. The chambered blade system can be
quickly fitted – instead of the blanket washup device –
in the last printing unit of Speedmaster SM 102 or

20 • Issue 251 • 2004 21

Heidelberg News • Solutions Solutions

SUPRASETTER

Going its own way

When Heidelberg showcased the Suprasetter at drupa it opened a new chapter in CtP technology. Following on
from the Prosetter family in the area of violet printing, the thermal technology is now based on the company’s
own research. Heidelberg News (HN) spoke with experts Hansjürgen Krausbeck and Andreas Forer about the
new platesetter.

HN: The Suprasetter is a completely HN: Why did Heidelberg not enter into a HN: Could you briefly describe the tech- HN: How about the classic question of enhanced per-
new thermal CtP system developed en- collaboration with others as it has in nology? formance?
tirely by Heidelberg. Why all the re- the past? H. Krausbeck: The Suprasetter is a thermal H. Krausbeck: We achieve high productivity of up to 30 plates Andreas Forer, 34, Head of Product Management
search, weren’t the old systems good A. Forer: That’s not entirely true. While Hei- CtP system with external-drum imaging. per hour thanks mainly to our newly-developed laser system Imaging Systems for CtP and Direct Imaging Products,
enough? delberg has entered into some successful It is extremely f lexible and supports all and the fact that processes are run in parallel. High-precision has been with Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG since
A. Forer: The systems available up to now partnerships in the area of imaging technol- Heidelberg and non-Heidelberg plate for- punching is performed directly in the device, even while oth- 1997. He studied printing technology and completed a
have certainly been at the cutting edge – at ogy in recent years, the Prosetter CtP family mats. It is available as the Suprasetter 74 in er plates are being imaged, and the dual-level swiveling table Masters in International Marketing.
least at the time they were introduced on with violet diode technology is a completely four-page format and the Suprasetter 105 in makes it possible to pre-load plates. The interleaving sheet is
the market. However, our customers’ needs in-house development. This approach was eight-page format, and comes with five also automatically removed and deposited in the loader paral-
have grown; modularity, f lexibility and, of also necessary in the thermal sector in order speed levels and in various degrees of au- lel with the imaging. It is even possible to initiate plate imag-
course, productivity are the challenges we to best live up to the requirements of our tomation, from manual operation to a fully ing directly from the press control system via the Prinect
have set ourselves. After all, our customers customers. We are able to draw on the expe- automatic system with a single or multi cas- CP2000 Center. This is what’s known as “plate on demand”.
are counting on us to coordinate our pre- rience gained producing and installing sette loader. Like the Prosetter, the Supra-
press, press and finishing products to best more than 3,000 CtP units on the market. setter is a modular system that enables cus- HN: And the new laser system?
effect. The best way for us to do this is in- The technology used is one of our core skills, tomers to assemble their ideal configuration H. Krausbeck: The laser system has been developed entirely by
house. which will of course be further developed depending on their capacity requirements Heidelberg and is also used, for example, in the new Speed-
with an eye to the future. and ability to invest. The fact that the master 74 DI. It is based on laser modules roughly the size of a
Suprasetter can always be upgraded on site cell phone. The more laser modules you have, the higher the
to meet growing requirements provides cus- hourly plate throughput. Additional modules can be retrofit-
tomers with a higher degree of investment ted post-purchase. The laser modules are also equipped with
The Suprasetter – the modular CtP system security. an intelligent diode system which virtually eliminates produc-
from Heidelberg. tion outages.

HN: Is it fair to describe the Prosetter and Suprasetter

families as two technologies that fulfil the need for cut-
ting-edge CtP solutions?
A. Forer: That’s right. Especially since both technologies es-
pouse the same modular concept, which is similar to the one
we know from Prinect. This ensures that each specific cus- Hansjürgen Krausbeck, 57, pictured holding a laser
tomer is best equipped for a successful future. module, studied information technology before joining
Heidelberg in 1972. He was responsible for introducing
HN: Thank you for this interview. ■ the Trendsetter, Topsetter and Prosetter CtP systems
and has been Product Manager for the new Suprasetter
CtP system since 2001.

22 • Issue 251 • 2004 23

Heidelberg News • Solutions Solutions

Print products today need to be brighter and more colorful than ever. The require-
ments placed on printers and their presses are therefore growing all the time,
with customers looking to coated and surface finished print products to make
them stand out from the competition. The Heidelberg Speedmaster CD 74 is a
highly-versatile medium-format press that enables printshops to offer special
coatings and surface finishes even when times are tough, thereby gaining a
clear competitive advantage.

SPEEDMASTER CD 74

Medium format –
but top class

T
he Speedmaster CD 74 made its mar- tion of the printing industry – often only de-
ket debut at the end of 2000. With ploy one press in the 50 x 70 cm (19.70 x
over 3,000 printing units installed, it 27.56 in) format class, from which they de-
has set benchmarks in modern printing mand maximum f lexibility, whether it be in
press design. The CD 74 processes a wide va- straight printing or perfecting. Heidelberg
riety of printing stock thicknesses ranging turned this customer dream into reality and
from 0.03 mm (0.0012 in) to 0.8 mm (0.0031 introduced the Speedmaster CD 74 with
in) – and does so without changing over the sheet-reversing system at drupa 2004,” ex-
transfer grippers. This f lexibility, allied to plains Thomas Frank, Head of Product Man-
the press’s ease-of-use, ensure high produc- agement 50 x 70 at Heidelberg.
tivity and profitable printing. The Speed-
master CD 74 comes in both packaging for- The new press uses the tried-and-tested
mat 60.5 x 74 cm (23.82 x 29.13 in) and com- three-drum principle, and also features a
mercial printing format 53 x 74 cm (20.87 x double-sized transfer cylinder immediately
29.13 in). in front of the storage drum, giving the new
three-drum system a diameter ratio of 2-2-1.
The Speedmaster CD 74 with sheet- The system works as follows: The double-
reversing device. “The success of the sized transfer cylinder takes the sheet from
straight printing series led many users to the impression cylinder of the last printing
call for a sheet-reversing system. This is no unit before the sheet is reversed and trans-
surprise, given that small and midsize fers it to the storage drum, which is also dou-
printshops – which make up the greater por- ble-sized. An eccentrically-shaped reversing 

24 • Issue 251 • 2004 25

Heidelberg News • Solutions Solutions

“The dual-coating press

opens up all sorts of new
design possibilities for
designers and agencies.” Olaf König

Interdeck dryer in swung-up position – the dryer can quickly and UV add-on for the delivery – dryer module with proven slide-in module Future-oriented in medium format – the new
easily be moved between the individual printing units to the position and fast-action connections for the UV dryer. Speedmaster CD 74 UV.
required for each printing job.

drum then passes the sheet on to the next It’s no secret that UV inks and coatings are opens up all sorts of new design possibilities modular design based on customer require- ing units. “The recent addition of the Speed-
printing unit. This is all done with maxi- growing in popularity in the print media in- for agencies and designers. A high degree of ments. While the most popular models con- master CD 74 Duo for applying opaque white,
mum register accuracy. In this way, printing dustry. The “hard facts” of what they can do automation, standardized procedures and sist of five or six printing units and one coat- gold, silver and pearl effects before offset
stock up to a thickness of 0.8 mm (0.031 in) – they adhere better to non-absorbent mate- the integration of processes in the press lead ing unit for use in commercial printing, spe- printing shows that the CD 74 already covers
can be perfected with a maximum print rials, are scuff-proof and highly glossy – are to material savings and reduced costs. This cialist packaging and label printers value a wide range of uses and has considerable
speed of up to 15,000 sheets per hour. Com- also well-known. The Speedmaster CD 74 UV enables printshops to satisfy unusual cus- the extended functionality provided by potential for further development,” says An-
bined with the maximum paper format of has kept pace with this trend, and was the tomer requests at competitive price points,” eight printing units fully equipped for UV dreas Lang, adding, “this is what makes it
60.5 x 74 cm (23.82 x 29.13 in), this opens up first press in the world to be awarded the summarizes Olaf König of Berlin-based or six colors with dual-coating and two dry- the medium format press of the future.” ■
new and interesting possibilities. “Optimized UV printing” label from the Königsdruck. König was the first to pur-
Deutsche Berufsgenossenschaft Druck und chase a dual-coating press with two inter-
The Speedmaster CD 74 for UV printing. Papierverarbeitung (German Institution for deck units (LYYL) in 50 x 70 format from
Speedmaster CD 74 perfecting presses are Statutory Insurance and Prevention in the Heidelberg. This configuration increases
ideal for use in commercial printers han- Printing and Paper Industry), recognizing the distance between the two coating units,
dling a wide range of printing stocks, pack- that all the elements necessary for UV print- leaving space for additional dryers. Higher
aging and label printers, and printshops ing are completely integrated in the press. It production speeds are generally possible,
that mainly produce greetings cards or book therefore sets new standards in terms of and this usually produces even glossier re- The technology in detail – the Speedmaster CD 74’s innovative technology makes it the medium format press
jackets in perfecting mode. process, operating and investment security. sults than can be achieved with presses hav- of the future. The sheet-reversing model is available as a four-, five- or six-color press. Models purely for
Customers who have already invested in this ing only one interdeck unit. straight printing are even available for up to eight colors. The adjustable sheet-reversing device, which can
“Alongside the standard models for straight press technology have come to appreciate its be installed, for example, between the second and third printing units (see illustration), delivers the usual high
printing and perfecting, the Speedmaster quick, safe startup, ease-of-use and the ac- Future-oriented press in medium format. perfecting quality of a Speedmaster, while also allowing thick, stiff materials to be processed.
CD 74 allows a wide variety of printing and cessibility of both the press and its system The different variants of the Speedmaster
coating unit configurations which can be components. CD 74 have one thing in common – all the
tailored to the situation in the printroom, configurations are built using a common,
whether a double coating press, completely The Speedmaster CD 74 dual-coating
integrated UV/hybrid press from the factory, press. When it comes to solutions in high-
or coating before or after printing in a sin- end commercial printing and special appli-
gle pass is what’s required,” says Andreas cations in label and folding carton printing,
Lang, Head of Product Management, Cus- the Speedmaster CD 74 dual-coating press
tomized Presses 50 x 70 at Heidelberg. comes into its own. “This new technology

