05/09/01 - At the end of April, the 8,000th Printmaster QM 46 left the production line at Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg)'s Wiesloch site. The company will be handing over the two-color press to an Australian customer during the Pac Print trade fair which is being held in Melbourne in mid-May. Since October 1994, Heidelberg has been building the Printmaster QM 46 as a single and two-color press, with 95% of today's customers preferring the two-color model. Production in Wiesloch still uses the time-served conveyor belts used for the earlier Tiegel presses. The press sports a high level of automation and flexibility. With its large format range stretching from 140 x 89 mm to 460 x 340 mm, its support for a whole raft of printing stock thicknesses ranging from 0.04 mm to 0.3 mm and its add-ons for numbering and perforating, the Printmaster QM 46 is the ideal press for virtually any situation. It will be particularly invaluable for small commercial printers who produce brochures, forms and business brochures. The Printmaster QM 46 doesn't just enable small commercial printers to keep pace with their customers' constantly growing demands. Large printshops also appreciate the QM 46 as essential equipment for a profit center, allowing them to serve both small and large customers. Seamless job changes, as supported by the Printmaster QM 46, guarantee a tangible lead over competitors. Heidelberg also offers the right solution for quick printers - with the Quicksetter 46 imagesetter, a flexible and fast prepress product, and appropriate finishing equipment, the Printmaster QM 46 can be integrated easily into a fully-coordinated workflow.