Kennesaw, Ga. -- For Philipp Lithographing Co., an industry leader in large-format printing located in Grafton, Wis., size definitely matters. The company recently replaced its aging Heidelberg Speedmaster CD 102 40” press with a 6-color Speedmaster XL 105, enabling the company to run sheet sizes up to 29.53” x 41.34” (as opposed to the 28x40” maximum sheet size on the CD 102), an enhancement that is proving to be of significant benefit to the company. According to Peter Buening, President and CEO of Philipp Litho, “It’s not always about running more multiple-ups, but the fact that we often receive a form that is too large for a 40” press but too small to run efficiently on our 64” machine. When the need arises, we can run the XL 105 to capacity, rather than underutilizing the larger press.”
 
Philipp, however, is enjoying not only the benefit of the larger sheet sizes that the new press can accommodate, but also the vast array of new features this press offers. Buening notes that “the XL 105 is a great addition to [Philipp’s] pressroom for many reasons,” explaining that the XL 105 (with Instant Gate, DryStar Advanced, Color Assistant and Prinect Prepress Interface) has provided Philipp with upgraded, automated features the CD 102 lacked, such as presetting of the ink fountain keys, fully automatic plate-changing, and many built-in quality control features (including the ability to monitor LAB readings). Buening adds that the XL 105’s faster running speed has definitely proven to be a “huge help.”
 
According to Buening, Philipp Litho operates the XL 105 across two shifts at around 17,000 sph for most kinds of work, and has already logged one-and-a-half million impressions in its first full month of operation. “The XL 105 brings so many advanced features and adds so many efficiencies to our pressroom,” Buening said. “The press has been up and running for just over a month and we already have realized tremendous savings in makeready time, running speeds and vast improvements in color management that keeps the color consistent across the sheet. The XL 105 also provides excellent data management and shop floor data collection.” The company protects its high-tech workhorse with Heidelberg’s comprehensive 3-year, Systemservice36 maintenance contract, which Buening termed a “huge plus” for press owners. With 55 employees, Philipp Litho specializes in point-of-purchase display materials from header cards to life-sized, stand-up figures, as well as high-quality printing of corrugated packaging and product labels. The company serves a diverse customer base located across the United States.