26 • Issue 251 • 2004 27

Heidelberg News • Solutions Solutions

THE PRINTMASTER CONCEPT

Two for every occasion

reversing device and washup device. Last but not least the compact
Printmaster models are also extremely user-friendly, with “Press-
Control” ensuring unequivocal direct operation throughout. The
The question that all forward-looking printshops need to ask themselves before they “one key = one function” principle makes work both easier and faster.

decide what to buy is – which equipment enables us to fulfil orders with the high quality PM 74 with a productivity plus. drupa 2004 provided the oppor-
AND end-to-end cost-effectiveness required to safeguard our company’s future? tunity for Heidelberg to showcase the new generation of the Print-
master PM 74. A new feeder with a central suction tape and pneu-
It depends. Heidelberg therefore has two product lines in response to this question. The suction tape feeder on the Printmaster PM 52 matic pull lay shortens makeready times, boosting productivity by
can be conveniently set up from the PressControl making format and printing stock changeovers even more easy and
feeder panel. convenient. A number of optional automation components offer
further benefits. These include an automatic inking unit washup
device, inking unit temperature control and blanket and impression
cylinder washup device. The Printmaster PM 74 is delivered with the

H
eidelberg gives its customers a choice of two sheetfed off- EasyPlate manual plate clamping system as standard. The optional
set series – the Speedmaster family and the Printmaster “AutoPlate” plate clamping system makes for even better productiv-
family. Both product lines deliver the same high standard ity and ease-of-use.
of printing and press quality Heidelberg customers have come to ex-
pect. “The Printmaster series shares certain basic characteristics Investment-proof and flexible – the PM 52. The Printmaster
with the proven Speedmaster line. The main areas where they differ PM 52 is the ideal choice for A3 formats. The one- to five-color press
are in the delivery system, terminal velocity and standard features,” with optional fully-automatic sheet reversal has been available since
says Bernhard Seidl, Product Manager for the PM 74 at Heidelberg. May 2004. Its capacity for paper formats from 105 x 145 mm (4.13 x
In principle, the Printmaster models have space-saving standard 5.71 in) up to 370 x 520 mm (14.57 x 20.47 in) and for printing stock
pile deliveries and a more basic set of standard features, but they can thicknesses of up to 0.4 mm (0.016 in) makes it suitable for a wide
be adapted to customers’ job structures and requirements through range of orders and printing stocks. The standard scope of delivery
a range of useful extras. includes a suction tape feeder, Alcolor continuous dampening sys-
tem, high-volume inking unit, remotely adjustable circumferential
For entry level and upwardly-mobile printers. The basic idea and lateral registers and the EasyPlate plate clamping system with
behind the Printmaster series is to offer compact, good-value press- positioning run for fast, straightforward plate changing, ensuring
es whose f lexibility and straightforward operation are especially that even printshops who buy the basic version derive maximum
suited to newcomers to multicolor offset and also enable upwardly- benefit from this secure investment. Optional add-on components
mobile businesses to grow without risk. The Printmaster therefore are available for customers seeking even more productivity and
already includes basic functions covering all the requirements of ease-of-use.
small and midsize runs. “Regardless of whether companies decide
on the inexpensive entry-level model or the automated model for In keeping with the pioneering role taken by Heidelberg in the ar-
higher productivity requirements, the Printmaster series has a suit- eas of workf low and integration-readiness, the multicolor models
able and cost-effective model for every job and customer need,” ex- of the Printmaster 52 and Printmaster 74 in conjunction with the
plains Frank Süsser, Product Manager PM 52 at Heidelberg. A wide optional color and register remote control system Prinect Classic
range of specialty equipment is available for both the PM 52 and Center and the Prinect Online Kit are suitable for integration in the
PM 74. These features include numbering, perforating, sheet- networked printshop. ■

28 • Issue 251 • 2004 29

Heidelberg News • Innovations Innovations

SPEEDMASTER SM 52

Astounding Druckerei Klenke from Dissen in Lower Saxony, Germany, is a pioneer

effects
in the field of lenticular printing. A five-color Speedmaster SM 52 with
coating unit and UV equipment helps the company make products that
feature astounding effects.

W
ithin a fraction of a second a lion U.S. Dollars). More than 80 percent of
Heidelberg Tiegel press is trans- its customers are multi-regional companies
formed into a Speedmaster CD and agencies.
74. The two presses are separated by around
50 years of research and development. It’s “I earned my first money printing furniture
hard to imagine a better visual illustration facings,” says Manfred Klenke proudly,
of cutting-edge technology, quality and tra- “then we received some initial orders for
dition for a printing press manufacturer screen-printed plastic stickers from an off-
like Heidelberg. The procedure is not ren- set printshop. Then we just continued to
dered in a TV advert or a film, but printed grow into the graphics sector.” Three years
on paper. This has been made possible by after founding the company, he was joined
lenticular printing technology. Using spe- by his partner Joachim Hartmann (55), a
cial production methods and the right trained master craftsman in letterpress and
lenticular film, such scenes can be conjured offset printing. “We were interested mainly
up on almost any printing stock. UV equip- in film printing from the outset, and had
ment also enables direct printing onto the screen-printing and film printing with off-
reverse of the film, which not only saves set presses for printing on plastic,” explains
time, but also enhances product quality. Joachim Hartmann.
Lenticular printing offers the advertising
industry a fresh source of innovative ideas, Top quality thanks to small format.
and represents a further creative application Klenke has specialized in small sheets and
for UV-equipped presses. has invested in a customized five-color
Speedmaster SM 52 with coating unit and
Thanks to improved production methods, UV equipment. A major benefit that was in-
lenticular images, also known as auto ani- strumental in Klenke’s decision to buy the
mated images or auto stereo images, are be- press is the fact that the plates can be ad-
Lenticular printing is all the rage – ing used in a host of new areas. Up to now, justed diagonally, allowing the press to be
a 1950s Tiegel press suddenly only a few printshops have been proficient set for optimum registration. Opaque white
becomes a 2004 Speedmaster. in this printing technique. One of them is is mainly deployed as the fifth color.
Klenke Druck. It all started in 1977 when
Manfred Klenke (62) made the bold move of Before it enters the press, however, the
founding his own screen printshop. Today printing data must be processed in the pre-
Klenke Druck has 21 staff and annual sales press stage. A “simple” lenticular image is
of around Euro 2.3 million (approx. 2.8 mil- composed of picture one and picture two. 

30 • Issue 251 • 2004 31

Heidelberg News • Innovations Innovations

Lenticular – here’s how it works

“The smallest inaccuracy between printing units is all it The lenticular technique involves placing identical lens strips tightly side
by side on a special film. Images that have been divided into strips on a PC
and re-assembled (interlaced) using special software are then placed be-
takes to make a lenticular image unusable.” Manfred Klenke hind this film with between two and 25 image sections/strips under each
lens strip depending on the desired effect. Different films and plates with an
appropriate number of lenses per centimeter can also be used to create
special effects. The size and type of lenses used depends on what effect is
intended, but the price often dictates compromises.

Basically, both pictures are divided into “In an image of a human face, magenta used to prepare the data. Printing is signifi- images contain large amounts of informa-
strips using a special software. One strip of would be seen first before the other colors cantly slower, since production conditions tion. This must be broken down carefully
one picture then comes behind the left side ‘caught up’. Therefore extreme precision is and minute differences in register have seri- and precisely and converted into screen
of the lens and the corresponding strip of necessary. A small format press goes a long ous effects on the end product and soon lead rulings. The more information, the higher
the second picture is placed on the other way towards satisfying these requirements. to high waste. Even experienced printers resolution required.”
side of the same lens. If the finished image is Of course it does mean that costings for should consider lenticular printing takes
moved from side to side, first picture 1, then longer runs do end up higher. The small for- twice as long as normal printing. The ambi- The limits of what’s technically possi-
picture 2 appears. 3D images have a similar mat makes for cleaner printing, more accu- ent and storage environments are also more ble. “The file sizes generated by systems in
design. rate reproduction and a better end product,” important than in conventional offset print- lenticular technology are vast,” confirms
states Manfred Klenke. ing, since thermoplastic films exhibit con- Harald Lutsch, Managing Director of 3D-Im-
Another factor that prompted the company siderable expansion and contraction. “We ages from Eppingen, Germany. “Particularly
to focus on printing small formats was the 128 l/cm screen and higher. “Experience” work with 128 l/cm screens and higher, de- when producing three-dimensional or ani-
exact registration on the Speedmaster SM 52. of UV printing is a prerequisite for lenticu- pending on the job, at 75 Lenses Per Inch,” mation effects, when up to twelve or more
“If the images that are divided into strips lar printing. A special software has to be explains Mr. Klenke. “Lenticular and 3D  In a standard image, 3.15 lenses per millimeter of image are used at 80 lpi single pictures have to be processed into a
and then re-assembled slip or move out of (31 lcm). A lens strip, which must contain all the phases required for the single data record and printed behind each
register even the tiniest fraction, I am left desired effect, is only about 0.32 mm (0.01 in) wide. Lenticular printing can lenticular lens.” The company is a full ser-
with an unusable product, since the effects be used to bring even the most unusual design ideas to life. These include: vice provider in the lenticular technology
of this are felt across the whole film width,” sector. Harald Lutsch believes that screen
says Manfred Klenke. “The problem is the ■ Morphing (transformation effects) resolutions with up to 200 to 240 lines per
tolerances. Cylinders operate differently Transforming one picture (A) into another picture (B). Up to twelve phases cm (508 to 609.6 lines per inch) are neces-
from press to press and from printing unit are possible. No depth effect can be achieved, the transformation effect is in sary to produce spectacular effects such as
to printing unit. While these deviations are the foreground. video animations with more than 18 single
negligible, and are completely irrelevant in ■ 3D effects images. “Only this type of fine screen allows
normal printing, they are very important in This basically involves our two eyes looking at the same object from differ- the individual image phases to be printed as
lenticular printing.” In addition, mechanical ent angles. Five to ten source pictures from shifted perspectives or from distinct patterns of lines behind every cylin-
stress causes the printing stock to heat up three to four layers (foreground, picture layer, background) are used. drical lens,” he reports. “A special screen an-
and become distorted. These deviations ■ Zoom effects gle that fits the motif and lens alignment is
have a knock-on effect. In normal printing Based on the same principle as morphing. The difference is that the object also crucial, in order to prevent moiré.” The
these inaccuracies can hardly be noticed by represented does not appear transformed, but closer or further away dot shape and minimum dot size of 20μm
the naked eye. “That’s the difference com- depending on the angle from which it is looked at. and smaller are further aspects. Not every
pared with the lenticular method, where a ■ 2/3 flip (animation or stereo effects) filmsetter, platesetter, or printing stock can
shift in printing of just a few pixels immedi- Changing the angle at which the object is looked at changes its content – cope with these requirements. Lutsch is con-
ately causes a corresponding color shift in the ugly frog becomes a handsome prince. vinced that “the requirements necessary for
the image,” explains Mr. Klenke. The small- ■ Animation/motion (movement effects) lenticular printing nudge the very limits of
est inaccuracy between printing units is all A small event occurs on the object. A change in perspective creates the what’s technically possible. But this is the
it takes to make a lenticular image unusable. impression that movements are being made – a car’s folding roof opens only way of ensuring high quality lenticular
If for example magenta is placed even slight- and closes. production.” ■
ly ahead of the other colors, it will be the
first color seen when the image changes. UV professionals at work – Joachim Hartmann and Manfred Klenke (from left to right). Many of the effects described can be combined with one another, Further information on the company is available
depending on the originals available, the size of the pictures used and from: www.klenke-druck.de
the lenses deployed.

