KENNESAW, Ga., May 17, 2005 – Printwell Printing, a full-color commercial printer and bindery located in Taylor, Mich., announced today that production has increased more than 40 percent since it installed the first Heidelberg Speedbander 604 automated bander with extended delivery in the United States. “We’ve already seen amazing results from the new equipment,” said Paul Borg, owner. “We are running the TD 78 folder and the Speedbander together and so far, we are averaging 120,000 pieces per hour on runs of millions of booklets and small publications. A project that used to take us three to four days now takes us a day and a half. In addition, our overall productivity has increased significantly and overtime is down.” Borg decided to install the Speedbander 604 due to a request from a customer for paper banding rather than rubber banding. He purchased the 604 version of the Speedbander with extended delivery to incorporate further automation into the bindery. The Speedbander 604 ensures reliable, smooth production with easy operation and minimum makeready times for job changes, allowing Printwell to boost its throughput in the finishing phase. This fast, automatic pack delivery accepts both folded sheets and stitched products, stacks and sleeve-wraps the packs and delivers them at an ergonomic working height. The Speedbander 604 outputs as many as 2,400 packs per hour in four-up. With this automatic bander at the end of the process chain, saddle-stitchers and folders can run at maximum capacity, eliminating bottlenecks and accelerating the entire finishing process. With its flexibility and wide range of finishing applications, the Speedbander ensures efficient, trouble-free production. A broad selection of formats is supported ranging from 100 x 75 mm (3.93 x 2.95”) to a maximum of 940 x 235 mm (37.01 x 9.25”). The compressed packs can be anywhere from 25 to 120 mm (0.98 x 4.72”) in height. “Printers are focusing more on the finishing operations of their businesses and recognize that speed and accuracy are crucial to meeting deadlines and preventing bottlenecks, particularly in the case of long or very long runs,” said Larry Tanowitz, senior vice president, finishing, Heidelberg USA. “The Speedbander is the perfect fit for growing print shops like Printwell with demanding finishing needs. It supports Heidelberg’s goal to develop solutions that drive efficiency and profit for our customers.” In addition to the Speedbander 604, Borg updated other areas of the bindery. Printwell recently added a TD 78 Stahlfolder, a TH 82 Stahlfolder and its second ST 400 Stitchmaster. Borg reports that the high level of automation on the stitcher combined with the increased speed of his arsenal of folders has improved the quality of work and contributed to a more efficient production process. Printwell has been increasing business by 20 to 25 percent a year, but Borg said that with the addition of the new bindery equipment, he expects to exceed projections in 2005. “Increased efficiencies translate into money and shops without those efficiencies will go out of business, especially in today’s economy,” said Borg. “With the new bindery equipment from Heidelberg, our efficiencies with specific projects, particularly 2.5 x 4 books, have more than doubled. Each piece of equipment that we’ve installed is more than worth its price.” Printwell produces general commercial work including marketing materials, catalogs, price lists, flyers, brochures, directories, newsletters, publication magazines, periodicals, direct mail pieces, inserts and posters, for a varied national client base. Now, with the new finishing equipment, the company plans to pursue customers who need bill inserts.