Kennesaw, Ga. – With Hal Leonard‘s continued growth, the company upgraded their prepress and sheetfed equipment to match their customers’ needs. The installation of the Speedmaster SX 102-2P with “Push to Stop” technology alongside the Suprasetter A 106 from Heidelberg will allow Hal Leonard to increase productivity and efficiency through its entire print shop.

30% Increase in Productivity with Speedmaster SX 102 2-P
Being the world’s largest music print publisher, Hal Leonard located in Winona, Minnesota needed an industry-leading press to keep up with the high demands of its customers. With the Speedmaster SX 102-2P with “Push to Stop” technology, Hal Leonard is able to print and perfect up to 14,000 sheets per hour. The perfecting technology on the press ensures consistently high-quality at incredible sheet travel times, even with very thin substrates.

“We’ve only had the press for a few months, but we’ve already seen a dramatic impact in having the press in our print shop,” said Brent Halverson, Vice President of Manufacturing. “It’s about 30% more efficient than our previous press.”

Hal Leonard is built on the foundation of a full Prinect workflow, which has allowed them to be equipped with Push-to-Stop technology on their press. Thanks to the Push-to-Stop technology, the Speedmaster’s jobs are autonomously changed over without operator intervention and will continue to print until the operator interrupts or until Intellistart 2 informs the operator of the next steps when action is required. The Push-to-Stop technology is only possible with Intellistart 2, a new unique integrated software system for effective job preparation. This software system reduces the number of operating steps during a job change and enables all operators to achieve the same results.

“When we first saw the Push-to-Stop technology, we were completely amazed,” said Halverson. “Our Operations Managers and I came back from seeing it, and we couldn’t stop talking about it. The automation is a game changer.”

Suprasetter A 106 Partners Alongside the High Speeds of Speedmaster SX 102
Hal Leonard knew that if it was going to upgrade its sheetfed department that it would need a new CtP device to work alongside it. The Suprasetter A 106 was the perfect option to keep up with the quick speeds of the SX 102.

“We had an older CtP device that had lasted us for a long time, but it was important that if we were installing a top-notch press that we wouldn’t slow the press down with older prepress technology,” said Halverson. “We went from making about 20 plates an hour to now making about 38 plates an hour, and we expect to continue to grow.”

The Suprasetter A 106 includes a high quality laser system developed by Heidelberg, providing excellent image quality. Thanks to the Intelligent Diode System, if one diode fails during production, the operation can continue—giving Hal Leonard the production reliability they need. The Suprasetter A 106 holds 110 plates of each press size. It fully automates the loading of plates direct from the pallet with slip sheet removal, imaging, punching, and then stacking the plates.

As a complete Heidelberg shop, Hal Leonard continues to purchase Heidelberg equipment because of the consistency and reliability of the machines.

“When you’re producing as much as we are, you need to work with a company you trust,” said Halverson. “You can’t afford to work with several vendors. You need to have a comprehensive team and that’s what Heidelberg gives us.”

Left to right: Brent Halverson, VP of Manufacturing; Terry Meacham, 2^nd/3^rd Shift Operations Manager; Shawn Reps, Press Operator; Troy Gould, Press Operator; Jon Layland, Senior Operations Manager; Jerry Benedict, Facilities Manager.