Franklin, WI-based folding carton converter Proteus Packaging recently completed installation of a 7-color Speedmaster XL 105 with Heidelberg Logistics in its all-Heidelberg pressroom. 
 
Heidelberg’s 40” flagship press joins a 57” 6-color Speedmaster 145 XL VLF press installed in 2009. Both presses receive postpress support from a Dymatrix 145 die cutter and a Diana 115X folder-gluer with Diana Packer from Heidelberg.
 
“We’ve become an all-Heidelberg shop,” said executive vice president and COO Tim Wayman. “We used to have a pair of 50” presses from another manufacturer, then we got rid of one when we went to the 57” format with our Speedmaster XL 145. That press is still our workhorse, but with the addition of the XL 105, we gain the built-in flexibility to offer our customers both large- and small-format work.”
 
For material logistics, the new Speedmaster XL 105 is fitted with a fully integrated system developed to streamline the automated material workflow to the press. The system consists primarily of a modular roller conveyor system and nonstop automatic pile-changing system in the Preset Plus feeder and delivery resulting in fewer pallet changes, reduced production downtime, and more flexible staffing. “It eats up loads like mad,” Wayman confirmed. 
 
More Uptime, Less Waste
With the addition of Prinect Inpress Control to monitor color and register on-the-fly at any speed, the Speedmaster XL 105 makes ready and achieves color quickly at the full-rated speed of 18,000 sph, Wayman said. Even accounting for irregularities inherent in the 10-36 pt. board the company runs almost exclusively, “We produce considerably less waste with the XL 105 than had we continued to use our 50” press for smaller jobs,” he concluded.
 
Having trained intensively on an XL 105 at Heidelberg’s North American Print and Packaging Technology Center while preparing to run the company’s Speedmaster XL 145 XL VLF press, operators at Proteus were largely up to speed when the company’s own XL 105 took its place in the Franklin, WI plant, enabling the company to move quickly into live production. As for maintenance and support, Heidelberg’s Systemservice 36plus service package far exceeds the industry standard and is “hands-down one of the best things Heidelberg has ever done,” Wayman said, referring to the 36-month added value of repair services, parts, Web-based remote service and 24/7 expert access Heidelberg includes with the sale of the press. “It was an absolutely decisive factor in our choice of the XL 105,” he added. 
 
Introduced to the market in 2004, Heidelberg’s game-changing Speedmaster XL 105 press platform is designed for extensive presetting and boasts running speeds to 18,000 sph. The innovative Prinect Press Center enables all tasks—from job preparation and press setup to print sheet measurement and evaluation—to be accomplished faster, more accurately, and with greater reliability than ever before. Features include Intellistart, a setup program that streamlines and standardizes makeready procedures from operator to operator and shift to shift, as well as a high-definition LCD Wallscreen that gives users a complete overview of all press processes, including color results. All this, plus a 1” wider sheet size, gives the Speedmaster XL 105 a 25 to 30 percent productivity advantage in the 40/41” market.