32 • Issue 251 • 2004 33

Heidelberg News • Innovations Innovations

DRUPA 2004 FOLLOW-UP

Surface finishing makes

all the difference
The look of folding cartons, brochures and books
has to move with the times. Target groups are get-
ting smaller, and demands when it comes to feel
and quality are always on the increase. These are
the factors fuelling the current debate on making
print products stand out using coating and other
surface finishings. There are various techniques to
choose from, but which is the best? The following
article compares and contrasts the different appli-
cations presented by Heidelberg at drupa 2004.

34 • Issue 251 • 2004 35

Heidelberg News • Innovations Innovations

Overview of the most important inline finishing techniques

UV/hybrid coatings Oil-based coatings Dispersion coatings Drip-Off procedure

Gloss ++ 0 + +
Scuff resistance ++ 0 + +
Matt/gloss effects ++ – – +

A
n inviting cup of coffee alongside a couple of exquisite cof- pay for themselves if the printshop manages to successfully position Adhesion to non-absorbent
fee beans, accompanied by the smell of fresh coffee – a itself in the market for high-quality print products and keep its printing stocks ++/+ – 0 –
poster printed on a conventional Heidelberg Speedmaster presses busy with orders. On the other hand, it’s sometimes enough
Drying/hardening ++ – 0 0
CD 74 using dispersion coating was one of the attractions in the simply to offer traditional water- or oil-based coatings.
Heidelberg halls at drupa. An expensive limited-edition watch print-
ed on aluminum-coated material with UV inks, a matt UV coating Effect and protective coating with traditional dispersion and ++ very good + good 0 average – poor
and a high-gloss UV spot varnish was one of highlights in Hall 3. It oil-based coatings. These techniques can be used to achieve me-
too was printed on a Speedmaster CD 74 – this time a fully-integrat- chanical protection, quick finishing and interesting effects without
ed UV-equipped model at the Heidelberg/IST partner booth (see al- investing in additional equipment for presses. For some surfacing
so the article on CD 74 UV in this magazine). These are just two ex- and coating applications, these techniques produce interesting ef-
amples of many showing how printed paper can become truly eye- fects that are more discreet than with UV and hybrid ink systems. A full-area dispersion coating is then applied with a highly-viscous dispersion coating. In addition to the coating’s basic composition,
catching. high-gloss thermal coating in the downstream coating unit. Heat- they contain microencapsulated aromatic materials that imitate the
At drupa 2004 Heidelberg became the first printing press manufac- ing the coating with a separate heating unit reduces its viscosity and scents of, for example, plants, spices and foods. Scented coatings are
UV inks and coatings for high quality print products. UV coat- turer to show how high quality matt/gloss effects can be produced makes it a lot easier to process. The high-gloss coating drips off the usually applied as spot varnishes finished with a matt or gloss coat-
ing is becoming a key player in an increasing number of markets. using traditional presses. With what’s known as the Drip-Off proce- areas with a matt coating and the matting is retained. This is where ing, the areas with scented coating being left uncoated when pro-
The benefits of UV inks include high gloss, the ability to produce un- dure, a special oil-based matt coating is applied to the selected matt the name ‘Drip-Off ’ comes from. tective or effect coatings are subsequently applied.
usual structures and special visual impressions, a scratch-proof pro- surfaces of the printing form in the last inking unit on the press.
tective layer and “adhesion” to non-absorbent surfaces. Printshops The varying surface properties and the contrast between matt and “The question of whether traditional oil-based and dispersion coat-
that can offer this high-quality, specialized coating technology have gloss areas enable printers to achieve a wide range of optical effects ings, Drip-Off or UV inks are right for a particular application de-
a distinct and profitable advantage in the market. It’s for this reason such as a velvety or ref lective silvery finish. “With this new coating pends on what the customer wishes to achieve,” states Dr. Jürgen
that more than ten percent of presses ordered from Heidelberg have technique Heidelberg offers its customers a cost-effective gateway Rautert, member of the Heidelberg Management Board, responsible
UV capabilities – a figure now rising dramatically. Enlargement of Drip-Off into inline finishing,” explains Dirk Kummer, Head of Product Man- for engineering and manufacturing. “Our product portfolio is de-
agement at Heidelberg Deutschland Vertriebs GmbH. “It is particu- signed to offer our customers the press configuration needed for
“When it comes to gloss, feel, protective qualities and scuff resis- larly suited to customers in the commercial printing sector who their procedures. We are committed to providing customers with
tance, UV products are far superior to traditional print products,” at- want to enhance the value of their print products using interesting optimum support in realizing ‘their’ specific palette of effects and
tests Andreas Lang, Head of Product Management, Customized effects. But Drip-Off is also a perfect application for packaging and thereby ensuring them a competitive advantage. Heidelberg will
Presses 50 x 70 at Heidelberg. He does qualify this statement, how- label production where there is a need to enhance the appeal of avoid patenting printing procedures per se in order to maintain an
ever, adding “It doesn’t always have to be UV printing, because in a 3 printed matter through matt/gloss effects.” The setup process is al- impartial stance vis-à-vis all customers. While we do of course offer
small percentage of orders requiring UV coating hybrid inks can most identical to conventional offset printing. Additional invest- our customers advice, the final decision on what and how to print
provide a more cost-effective entry into UV technology.” Hybrid
4 ment in a specially equipped press is not required, since all work is always lies with the customer.” 
inks, a modified UV ink system, combine the properties of conven- done using traditional ink and coating systems. Drip-Off coating
tional and UV inks. “Hybrid inks deliver an identical result to UV can be used on all Speedmaster presses with at least five printing The examples of printing from drupa 2004 illustrated on the following
inks, but make it easier to combine UV and conventional systems, units and a coating unit with a chambered doctor blade. “In the pages show how Heidelberg Speedmaster presses can be used to deliver
since the same dampening solution additives are used, combination 4 3 2 Drip-Off technique, we offer our customers an alternative matt/ enhanced results through surface finishing.
washup solutions can be used and the dot gain is not as large as with 1 gloss procedure particularly suitable as an entry into the world of
UV ink systems,” continues Lang. “Hybrid inks facilitate entry into quality surface finishing,” confirms Andreas Lang. “But the story
UV, but nobody should underestimate the learning curve when im- Design doesn’t end there, as many satisfied users have reported to us since
plementing the new technology.” 1 Paper/printing stock drupa.”
2 Conventional inks
The special technical features particular to UV and hybrid system 3 Matt coating with thermal gloss coating on top – Print products that don’t just appeal visually. Alongside visual
processes require special expertise and some significant invest- not glossy at these points and touch effects, print products can also appeal to our sense of
ments in preparing presses. However, these investments more than 4 High-gloss thermal coating – glossy at these points smell using scented coatings. Scented coatings are a special form of

36 • Issue 251 • 2004 37

Heidelberg News • Innovations Innovations

Perfect finish at drupa 2004

Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG enjoyed great success at drupa 2004 in Halls 1 and 2 and the
UV Technology Center in Hall 3 where it appeared together with its partner IST Metz. Heidelberg Packaging on aluminized paper. This involved printing
presented special effects such as matt/gloss contrasts, scented coatings and metallic inks with e.g. UV opaque white on aluminized paper, thereby produc-
ing a feeling of depth. Spot coating is used to emphasize
traditional, hybrid and UV ink and coating systems. In the UV Technology Center, Heidelberg
various elements of the print job and the brand names of
demonstrated that technical improvements to the UV printing process have made it a highly the companies in question. The Sinn company is using this
premium packaging printed at drupa for a series of limited-
reliable production method. Environmental protection issues are also taken into account.
edition watches.
A Speedmaster CD 74-6+LX with complete UV equipment produced four different print jobs from
watch manufacturer Sinn, which clearly showed what inline surface finishing is able to achieve.

Poster with matt/gloss effect. This job juxtaposed print results

with three types of special effect coating in order to compare the
different visual impressions. The watch motif was printed once as
a pure UV job with a subsequent overall UV gloss coating, the most
common application with UV/hybrid systems. Then the same motif
was modified with UV inks, a UV matt coating in the printing unit
and a UV spot varnish in the coating unit. A third variation was
Lenticular printed postcards. Lenticular films are among the most interesting printing produced using hybrid inks, an effect coating and an overall UV
stocks (the user report on page 30 of this Heidelberg News contains a comprehensive ac- high-gloss coating.
count of lenticular printing). The postcards printed at drupa, for example, show Sinn watches
in front of the Frankfurt skyline in a 3D effect. A real eye-catcher, since according to a Market
Watch study, 88 percent of consumers prefer advertising material with a 3D design to “flat”
designs. Lenticular images are also highly secure, making them especially suited for use by
banks, on cash and credit cards and for insurance and brand-name products. Lenticular im-
ages are also used for lavish book and magazine covers, high quality video, cosmetics and
games packaging, CD inserts, mouse pads and mailings.

