The Speedmaster CX 104 is the new universal press from Heidelberg for virtually all commercial and packaging printing requirements.

• Subscription Smart contract complements investment in equipment
• Gafs Kartong expects Push to Stop configuration to deliver big boost in productivity
• Prinect Production Manager covers key packaging functions
• State-of-the-art sheetfed offset technology targets vast market potential with outstanding price-performance ratio

In its core business, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) is seeing a growing global recovery that is making customers keen to invest in the latest technologies and solutions. The Swedish packaging printer Gafs Kartong (Gafs), which is based in Värnamo, is set to take delivery of what is already the 1,000th printing unit of the new Speedmaster CX 104 that Heidelberg unveiled in the summer. Founded as a packaging board supplier in 1947, Gafs now has a 22-strong workforce and generates sales of over four million euros. The Speedmaster CX 104-6+L with newly developed coating unit in the Push to Stop configuration is supposed to be supplied together with a Suprasetter 106 platesetter and will arrive before Christmas.

“Our new universal press, the Speedmaster CX 104, is proving to be a big hit on the market,” says Stefan Hasenzahl, Head of Product Management at Heidelberg. “Even before the global market launch this summer, we had orders for over 500 printing units – a figure we’ve doubled in the space of just three months,” he adds.

Gafs, which produces folding cartons primarily for Swedish customers from a range of different industries, is complementing its investment in equipment with a Subscription Smart contract that includes the supply of all consumables and software over a period of several years. Consequently, Gafs will also be using Prinect Production Manager, which covers all the key functions for packaging printing. One example is a CAD-based solution that ensures quick and easy impositioning and also includes all typical packaging marks. Crucially, the Prinect workflow provides all data that is relevant for production, ensuring reliable production and repeat jobs of a consistently high quality. What’s more, production data feedback gives Prinect a full overview of performance at all times.

The new press is replacing a Speedmaster CD 102 at Gafs. Annelill Annvik, one of the owners of Gafs Kartong, justifies the investment decision as follows: “We scrutinized and compared both digital and offset options, but the arrival of the Speedmaster CX 104 on the market put an end to our search. Significant improvements in makeready times and quality control, combined with integration into the workflow, make us very confident about the benefits and progress for the entire company.”

Lasse Svärd, also an owner of Gafs Kartong, has the following to add: “The new Speedmaster CX 104 from Heidelberg perfectly meets our requirements. We were won over by this company’s cutting-edge offset technology and service portfolio, along with an excellent price-performance ratio. We’re expecting the Push to Stop function in particular to deliver a big boost in productivity.”

Heidelberg strengthens position in commercial and packaging printing with new universal press
With the new Speedmaster CX 104 , Heidelberg is looking to further build on its strong position in the expanding packaging segment and meet the growing demand for flexible printing systems with a variety of automation solutions and variants in the commercial sector. When selecting equipment variants, customers benefit from the system’s free scalability – which extends all the way through to Push to Stop functionality – and also from tailored configurations with as many as 15 printing/coating units.

Highlights include unique operating philosophy, new coating unit, and inking/dampening unit innovations
The Speedmaster CX 104 boasts a new, ergonomic design with excellent accessibility and offers users a completely new operating philosophy (Heidelberg UX) with the Prinect Press Center XL 3 , plus a whole host of assistance systems that are included as standard. Heidelberg thus provides an integrated solution portfolio for the globally increasing level of industrialization at small and medium-sized print shop businesses.

Another highlight of the Speedmaster CX 104 is its new coating unit based on XL technology, which focuses firmly on simplified operation, faster makeready, and a further improvement in coating quality.

The arrangement of key elements optimizes accessibility. Thanks to a 30 percent lower roller weight, changing the screen rollers is more ergonomic and far faster, too. A time saving of up to 75 percent based on one-person operation has already been confirmed under real-life conditions by pilot customers.

The inking/dampening unit on the new Speedmaster CX 104 is geared to optimum quality and productivity. Furthermore, optional functions such as an integrated ink mist extractor, an automatic ink agitator, and an additional washup solution supply for mixed operation combining conventional and UV ink enable customers to further boost the inking/dampening unit’s performance, especially in UV printing.