KENNESAW, Ga., September 26, 2006 - Heidelberg will introduce its Stitchmaster ST 450 saddlestitcher to the North American market at Heidelberg booth #1200 at Graph Expo 2006. The new saddlestitcher is designed to meet market needs, fusing high performance with reliable quality at speeds up to 14,000 cycles per hour. "The Stitchmaster ST 450 opens up new possibilities for saddlestitching by delivering greater productivity, increased flexibility and the ability to handle a broad range of applications," said Ralph Pasquariello, vice president, Postpress Product Management. "The combination of high speed and quick, automated makereadies enables customers to produce a wide variety of high-quality short- and long-run jobs economically, while increasing net production by up to 20 percent." Customizable Features Instead of a fixed feeder configuration, mobile feeders equipped with servo drives now make it easy to work with signatures. Because they can be placed on either side of the gathering chain and adjusted as needed, feeders can be quickly reconfigured to meet the specific requirements of each job. The ST 450 can process untrimmed paper formats from 3.35 x 5.04" up to 12.60 x 18.90" at a maximum thickness of 12 millimeters. It also can process A6 (4 x 6") landscape pages in single sheet mode and is customizable for particular products and special customer requirements. The ST 450's compensating stacker can be pre-set to each job's format to speed makeready, even for small or special formats, multiple-up and difficult products. This ensures reliable delivery without reducing production speed. The wear-resistant trimmer boosts the ST 450's ability to produce multiple ups and integrate hole punches with minimal extra makeready. Many available options extend the wide range of applications. For example, one or more sample gluers can be deployed for applying booklets, cards, merchandise or CDs. A stream feeder permits continuous replenishing of horizontal sheet feeders while ensuring a nearly constant pile height. Additional features include: - Four back stops with sheet guides and two conveyor belts to ensure reliable positioning of signatures; - A larger-diameter takeoff drum to reduce bending of signatures for more stable transfer; - Separating suckers that are individually supplied with vacuum, such that if the vacuum for one ever fails, it will not affect the others. If a signature can't be opened, it is ejected without halting the machine. - New, low-wear stitching heads with reduced spacing, allowing small-format product spines to be stapled twice. - Outside-adjustable grippers and signature guide bars for reduced setup time; - New saddle chain guide for smooth production in the stitching unit; - New lower knife system; - Touch-screen operation with improved graphical user interface. Intelligent and Future-Safe From job planning and preparation to job costing, the Stitchmaster ST 450 is seamlessly integrated in the Prinect workflow from Heidelberg. The ST 450's JDF-capable control system accepts presetting data from prepress and makes it available to the entire production line. After a product's dimensions have been entered, the machine automatically sets itself: the feeders, the stitcher, the trimmer infeed, the trimmer and the compensating stacker all automatically travel to the right positions for the job simultaneously. The gathering chain is automatically synchronized with the stitcher, and the feeders with the chain. In the stitcher, the wire feed length is adjusted to the product's thickness, eliminating the need for time-consuming manual adjustment. For repeat jobs, stored data is easy to retrieve using a job manager. Users who also select Heidelberg's multi-stage, Web-based remote service option in addition to regular maintenance on the ST 450 will enjoy the peace of mind that comes from knowing that potential problems will be detected and corrected before they result in machine downtime. The Stitchmaster ST 450 will be available in fall 2006. Show attendees can view the Stitchmaster ST 450 saddlestitcher in the Heidelberg booth #1200 at Graph Expo 2006, which is being held in McCormick Place in Chicago on Oct. 15-18.