38 • Issue 251 • 2004 39

Heidelberg News • Innovations Innovations

Poster with Aniva UV. Heidelberg also showed

posters featuring underwater worlds which, for the
first time, were printed with Aniva UV inks from Epple.
Heidelberg was involved in developing these inks.
This means that UV printing can now deliver even
greater brilliance, a more intense feeling of depth
and greater dynamism thanks to the expanded color Poster with Drip Off. The “Blütenzauber” (“Blossom Magic”) poster combined four motifs. These
space. The powerful colors grab viewers’ attention. demonstrated different matt/gloss variations produced used the Drip Off technique described in the
On the conventional CD 74 in Hall 2, a 1/5 + coating text. These variations were created using a special color for the frame, a four-color set for the images,
perfecting configuration was used to demonstrate oil-based matt coating and overall gloss coating. Effects with metallic pigments were shown on the
scent-coated and matt or gloss posters made with conventional CD 102 in Hall 1.
traditional ink or coating systems.

Coffee/tea-scented posters. First straight VW concept car poster with MetalFX. The visual impact
printing was used to apply a special color of metallic effects was shown on a CD 102-6+L. MetalFX silver
and four process colors to this example. In was applied as the base color in the first printing unit, after which
the sixth printing unit a scented coating was the four process colors were applied over it. The transparent inks
spot varnished via the printing plate onto the impart an impression of bright, shiny metallic colors.
coffee/tea cup and then dispersion coated
for protection (with the exception of the
scent-coated parts). The machine was then
switched over to perfecting mode in a few
minutes, and set to process board with a
grammage of 450 gsm. The special color was
then used to print recipes on the reverse side,
after which the sheet was reversed and the
four process colors and coating were applied
to the front side.

40 • Issue 251 • 2004 41

Heidelberg News • Innovations Innovations

“Using the right technology –

and of course experienced staff –
is essential for success.” Tim Balke

SPEEDMASTER CD 102

Cool-dried wears better

L
Multicolor Druck- und Selbstklebetech- ouder, more colorful, more distinc- If required, therefore, the posters, mouse agencies and end customers are predicting a
tive. Today’s advertising has to resort pads, stickers and notes produced in Ellerau rosy future for these “film posters”, because
nik GmbH & Co. KG, Ellerau, Germany, to all sorts of tricks to grab the atten- are treated with a new adhesive, Microtac. they can be removed and reused time and
founded in 1959 as a screen printshop, tion of customers overwhelmed by a myriad “Microtac is a solvent-free, environmental- again as required. “The technique can also
of competing impressions. Hardly any of us ly-compatible adhesive and is a patented be used for tinted window films in cars, pro-
is one of Europe’s leading manufactur- gives a thought, for example, to how many Multicolor development,” reports Tim Balke motional stickers, labels for technical appli-
ers of printed and self-adhesive products. posters are needed to draw our attention to (31), Head of Central Order Management cations and warnings, counter mats and
the various different goods in a supermar- and responsible for sales at Multicolor. “The desk mats,” says Edgar Siller, Managing Di-
Armed with a new adhesive developed ket. These often include seasonal products adhesive allows anybody – no specialist rector of Multicolor. A mouse pad that no
in-house and UV printing technology that disappear from the shelves within a training required – to stick products to, for longer slides around the table, is ultra-thin
few weeks or even days. The posters hung up example, windows without blistering or and is impervious to spilled coffee is one ex-
from Heidelberg, the company is now for this purpose soon become outdated, are folding, and to then remove and reuse them ample of effective advertising that long re-
all set to conquer new markets with easily damaged and therefore have to be re- as often as necessary. It works on windows, mains in the customer’s field of vision.
placed regularly, meaning new posters must f loors, doors, tables and walls. Where re- These are just a few examples of the many
innovative products. For two years the then be printed for the next season. This quired the products can also be put into stor- ways Multicolor is applying UV printing and
company has been using a Speedmaster process is made easier with solutions based age and used again later.” The good thing is Microtac. Other large companies such as
Creative minds leveraging innovative printing technology – on PVC and film, materials which are weath- that the adhesive used does not leave behind Springer also number among Multicolor’s
Klaus Nagel and Tim Balke of Multicolor Ellerau (left to right).
CD 102-6+LYLX with dual coating unit er resistant and have washable surfaces. The any residue requiring cleaning when a customers. “A heart for children” stickers,
and UV equipment, which is also the down side is that such materials are not easy poster is removed from a window. suspended posters, scratchcards, promo-
to print on. The UV offset and screen print- tional stickers, dispensers and shelf wob-
first press in Europe with CoolCure UV. ing specialists at Multicolor, which has 40 Rosy future for film posters. “I’m sure blers are produced for the “Bild” newspaper,
A whole raft of new self-adhesive products staff and annual sales of around Euro 6.5 everybody’s seen the new salad posters for for example.
million (approx. 7.9 million U.S. Dollars), are the ‘I’m loving it’ campaign running at Mc-
are being produced with this in Ellerau. masters at this business. The company’s Donalds’ throughout the country. These ap- Using the right technology – and of course
staff, faced with the challenge of printing in pealing posters, which are hung in the win- experienced staff – is essential for success.
high quality on difficult materials, nonethe- dows and at the counters, were produced by Before they can become press operators,
less aim to go one stage further and provide us in collaboration with Munich agency printers in Ellerau must have at least ten
customers with ideal solutions. Heye & Partner,” explains Mr. Balke. Many years’ experience under their belt. A good 

42 • Issue 251 • 2004 43

Heidelberg News • Innovations Innovations

with the new Speedmaster and CoolCure “The UV end dryers, cold-air blowers, Dry- from drying, an effect combated up to now
UV. The quick transfer to finishing in partic- Star dryers, UV interdeck dryers and other by increasing the UV radiation, which how-
ular is a massive boost for us.” Multicolor UV UV equipment for the press are standard se- ever produces more heat. Nitrogen, one of
prints 6,000 sheets of rigid PVC and up to ries-production components that are avail- the main components of air, is a safe, envi-
8,000 sheets of film per hour. Print runs able either from Heidelberg or IST Metz. ronmentally-compatible gas that is odorless,
start from around 1,000 copies and go up to This means that in most cases the CoolCure non-reactive, non-combustible and non-tox-
around 30,000. Around 80 percent of what UV system can be retrofitted.” ic at room temperature. “This procedure re-
Multicolor produces is destined for the Ger- quires less UV radiation, and therefore less
man market and the USA is one of its impor- The high temperatures produced at the UV energy,” explains Jens Arne Knöbl. “As a re-
tant export markets. dryer are problematic. Almost two-thirds of sult the printing stock does not heat up so
the energy applied there is transformed in- much, and the inks harden better. Even thin
How does CoolCure UV work? While tra- to heat. Part of this heat is absorbed by the films can then be finished without losing
ditional offset inks dry through the binding printing stock and the material becomes dis- any time, and the familiar UV smell of the
agents oxidizing and being absorbed into torted, making register-accurate printing print products is also significantly reduced
the printing stock, the drying process with more difficult, since the temperature is too thanks to CoolCure.” The procedure is not
UV inks is achieved through radiation with high for many materials. Measures to com- just for plastics, it is also suitable for paper
and board.

Olaf Herzog (front) and Michael “A further benefit of UV printing with Cool-
Marquardt with the Speedmaster Cure UV is that opaque white in high coating
CD 102 at Multicolor in Ellerau. The thicknesses hardens easily,” observes Siller.
dual coating press with extended “This is another reason why inertization
delivery for inline UV coating fea- 90 percent of jobs are printed on film, with fore it is ready for finishing. A quick trans- will be on Multicolor’s must-have list next
tures suction extraction of the ink only 10 percent on paper, a state of affairs fer to the finishing stage is out of the ques- time we purchase a press.” UV products fea-
mist above every inking unit. that requires staff with many years of first- tion. The CoolCure UV technology used at turing the Microtac adhesive are currently
class training. The screen printing special- Multicolor can reduce temperatures to man- being marketed via the printshop’s cus-
ists in Ellerau are on hand to help with oth- ageable levels (five to ten degrees above the tomers and major agencies, but will soon en-
er specialist areas including different adhe- printroom temperature). This means that Tim Balke behind the InkMove Highly-viscous inks in the ink fountain are joy a broader platform. “Print volumes, par-
sive coatings and surface finishing with sheets can be released immediately for fin- automatic ink agitator. kept moving by InkMove. ticularly in UV printing, will definitely show
thermal inks, scratch inks, scented coatings ishing, and less energy is required for dry- a sharp increase in the next few years, fu-
or glitter gold. ing. It also means that the ambient tempera- UV light. The liquid binding agent compo- bat this include cutting press speeds, long eled by the advertising industry’s increas-
ture, which is normally increased by the nents of the UV inks cross-link in a fraction cooling-off times, or splitting up orders, all ingly demanding appetite for new products.
Drying without heat. The problem when heated piles, no longer rises as much. Cool- of a second to produce a hard film. “Hard- of which have a negative impact on produc- The combination of UV film printing with
printing on films or rigid PVC, which are al- ing down the piles was previously left up to ening describes this process better than the tivity. CoolCure UV, already known as iner- Microtac adhesive is a market of the future
so used at Multicolor, is the heat generated the air conditioning, which is now relieved traditional term, drying. The good thing tization in web printing, enables the tem- that promises us exceptionally strong
in UV drying. This leads to the material be- of this task, meaning the company saves about hardening is that, because the ink is perature problems in UV printing to be cir- growth,” sums up Edgar Siller. ■
coming distorted, which in turn leads to reg- electricity in the process. “This was particu- scratch and scuff resistant right away, fin- cumvented. In the drying process, the
ister problems, especially in cases where larly important for the rush job for McDon- ishing can be started immediately,” reports oxygen between the UV lamp and the print- Further information on the company is available
screen printing is combined with offset, as alds’ summer salad campaign, because we Jens Arne Knöbl. “This process does not re- ing stock is extracted or replaced with nitro- from: www.multicolor.de
it is in Ellerau. In traditional UV printing a had to complete it within five working days,” quire the use of special UV inks, nor are sig- gen. This takes place in the CoolCure UV in-
pile can reach temperatures of up to 80° C recalls Edgar Siller. “And since job deadlines nificant modifications to the press needed,” ertization chamber, a joint development by
(176° F) in the delivery and has to slowly cool are getting shorter all the time anyway, we adds Knöbl, UV specialist and Product Man- Heidelberg and IST Metz GmbH. This is be-
down, sometimes for up to three days, be- need to be able to produce at higher speeds ager at Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG. cause oxygen molecules prevent the inks

