Kennesaw, GA - Ewing Printing Company, a general commercial printer in Vincennes, IN is the proud owner of a new, fully automated Speedmaster XL 75 from Heidelberg, installed in March in the company's newly expanded facility. According to company president Jim Zeigler, the company badly needed to upgrade its pressroom capacity, previously represented by a pair of aging Speedmaster SM 72 presses, neither of which offered automated features that now come standard on newer models.
 
"The name of the game these days is, 'I need it tomorrow'," Zeigler said. "On top of that, we literally have to be all things to all people. We print it and mail it! That's easier with the aid of the automated features on the new XL 75, which give us the control to be able to meet our customers' demands. It's enabled us to run to GATF standards, and it's a cleaner, nicer press to run. Going from no automation to full automation in one fell swoop means we're still learning about the capabilities of the XL 75. We already appreciate that it prints faster and more efficiently, and we expect our facility with the press-and our productivity-to improve even more over the next few months."
 
The Speedmaster XL 75 also has improved Ewing's scheduling. "Where we used to run by size because we didn't want to set up the press again, now we just key in the sheet size and are off to the races," Zeigler said. In addition, the firm can print thicker board stock than it used to, giving it the option of accepting jobs it used to avoid for lack of substrate flexibility on the company's older presses. Zeigler greatly enjoys the automated wash-up features of the new press, adding, "The press is three times more efficient on the wash-up because everything is metered automatically."
 
In Ewing's pressroom, the Speedmaster XL 75 joins the company's remaining Speedmaster 72 6-color with UV, two Printmaster QM 46 2-color presses, and a pair of Heidelberg KSBG and KSBA letterpresses as well as two windmills, which Ewing converted into die cutters. The bindery hosts a raft of Heidelberg postpress equipment, including multiple POLAR cutters and Stahlfolders and an Stahl ST-90 Collator-Stitcher-Trimmer. The company has also changed to Heidelberg Saphira ink products with the introduction of the XL 75.
 
Established in 1918 and with 20 employees, Ewing Printing serves a regional client base made up primarily of commercial and agricultural concerns within 200 miles of Vincennes.