Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) is set to begin series production of its Speedmaster XL 105 sheetfed offset press at its Wiesloch site from April 2005. The press was unveiled for the first time at drupa 2004 in Dusseldorf and initial installations with beta-test customers have all had positive outcomes. The press is now ready to be shipped worldwide and orders will be taken from Europe, the USA and Asia. The press is geared to industrialized printshops in the commercial and packaging sectors that value its high level of automation and efficient operation. The Speedmaster XL 105 is designed for production speeds of 18,000 sheets per hour and covers a paper format of 75 cm x 105 cm (29.53 x 41.34 in). "The XL 105 boosts productivity levels by 30 percent. For customers in this market segment, this is an incredibly good argument for investing," says Dr. Jürgen Rautert, Management Board member for Engineering and Manufacturing at Heidelberg. The Speedmaster XL 105 is a completely new platform development from Heidelberg that extends the existing product portfolio in 70 x 100 cm (27.56 x 39.37 in) format. The Speedmaster XL 105 and Speedmaster SM/CD 102 are assembled in a hall with a total surface area of 72,000 m2, which is roughly the size of nine soccer fields. A total of more than 200 employees work in the pre-assembly, printing unit assembly and final assembly sections for the XL 105. A press with five printing units and one coating unit weighs around 63 tons. A printing unit is made up of over 3,000 individual components and weighs over seven tons. The first series-produced Speedmaster XL 105 is being shipped to the Heidelberg Austria Print Media Center to demonstrate its quality and cost-effectiveness to interested customers. Customer demonstrations with 20 to 30 participants have already been taking place in Wiesloch weekly since the end of 2004. From May 2005 onward, two presses will be available in the Print Media Center in Heidelberg for demonstration purposes. "Feedback from customers confirms the performance potential of the XL 105," says Rautert. "This press really hits the mark and additional functions will only add to its versatility."