44 • Issue 251 • 2004 45

Heidelberg News • Opportunities Opportunities

Boost from UV printing

Since the past few years UV printing plays an increasingly important role
in driving sales for the print media industry. During this time UV offset
printshops have almost tripled their sales compared with their competitors John Dowey, Heidelberg USA, and
Jens Arne Knöbl, UV expert at
in the conventional market. Demand is now spreading around the world.
Heidelberg in Germany. (left to right)
The U.S. market is at the cutting-edge of this development …

T
he success story has its roots in the sales compared with their competitors in depend on the user’s order structure. If
packaging printing industry in the the conventional market. More than 90 per- enough UV orders are coming in, then it is
USA, where, since the late 1990s, UV cent of all narrow-web f lexographic presses advisable to choose a pure UV press.
offset has been widely used to work with now sold are delivered with UV technology,”
unusual printing materials and realize am- reports Jens Arne Knöbl, Product Manager Harmless to the environment. The envi-
bitious or unconventional designs. Other for Peripheral Systems at Heidelberg. Al- ronmental and health concerns which, par-
product segments in the American print ready a significant proportion of the world- ticularly in Europe, were arguments against
media industry were quick to follow, with leading presses in all formats supplied by UV printing are now dispelled. In collabora-
the labels sector, for example, also display- Heidelberg are UV versions – and this pro- tion with the German Institution for Statu-
ing high growth rates. Interest in the tech- portion will continue to grow in future. The tory Insurance and Prevention in the Print-
nology’s potential is being fueled by cus- trade press and manufacturers in Europe ex- ing and Paper Industry, Heidelberg has suc-
tomers’ changing buying patterns. “Many pect annual growth of 7 percent for UV ceeded in developing UV packages which
branches of industry are today looking to presses, 10 percent for UV dryers and a stag- provide the utmost standards of safety for
brand and luxury goods to establish them- gering 14 percent for UV inks and coatings. people and the environment. Inks and coat-
selves on the market and get out of the price ings have also undergone decisive develop-
war among low-cost products,” explains The hybrid applications, for which Heidel- ment. Today's UV inks are devoid of solvents,
UV expert John Dowey, Vice President of berg has installed more than forty press meaning environmentally damaging emis-
Sheetfed Product Management, Heidelberg configurations in the US market since the sions are eliminated. “Today, UV printing is
USA. The extraordinary gloss and special mid 1990s, are also benefiting from this every bit as safe as conventional offset print-
feel of UV printed products is underlining trend. The positive development in hybrid ing,” says Product Manager Jens Knöbl. “The
the truth of the motto “Fine packaging is printing results from the particular struc- fact that powdering is no longer needed
half the sale”. tures of the market in the United States, benefits the environment, man, and print-
which is characterized chief ly by commer- ing companies who can significantly reduce
Double-figure growth. Demand is spread- cial printers. However, this trend is not their consumables overhead.” This has also
ing worldwide. “In the past few years UV off- spreading to the global market. As a general enabled many companies to live up to the
set printshops have almost tripled their rule, the choice of ink system should always motto “Save money with a clean conscience”. 

46 • Issue 251 • 2004 47

Heidelberg News • Opportunities Opportunities

paper, where the ink is hardened before it such as pearl gloss effect (iriodine) inks,
penetrates the fibers of the printing stocks, metallic and f luorescent coatings and a
creating an overall impression of high satu- wealth of special effect options.
ration and faithfulness to detail that is cap- CoCure – how it works:
tivating in its sumptuous color and legibili- The market for UV dryer systems is also de-
ty. Hybrid and UV inks (without coating) are veloping positively. In contrast to the some- “CoCure”, not to be confused with
increasingly used on uncoated papers, too, what stagnant peripherals market, all major the drying technique “CoolCure UV”,
producing a silky gloss which evokes an en- manufacturers, including Heidelberg, IST- is a printing and coating technique
tirely new sense of quality. Automobile cata- Metz, Grafix NA and Nordson-Spectral, are that uses special hybrid inks togeth-
It all started in the packaging industry. Today UV printing is increasingly popular logs, business reports and even sample reporting large volumes of incoming orders. er with UV coatings. The technology,
in the commercial, label and specialized printing markets. brochures from paper manufacturers are to- And these are not just related to the pur- which has won an award from the
day often manufactured using hybrid or UV chase of new presses, but increasingly re- Graphic Arts Technical Foundation
printing. Meanwhile, UV offset on plastic f lect the determination of printshops to in- (GATF), was developed and brought
and metal foils is also experiencing an up- vest strategically in the future viability of to market by Grafix North America
surge in the USA, with customer loyalty and their equipment. and American print companies. It is
advertising credit cards making up a grow- aimed predominantly at printshops
ing proportion of orders. Does this make UV printing a procedure for who only want to use the special
Rapid development in the States. “The printing press manufacturer in the USA brochure, Williamson Printing in Dallas, every printing company ? “Every printer effects and benefits of UV coatings
development work of Heidelberg played a with a fully functional demonstration press was even honored with a “Bennie” award in Boom extends to ink and dryers. The should be aware of the vast possibilities and inks occasionally, and do not
crucial role in the rapid spread of hybrid and which perfected the new process. In a Los the so-called “They said it couldn’t be done” largest US ink manufacturer is reporting an opened up by UV and hybrid procedures,” want to invest in a fully-equipped
UV technology in the U.S. market,” claims Angeles showroom the company installed a category. annual increase in the consumption of UV- says UV expert John Dowey, “but they UV press. “CoCure” is today often
John Dowey. Right after drupa 95 the com- special Speedmaster CD 102 six-color press compatible inks and coatings (hybrid and should take a very close look at the needs of referred to as “hybrid printing”.
pany installed a Speedmaster CD 102-6+LYL equipped with a coating unit, two slide-in Suitable for all customer groups. What UV) of around 15 percent. This is almost ten their customers before deciding whether an
at its demo center in Chicago and began drying units, infrared and hot air, and a started as a specialist printing procedure for times the growth rate of conventional con- investment will actually be profitable.” ■
working with suppliers and customers to ex- slide-in UV module. Multiple connection op- the packaging industry is today becoming sumables. Hybrid inks, once laughingly dis-
plore the potential applications of conven- tions enabled the position of the UV lamps increasingly widespread in the commercial, missed as a short-lived vogue, are becoming
tional inks, aqueous base coats and UV coat- to be adjusted, ensuring high f lexibility. label and specialist printing markets. This more and more accepted. The market boasts
ings for inline surface finishing. The results This setup enabled inks to be “f lashed” with trend has been boosted by sustained im- a steadily growing bandwidth of products
laid the foundations for the development UV light before printing, thus optimizing provements in the quality of inks and coat-
and use of hybrid inks, which are based on the gloss, adhesion, and manageability of ings and increasingly powerful UV drying
conventional offset inks intermixed with the entire process. systems. This has made it easy to manufac-
around 25 percent UV ink. The decisive ture products in a single pass which previ-
breakthrough occurred in Sacramento, Cali- In the months and years that followed, ously would have required several working
fornia, where Fong & Fong Lithographers Heidelberg USA propelled the technology and reworking operations – if indeed they
was working together with an ink supplier more and more into the spotlight, attending were possible at all. More and more com-
and a dryer manufacturer to explore the in- key trade shows such as Print 97, Print 01 mercial printshops in the USA are today “The development work of Heidelberg played a crucial
terplay of processes and inks in UV applica- and Graph Expo 2002. Cooperations with leveraging the obvious benefits of UV prod-
tions. A Speedmaster CD 102 with a final leading industry associations such as GATF ucts as a strategic recipe for success to at- role in the rapid spread of hybrid and UV technology on
stage UV drying system served as the test and NAPL were launched to keep U.S. print- tract customers’ interest. However, demand
press. The series of tests provided important
insights into which ink mixtures worked
ers informed. In 2003 Heidelberg USA pub-
lished a brochure entitled “Beyond Visible”
is not being driven by supply alone. “Cus-
tomers, in particular designers on the look-
the US market.” John Dowey
and also resulted in a process known as (see the photos, above), which showed many out for a ‘natural look’, are actively calling
“CoCure”. Recognizing the value of these re- of the effects possible with hybrid/UV inks for this technology,” John Dowey reports.
sults, in 1997 Heidelberg became the first and coatings. The printshop which made the An example of this is printing on uncoated

48 • Issue 251 • 2004 49

 Heidelberg News • Opportunities Opportunities

CHINA

Regions compete for Although Bi Sheng invented printing using movable letters around 1040 A.D., it was to take a long time
before his form of letterpress printing could be adopted in China. The reason? Chinese contains too many

the printing market characters to be able to keep them all ready to hand in the letter case. Times have changed. Today, China’s
printing industry is booming as seldom before, and regional centers of growth are emerging.

W
hen the first ever ranking of China’s 100 leading print- hotspot for further investment. Established firms from Hong Kong,
ing firms was published in 2003, three regional centers such as C & C Printing, Leefung Packaging Printing, Starlight, Hung
became apparent, with 33 of the companies hailing Hing, Tims and Takung, soon transformed the city of Shenzen into
from the Yangtze Delta, 31 from the Pearl River Delta and a further a printing powerhouse easily the equal of Beijing and Shanghai. Fol-
14 from the Bohai region. These three regions can lay claim to 78 lowing the lead of the pioneering Hong Kong firms, multinationals
percent of the leading companies, whose 1.8 billion Euros (approx. like RR Donnelly, the USA’s largest printing company, and Toppan al-
2.2 billion U.S. Dollars) sales account for 80 percent of the top 100’s so located in Shenzen. According to official statistics, almost half of
total sales. Following decades when the capital Beijing represented the 2,000 plus printing firms in China currently financed from
the single center of the Chinese printing industry, the 1990s wit- abroad can be found in the Pearl River Delta.
nessed a shift in industry leadership to the Pearl River Delta, in-
cluding Guangdong province and the cities of Shenzen and Wen- However, the printing industry in the Pearl River Delta seems to be
zhou, and the Yangtze Delta, home to the trade hub of Shanghai and standing at a crossroads, with the Yangtze Delta becoming more and
Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces. While these regions experienced more important. Some of the printing companies financed from
dramatic growth, development in Beijing visibly stagnated. abroad are already expanding to the northeast. Thus, while the Pearl
River Delta still enjoys the reputation of being the production site
At the crossroads – the Pearl River Delta. The Pearl River Delta’s for Hong Kong and China, the region will have its work cut out to re-
printing industry was still largely unknown at the end of the 1980s. tain this status in the foreseeable future.
Guangdong province’s 2,128 printshops recorded total annual sales
of just under 100 million Euros (approx. 122 million U.S. Dollars) in Headed for the top – the Yangtze Delta. While the printing
1987. A seemingly insignificant episode the same year heralded the boom in the Pearl River Delta can mainly be attributed to an inf lux
region’s rise when the Jianian and Meiguang printshops from Shen- of foreign finance and technologies, a completely different set of
zen, the center of Guangdong province on the Pearl River, clearly factors lies behind the aggressive development of the printing in-
stood out from the crowd in a country-wide quality assessment of dustry in the Yangtze Delta. They may both be located in a river
books and magazines. Some fifteen years later in 2002 the Pearl Riv- delta, but different development processes are at work in Shanghai
er Delta was already recording sales of over 5.4 billion Euros (ap- and the provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang.
prox. 6.6 billion U.S. Dollars). The region’s printshops receive
awards – both national and international – on an almost daily basis. Although Shanghai, the regional center, is generally considered Chi-
The Pearl River Delta owes its meteoric growth mainly to its prox- na’s most cosmopolitan city, the industry here is characterized
imity to Hong Kong. Even before the Chinese government em- mainly by (former) state printing operations defending their mar-
It’s not just the traffic barked on its course of reform, investors from the former British ket dominance. “They traditionally possess a solid technological
that’s moving in China. crown colony were relocating to the Pearl River. Guangdong base, but need time to adapt to the new system in the wake of the re-
province also received special economic privileges at an early stage. form movement,” explains Chan Seng Lee, CEO of Heidelberg Chi-
Thanks to these favorable conditions, the region soon became a na. One example is Shanghai Printing Group, which was formed in 

