NAPERVILLE, Ill.--May 20, 2004-- Solar Communications, Inc., a marketing solutions and production services provider including print, packaging & mailing services and Heidelberg USA, Inc., the world's leading equipment supplier to the print media industry, announce that Solar has recently installed a new 10 color Heidelberg Speedmaster SM 102. With the addition of this highly, automated 40" sheet-fed press system, Solar expands its printing capabilities to offer greater customization of printing solutions that improve cost-efficiency of shorter runs, allowing increased versioning and personalization of marketing products. "As a premier marketing and production services provider, Solar prides itself on integrating complete solutions that produce outstanding direct marketing products," said Frank Hudetz, CEO of Solar Communications. "For our customers, Heidelberg's Speedmaster SM 102 is an excellent addition to our printing portfolio that will enhance flexibility, productivity and the quality of all of their printed pieces." "Heidelberg is focused on providing cutting-edge technologies that strategically automate the print process for greater productivity, and we are thrilled to see that high-quality operations like Solar Communications have embraced the Speedmaster system," said Niels M. Winther, President of Heidelberg USA. Designed for optimum quality and extreme precision all the way down to the smallest detail, the Speedmaster system offers Solar's customers a host of special features that serve to improve quality with reliable production throughout the pressrun. The Speedmaster system provides a state-of-the-art digital operations center that controls all functions and minimizes errors from an easy to understand, soft-touch press display panel. "Heidelberg designed the Speedmaster SM 102 to help high-quality printers invest in unique one-pass productivity and operating efficiency that monitors and tracks production and cost data, furthering business success in any economic environment," said Steen Jensen, Senior Vice President of Marketing for Heidelberg Sheetfed and Prepress operations. In addition to Heidelberg's unmatched online customer service and troubleshooting capabilities, the Speedmaster system offers Solar's customers a number of competitive advantages and benefits including: -- Printing on both sides of the sheet in a single pass at speeds up to 13,000 sheets per hour for consistent productivity -- Significantly reduced make-ready times -- Direct programming of production steps networked throughout the print shop -- Internal account storage functions which allow user to manage several thousand print jobs -- Extremely reliable sheet travel over a wide array of different stocks, sheet sizes and paper weights -- Complete image control integrated into the overall production process to ensure quality and significantly reduce costs "The Speedmaster system is now fully integrated into Solar's operations, giving our customers another tool to employ in their marketing efforts," said Hudetz.