50 • Issue 251 • 2004 51

Heidelberg News • Opportunities Opportunities

and C & C Printing, who have located in and around Shanghai, in and C & C Printing and allowing the China Printing Group Co. Ltd.
tandem with the vigorous expansion efforts of private firms in the to announce its founding. In addition, the “Beijing Printing Indus-
surrounding provinces, are giving the region lasting impetus that trial Garden”, an industrial zone comprising some 200 hectares
could soon see it edge ahead of the Pearl River Delta. (494.2 acres), was approved as a development area for private
printshops. “If the liberalizing tendencies seen in Beijing continue,
1995 by a merger of several smaller state printshops who since they In the shadow of Beijing – the Bohai region. When compared di- the rest of the Bohai region will also benefit, and the Chinese print-
were founded had recorded ten years of declining operating results. rectly with the two leading regions, the Bohai region’s printing in- ing industry’s third center could really hit its stride,” explains Chan
Following more than eight years of hard work adapting to new mar- dustry seems rather modest. While the capital Beijing is still very Seng Lee. Following last year’s opening up of book, newspaper and
ket conditions, the Group has today found its place in the market, important as China’s traditional printshop center, it only provides magazine retail to foreign capital in other Chinese provincial capi-
generating sales of more than 54 million Euros (approx. 66 million five of the top 100 companies. Although another of the region’s tals, these could also mature into new centers in years to come. ■
U.S. Dollars) in 2002, for example – a respectable result which earned hotspots, Tientsin, long slumbered in the shadow of Beijing, seven
the firm sixth place in the top 100 list. In contrast, private enterprise of the city’s firms are among the leading companies in China – and
still plays a minor role in Shanghai. Only in the packaging printing the trend is upward.
sector can two significant, Chinese-owned private companies be
found, namely the Zijiang Group and the Jielong Group. Altogether, At first glance, the Bohai region is an ideal location for printing op-
non-state companies and joint ventures currently account for erations. When it comes to magazine and book publishing, for ex- Chan Seng Lee, CEO of
around 30 percent of overall sales in Shanghai’s printing industry. ample, Beijing accounts for 30 percent of the total Chinese printing Heidelberg China, has the
volume in this sector. If you add the capacity of provinces such as market in his sights.
It’s a very different story in the less urbanized provinces of the Shandong, Liaoning, Tientsin and Hebei, the Bohai region has more
Yangtze Delta, Jiangsu and Zhejiang, where geographical proximity than 40 percent of the Chinese publishing market sewn up. In spite
to Shanghai has not stopped a f lourishing private printing economy of this, in 2002 the region’s largest book printer only recorded sales
developing a momentum of its own. Companies founded in the late revenues of just over 19 million Euros (approx. 23.2 million U.S. Dol-
1980s and early 1990s are characterized by their focus on regional lars). This is evidence of a dramatic gap between these companies
and municipal markets, a strategy that has brought great success. In and comparable firms from more southerly regions with a foreign
Longgang, Wenzhou district, for example, a few hundred private investment background. The main reason is that the Bohai region’s
companies on an area of around 80 square kilometers (30.88 square great political and cultural significance has thus far led to a very
miles) achieved annual sales of more than 347 million Euros (423 careful approach when it comes to reforms and initiatives for open-
million U.S. Dollars). ness, especially in the greater Beijing area. Special economic privi- Heidelberg in China:
leges of the sort long seen in the Pearl River and Yangtze deltas are
Considered as a whole, the Yangtze Delta region has evolved into the still largely absent here, leading to a lack of investor commitment Heidelberg has been active in China via its partners for almost
second most important hub on China’s printshop map, with total felt not only in the print media sector. It is no surprise, given the a half century. The national company Heidelberg China Ltd. was
production estimated to be worth around 3.9 billion Euros (approx. dearth of opportunities for other firms to break into the market, founded in 1998 with headquarters in Beijing. Branch offices
4.7 billion U.S. Dollars). These figures suggest that the Yangtze Delta that the majority of print resources in Beijing and the rest of the are located in Shanghai, Shenzen, Guangzhou and Hong Kong.
may soon be neck-and-neck with the Pearl River Delta. “The future Bohai region are still in state hands. The Shenzen site also includes the “Print Media Center”, part
The Chinese print media industry’s looks rosy,” says Robin Goettle, Marketing Manager at Heidelberg of the Print Media Academy network. Heidelberg China Ltd.
three centers are all in coastal locations. China and industry expert. “The delta is benefiting from Shanghai’s In recent times, however, more and more signs of a sea change are currently has more than 500 employees.
growing importance as an economic center and enjoys considerable being seen in Beijing. Before and after China’s accession to the
potential for growth in the printing sector.” Large multinational World Trade Organization (WTO) the conservative Beijing printing
printers such as RR Donnelly, Toppan, Lee Fung Packaging Printing market relaxed just a little, admitting Hong Kong-backed Artron

52 • Issue 251 • 2004 53

Heidelberg News • Perspectives

GERMANY

Town with a view

1872 1879 1883 1910
The year is 1879. Brothers August and Hugo Brehmer come to Leipzig to conquer a new market. With them from August Brehmer Around 50 percent of the
and Henry Renno goods produced are ex-
the USA they bring a technology that for the first time makes mass book binding feasible. Today their successors at
Heyl invent wire First Brehmer thread- ported to Great Britain,
Heidelberg Postpress are working to create indispensable standards for print finishing. This year the site is proudly binding Founding of the sealing machine with Austria, Russia, France
Brehmer brothers’ new procedure and South America
celebrating 125 years of print finishing in Leipzig.
machine works in
Leipzig Plagwitz

O
ur story begins with a steel wire gether using u-shaped steel wire staples, numbers,” says Christian Breyer, Head of the
staple and an unbeatable idea. In both of whose tips are bent over on the oth- Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG site in
Philadelphia in 1870, German im- er side of the material being bound. Leipzig. “The invention of the wire binding
migrant August Brehmer and American in- machine was to the book binding business
ventor Henry Renno Heyl develop a method At first Brehmer and Heyl only wanted to what the f latbed cylinder press and typeset-
that finally confines manual book binding produce folding cartons, but the advantages ting machine were to book printing.” As ear- of millions. August and Hugo Brehmer are Leipzig. It doesn’t take long until the com- Who”. But gloomy times are ahead for
with a needle and twine to history. The tech- of wire binding for book binding were obvi- ly as 1876, a US company introduces the first galvanized into action, and believe it’s high pany is producing 2,500 machines per year. Leipzig, world center of the polygraphics in-
nique, known as “wire binding”, is fascinat- ous. “For the first time, it was possible to ever wire bound book – the catalog for the time they conquered their homeland Ger- “The units are distributed all over Europe. dustry. The first economic slumps have al-
ingly simple. A machine binds boards to- produce books cost-effectively and in great world exhibition in Philadelphia – in a run many with the new technology. Wire binding machines are sent to India, ready been felt during the Weimar Republic.
Egypt, the countries in the La Plata region Now the National Socialists drive Leipzig’s
Explosive success. It’s almost as if the and other overseas places,” writes the other- graphics industry into the abyss. In 1944
market was waiting for the two brothers. In wise rather reserved Confederation of Ger- Leipzig is finally overtaken by the same fate
View of Leipzig with the tower of the 1879 the Brehmers establish their machine man Engineers approvingly in 1887. as so many other cities in Europe, its famous
“Neues Rathaus” (“New City Hall”) and works in Leipzig Plagwitz. The budding in- graphic quarter too succumbing to the
the dome of the Supreme Federal Court. dustrial center is at this time already Ger- “Top quality, fulfilling specific customer re- bombs that rain down.
many’s undisputed book capital, its leg- quests, continual optimization of the prod-
endary graphic quarter packed with presti- uct range – these were the success factors Under hammer and compass. Brehmer is
gious publishers and media houses. As early which irresistibly propelled the Brehmer lucky. The machine works in the suburb of
as 1881, 29 Brehmer wire binding machines machine works to a market-leading posi- Plagwitz survives the war almost undam-
are in use at Leipzig bookbinders alone. “A tion,” explains Breyer. One example of the aged. However, the city now lies in the Sovi-
girl with some degree of dexterity can learn high quality is wire binding machine no. 21, et Union’s sphere of inf luence, and the econ-
to use the machine in a few days, and is then which was introduced at the start of the omy is transformed into a planned economy.
able, depending on the nature of the work, 1920s and proved so popular that it was pro- The new Soviet-controlled system makes the
to produce four to ten times more than a duced up until 1960. The saddlestitcher, plant the “property of the people” – in oth-
hand binder,” enthuses the “Illustrated Jour- which was developed at the same time, an- er words, it is nationalized. In the GDR, the
nal of Bookbinders” of the time. ticipated today’s Heidelberg Stitchmaster, important thing is to fulfil the production
with different machine sections gathering, plan. Private companies are incorporated in-
The Brehmer machine works, which started stapling and cutting the paper sheets and to “Peoples’ Operations” (VEBs) and later in-
with 52 workers in 1879, has expanded to then automatically delivering the stapled to combinations (Kombinaten). Brehmer is
227 six years later. A new, larger factory has product. first known as VEB Falz- und Heftmaschi-
to be built as early as 1883. August and Hugo nenwerk Leipzig, then as VEB Leipziger
build on an area of 35,000 square meters At the start of the 1930s Brehmer can boast Buchbindereimaschinenwerke and finally
(41,860 square yards); the buildings are to- 135,000 machines delivered and a customer as Kombinat Polygraph Leipzig. 
day important cultural monuments in roster that reads like an industry “Who’s

54 • Issue 251 • 2004 55

Heidelberg News • Perspectives Perspectives

1942 1948 1965 1990 1991 1999 2004

Commandeered Presentation of The turning point – Brehmer, together
for war production thread sealing foundation of Breh- with the Stahl Group,
mer Buchbinderei- becomes part of
Nationalization, maschinen GmbH Heidelberg Postpress
“VEB Polygraph,
Gebrüder Brehmer” Under the management
of McCain Manufacturing. Demonstration of
New headquarter in north- the new Stitchmaster
east Leipzig ST 350 at drupa The centrally-located Marktplatz is a popular
meeting place for the residents of Leipzig.

“In spite of the planned economy, Leipzig threads, provided an almost revolutionary ter in north-east Leipzig are new. In 1991 investing in the skills of tomorrow – in the All about Leipzig
produced products fit for the global market alternative to traditional binding methods. McCain Manufacturing Corp. from Chicago training and education opportunities on of-
which were popular with customers and “Thread sealing combines the durability of acquires the company, which is then sold to fer to our management trainees,” adds Dr. Leipzig (population 495,000) received
were highly valued,” says Stephan Plenz, thread-stitching with the low production folding machine manufacturer Stahl GmbH Rautert. city status in 1165 and is, alongside
Head of Postpress at Heidelberg. The costs of perfect binding,” says Plenz. & Co. KG Ludwigsburg in 1994. At the New Dresden, one of the main cities of
Brehmer brothers’ successors presented the Year 1998/99, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen 280 staff currently work in Leipzig designing Saxony, Germany. The city boasts the
Saddlestitcher 735 at the 1965 Leipzig spring Heidelberg Postpress. The next change AG acquires Stahl, taking charge of the and manufacturing saddlestitchers, thread world’s oldest trade fair, and is also
trade show, a model featuring complete came in 1990, with the end of the GDR also Leipzig site in the process. “The city is a cen- sealing machines and perfect binders. Featur- home to Europe’s most imposing monu-
workf lows capable of producing 10,000 marking the end of Kombinat Polygraph ter for print finishing within the Heidelberg ing state-of-the-art technology demonstrated ment, the Monument of the Battle of the
brochures per hour. In addition, the newly- when the nationalized VEB became a private Group,” explains Dr. Jürgen Rautert, mem- at drupa 2004, the Stitchmaster ST 350 is set Nations. The monument, which also
developed thread sealing machines, which GmbH. While the name “Brehmer Buch- ber of the Heidelberg Management Board, to continue the success of Brehmer sad- serves as Leipzig’s emblem, commemo-
involved signatures being stitched using sta- bindereimaschinen” resonates with old tra- responsible for engineering and manufac- dlestitchers and ensure the site excellent rates the victory of allied European
ples made of special semi-thermoplastic ditions, the owners and company headquar- turing. “Leipzig is also a place where we are prospects for the future in its 125th year. ■ troops over the French troops of the
Emperor Napoleon at the gates of the
city in 1813. Leipzig was long Germany’s
book capital. The city’s first book printer
was established as early as 1479. Today
Leipzig is a modern university city
featuring numerous cultural events,
famous shopping galleries and many
bars and trendy cafes offering much
more than “Leipziger Allerlei” – a color-
ful vegetable dish traditionally eaten
with crawfish tails and drizzled with
crawfish butter. The dish is an ideal
accompaniment to roast veal or pork,
steaks and schnitzels. Boiled potatoes
are also served as a side-dish.
The Stitchmaster ST 350, demonstrated
at drupa 2004. Its market introduction is
planned for November 2004.

56 • Issue 251 • 2004 57

Heidelberg News • Perspectives Perspectives

INSURANCE

Preventing
downtimes Jim McVicar’s is no isolated case either. Every day, printshops are fixed costs incurred when no printing is taking place are covered,
forced to stop work temporarily because of fire, f loods or earth- however. The amount of downtime insured is frequently limited
quakes. Printshop managers need to take precautions against these and is often combined with insurance for damage by natural forces
risks in good time, because most printshops have fixed deadlines (storm, f lood, earthquake, fire).
for jobs. Customers often have no leeway for downtimes or missed
A lot can happen to a printing press during its long lifetime. Whether fire deadlines. If the press breaks down and repairs cannot be made All risk policies – the ideal insurance protection. For press in-
quickly, the job usually goes to another printshop. This means lost surance purposes, a distinction is made between general machine
damage, water damage or technical defects are to blame – the result is
orders on top of the damage incurred. downtime (damage to property) and a mechanical breakdown (de-
always the same. Presses stand idle and customers become angry. In sign error, maintenance error, loose screw, etc.). For machines that
How risk management can help. Risk management is the key to are covered by financing (credit, rental, leasing), a residual debt pol-
the worst cases, orders may be lost with serious financial consequences
all-round protection. It is the best way to ensure the most efficient icy or undercover protection should be taken out.
for the printshop. Appropriate insurance protection, sensible precautions precautions at a reasonable cost. There are three types of risk man-
agement. Firstly, there are basic measures the company itself can Some insurers prove less than accommodating in the event of an ac-
and a rapid response from the manufacturer’s service department saves
take to prevent disasters or reduce their effects. These include struc- tual claim. As the McVicar case shows, not every company that be-
on costs and secures the future of the printshop. tural safety measures such as fire-proof walls, efficient fire extin- lieves itself to be adequately insured actually receives any money
guishers and alarm systems, sprinkler systems, staff training and when it makes a claim. It is not easy to find the right insurance pol-
fire-extinguisher training with the local fire service. Although icy either. Deregulated markets, such as those within the European
these measures cost money, the cost is often offset by cheaper in- Union, have standards, but even here, it pays to look at the small
surance premiums. The second type of risk management is to en- print. In the UK, insurance policies are generally purchased through
sure that your IT equipment, presses, cutters and folders come from brokers who advise on the best way to draw up the contract. In Latin

I
t was two security guards who discovered the fire at the iday in the interim and waited for the insurance money. But if we a reliable manufacturer. High-quality machines, fast delivery of American and South American countries like Mexico and Brazil, in-
McVicar printshop in Glasgow, Scotland just before midnight. had done that, McVicar Printers and Publishers wouldn’t exist any spare parts and professional worldwide service, such as Heidelberg surance has to be bought locally. In this case, it is advisable to con-
The fire had started in an AC generator in one of the company’s more.” This was the advice the insurers gave him. Instead of follow- provides, for instance, are crucial. In the event of damage, the man- sult a good broker or networked insurer.
trucks at around 8.00 p.m. and quickly spread to the printroom ing it, the employees began clearing up one side of the printshop ufacturer helps with replacement machines and spare parts. The
housing 70 tons of paper and the printing presses. With tempera- while the other side was still smoldering. The Heidelberg parts that printshop does not then lose any customers and the damage is kept The same applies to Asia, with the exception of the deregulated
tures around 425° Celsius (797° F), cables and telephones melted had been ordered arrived just one day after the fire, as did the ser- within certain limits. The third type of risk management is insur- Japanese market. In Malaysia, Thailand or China, the market is
and steel girders collapsed. The Ti 52 buckle folder and Polar 78 vice engineers who performed all the necessary repairs to the press- ance to provide the company with a financial “cushion” should any strongly regulated. “The special characteristics of the market make
cutter were completely destroyed. A Heidelberg Cylinder press and es. Jim McVicar has never received a single penny from the insurers damage occur. it all the more important to use the international expertise of an ex-
one- and two-color GTO presses also sustained damage. “The fire to cover the cost of the damage. They claimed that the printshop was perienced expert. This is the only way to guarantee that a policy
was very unusual because it didn’t produce any smoke,” explained not adequately covered. Jim McVicar had assumed that he was fully Insurers are not the answer to everything. Companies need to bought through local insurance companies meets the standards ex-
Jim McVicar, Managing Director of the Glasgow printshop. covered for interruptions to production, but the insurers had other have the right insurance for buildings housing “commercial and pected in industrialized nations,” says Dieter Schimana. Heidelberg’s
ideas. So there was nothing left for him to do but cover all the costs technical equipment and stock such as process and production ma- insurance expert, Gerhard Bugla, recommends an all-risk policy.
In one way, Jim McVicar was lucky. After 37 fire fighters and six fire himself. After the fire, he changed to another insurer immediately. terials and end products”, advises Dieter Schimana from global in- This insures everything that is not expressly excluded. “A good all-
engines had spent a total of six hours putting the fire out, the However, he has initiated legal proceedings against his former in- surance broker MARSH, which also works with Heidelberg. Addi- risk policy has no or very few exclusions,” he says.
printshop was up and running again two days later. The damage surer, who has still not paid anything two years after the fire. De- tional insurance for interruptions to production covers lost sales
came to a total of £680,000 sterling*. However, he was not so lucky spite everything, Jim McVicar is proud of what he, his employees less any variable costs saved for the duration of the repair. This Keeping downtimes down. While companies can insure against
with his insurance, and is still waiting for his money to this day. and the Heidelberg service department achieved together to get the means that when no printing is taking place and no ink or paper is downtime, even the best insurance policy is of little use if machines
“What we should have done was lock the doors and wait till all the printshop up and running again in double-quick time. “A winner being used, these costs cannot be reimbursed by an insurance com- are off line for a long time. In most cases, this puts the printer out of
investigations were over. We should have sent our employees on hol- never gives up!” is his final word on the subject. pany as part of a policy covering interruptions to production. The business. Any customers that have to be sent to a competitor may 

* £680,000 sterling = approx. 1,020,000 Euros = approx. 1,252,000 U.S. Dollars

58 • Issue 251 • 2004 59
Heidelberg News • Perspectives Perspectives

“Insurance policies are always just an additional protection”

“From a business point of view, insurance is an
indispensable means of protecting assets,” explains
Gerhard Bugla in an interview on the role of
insurance policies for customers of Heidelberger

well be lost forever. “That’s why we always regard insurance, Druckmaschinen AG. “But to keep operations up
no matter what type, as the company’s last line of defense,”
and running, companies must take a wider view
says Gerhard Bugla.
of their business responsibility.”
In the McVicar case, Heidelberg also showed itself ready to
step in fast and provide help when needed. “Nowadays, we
can supply any spare part to anywhere in the world within
24 hours,” explains Bugla. Heidelberg also has a hotline,

F
emergency plans, address lists, an excellent logistics system ather of four, Gerhard Bugla (48), a HN: And where do I find the right insur- not only offer the right product quality, we tomers like what they find there, it’s too
and spare parts stores in key areas of the globe. The quality fully-qualified lawyer, has been Head ance? also provide the right service in the event of late. By that stage it doesn’t really matter if
of Heidelberg presses, combined with reliable delivery and of Corporate Insurance since 1998 G. Bugla: We commission experts – includ- damage. Customers must be helped, because insurance settles the claim.
service, is an important step on the road to maximizing pro- and is also Managing Director of Heidel- ing brokers and network insurers from our they are the heart and soul of our business.
tection. Insurance policies round off this protection. berg’s own insurance broker “Print-Asseku- partner companies – to investigate the pos- HN: How can companies protect them-
ranz Vers. Verm. GmbH”. Bugla has earlier sibilities of insuring locally and find out HN: How should uninsurable risks – so- selves against claims of recourse, for
Precautions are also recommended for both large and small worked in international industrial insur- which insurance policies provide the most called exclusions – be dealt with? example if an important daily newspa-
enterprises. An efficient sprinkler system, for example, can ance for ABB (Mannheim) and BASF (Lud- cost-effective solution for the customer. G. Bugla: Insurance contracts often contain per is not delivered on time?
limit damage and prevent production from coming to a wigshafen). a whole raft of exclusions. There’s nothing G. Bugla: Such scenarios quickly expose the
standstill. Partner agreements ensure that colleagues can HN: The last thing customers want to malicious in this, it is just second nature to limitations of insurance policies. For exam-
take on jobs at short notice. Good insurance partners pro- HN: Mr. Bugla, what protection should think about when they buy a press is insurers. Insurers do not want to take away ple, there’s no way of managing the risk of
vide support in the form of fire protection visits and make printshops have? damage, but how does Heidelberg help printers’ own responsibility for their busi- advertisers claiming compensation for the
suggestions for improvements to prevent or limit any future G. Bugla: Safety always comes before insur- if something does happen? ness. They just want to cover the area of non- non-appearance of important advertise-
damage. “This often just involves organizational or struc- ance. This means the operation must be G. Bugla: This process has to start before the calculable damage, which includes running ments. Some aspects of liability can certain-
tural changes such as moving the paper and ink stores to a equipped for safety. We place great value on purchase is made. Before buying a press, costs, for example. ly be excluded in legally binding form in e.g.
different location or separating them from the printroom high operational safety – after all, what customers should not only focus on the general terms and conditions of business. It
with fire-proof walls. These are relatively inexpensive alter- good is the best insurance in the world if the price alone, they should also examine the This is also a question of money. Printers again comes down to the company’s own re-
natives when you compare them with the cost that damage printer is out of business? I therefore con- manufacturer’s reliability of delivery and have to pay for all the forms of cover they re- sponsibility. Printers must ask themselves
would incur,” says Bugla. sider certain safety standards indispensable. service. If you look at a product’s lifetime – quire. The insights gained from the terror whether they want to devote a large portion
As a general rule both material damage and our products have a service life of a decade attacks in the USA on September 11, 2001 of their business profits to insurance. This
If the probability of fire damage is reduced, the policy and consequential damage can be kept to a min- and upwards – then customers of course have led to more expensive premiums. makes sensible risk management for all
premiums become less expensive. He concludes: “If a com- imum by means of such precautions. How- have a whole other set of expectations when These assaults made it clear that business in- eventualities more important than ever. ■
pany can go for long spells without making a claim, then the ever, if damage does occur, it is important to it comes to service. That’s why we are a man- terruption damage can be considerably
investment in safety soon pays off.” ■ be properly insured. ufacturer that works hard to build good cus- higher than actual material damage.
tomer relations. It’s like in a good marriage
– the strength of the bond only becomes ap- It’s worth repeating – insurance is no use to
parent if you can successfully negotiate both customers if they can’t resume production
the highs and lows together. For me, that is in time. In today’s market, orders are quick-
the strength of Heidelberg in a nutshell. We ly re-routed to the competition. And if cus-

60 • Issue 251 • 2004 61

Heidelberg News • Service

Fax, write or E-mail … and the IMPRINT

Dates and tradeshows Heidelberg News will be on its way!
© Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG,
Issue 251, 2004

Publisher
You can subscribe to the next issues of Heidelberg News for your customers and/or Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
Kurfürsten-Anlage 52-60
staff, or order additional copies. Just copy this form, complete it and send it to: 69115 Heidelberg
Germany
www.heidelberg.com
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG Adriana Nuneva, Senior Vice President – Global Marketing
Heidelberg News (PMA, 10. OG)
Project team, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
Kurfürsten-Anlage 52-60 E-mail: [email protected]
■ European dates 69115 Heidelberg
Matthias Tritsch, Project Management
France: Emballage GERMANY Tel: 0049-(0)-62 21-92 -45 70
International tradeshow for packaging and Fax: 0049-(0)-62 21-92-50 42 Fax: 0049-(0)-62 21-92 -49 49
E-mail: [email protected]
packaging technologies. The tradeshow will E-mail: [email protected]
Participants from eight countries met and enjoyed a professional exchange of ideas also cover printing presses and technolo- Dietmar Seidel, Editorial Management
E-mail: [email protected]
at the latest PMA Summer University in Heidelberg. gies for packaging printing.
Venue: Paris, France Heidelberg News Service Stefanie Woytowitz, Solutions Editor
E-mail: [email protected]
Dates: November 22-26, 2004
Our dates and tradeshows diary contains menu. The practice-oriented seminar is Contact: Valérie Queffelec Send additional copies of the current issue to: Editorial advisory board,
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
information about important events in the aimed at decision-makers in the manage- Phone: 0033-(0)-14 96 85 44 44 In future, please send copies to: Daniela Bethonico (Latin America), Dominique Bouffard
print media industry. You can find out fur- ment and production sectors of print media E-mail: [email protected] (France), Robert Crooker (Business Trends), Christopher
Curran (USA), Manuela Deufel (Germany / Switzerland),
ther details about the individual events at operations with at least three years of pro- Internet: www.emballageweb.com German English French Spanish Irene Duffy (UK), Brian Ellis (Canada), Jasmine Ho (Asia
the Internet addresses provided or from the fessional experience. The venue is the Dou- Pacific), Karl Kowalczyk (Applications), Andreas Lang
(Product Line Management), Henriette Larsen (Nordics),
contacts at the appropriate event organizer. ble Tree Surfcomber Hotel in South Beach. France: Intergraphic Paris Rainer Manderbach (Eastern Europe / Asia), Hans-Dieter
Venue: Miami, Florida, USA Tradeshow for everyone involved in the Company/department: Siegfried (Communications), Volker Trapmann (Western
Europe / Middle East / Africa)
Dates: February 6-11, 2005 graphics industry with exhibitors from the
■ North American dates Contact: Martina Brand, design, multimedia and creative design Function: Editorial office
SIGNUM public relations GmbH, Mannheim, Germany
USA: GraphExpo Print Media Academy sectors. Jürgen Ströbele, Editor-in-Chief
With more than 40,000 professional visi- Phone: 0049-(0)-6221-92 49 06 Venue: Paris, France Title: E-mail: [email protected]
tors, GraphExpo in Chicago is one of the Fax: 0049-(0)-6221-92 49 29 Dates: January 12-14, 2005 Design and production
most important global tradeshows in the E-mail: [email protected] Contact: Golding Name: SIGNUM communication GmbH, Mannheim, Germany
Christian Westenhöfer, Project Management
printing industry, and the USA’s most im- Internet: www.print-media-academy.com Phone: 0033-(0)-1 41 4041 40 E-mail: [email protected]
portant national tradeshow for prepress, Fax: 0033-(0)-1 42 70 96 83 Address: www.signum-web.de
printing, publishing and finishing techno- ■ Asian dates E-mail: [email protected] Printing
logies. China: ICIF 2004 International Cultural Internet: www.intergraphic.cc Printed in Germany
Venue: Chicago, Illinois, USA Industry Fair Production
Dates: October 10–13, 2004 China’s first international tradeshow for the Italy: Medprint Platemaking: CtP
Printing: Speedmaster SM 102
Contact: Graphic Arts Show Company, Inc. culture industry, including more than 500 The Mediterranean region’s most important Finishing: Stahlfolder
Phone: 001-703-264-72 00 international companies from the TV, audio, tradeshow for printing and publishing tech- Phone: Fonts: Heidelberg Gothic, Heidelberg Antiqua
Fax: 001-703-620-91 87 video and publishing sectors. nologies. Prepress, printing, publishing and Cover photo
E-mail: [email protected] Venue: Shenzen, PR China paper processing are represented. E-mail: Peter Ganter, Faller Druck GmbH,
Waldkirch, Germany
Internet: www.graphexpo.gasc.org Dates: November 18-22, 2004 Venue: Naples, Italy
Contact: Shenzen International Cultural Dates: October 21-24, 2004 The articles’ content does not necessarily express
the opinions of the publisher.
USA: PMA Winter University 2005 Industry Conference Ltd. Contact: Centrexpo Spa I am particularly interested in the following subjects: All rights reserved.
The next Winter University of the Print Phone: 0086-755-88 31 00 28 Phone: 0039-(0)-23 19 10 91 Copying or electronic distribution only with the
publisher’s permission.
Media Academy takes place in Miami, USA. Fax: 0086-755-88 31 00 08 Fax: 0039-(0)-2 34 16 77
Prestigious speakers will explore such E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected]
themes as how printing companies can Internet: www.szicif.com Internet: www.medprint.it
identify which trends are crucial for their
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62 • Issue 251 • 2004 63

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Printing: the art of fueling paper with power. Passion for Print.