Shawn Pereira, Vice President of Sales & Marketing for Spectrum Litho with Promatrix from HEIDELBERG

Kennesaw, Ga. – Committed to developing a skilled team and an arsenal of state-of-the art equipment to provide the best level of quality and support for its customers, Spectrum Litho, a family run folding carton manufacturer in Fremont, CA, recently installed a new Promatrix 106 CS die cutter from HEIDELBERG. Since installation, the Promatrix, Spectrum Litho’s first die cutter from HEIDELBERG, has led to a significant uptick in its production speed, product quality, and overall throughput. The purchase is also part of Spectrum Litho’s larger investment in HEIDELBERG’s complete Ecosystem, which includes a Speedmaster XL 106-6+L, Prinect Production & Business Manager, and Saphira Consumables.

Three Times the Die Cutting Jobs
Started in 1981 as a commercial printing company, Spectrum Litho was “ahead of the curve” when it began migrating its business to folding carton production nearly thirty years ago. “Since we converted our business, we’ve seen consistent growth year over year,” said Shawn Pereira, Vice President of Sales & Marketing for Spectrum Litho. “Contributing to this growth has been our investments in good technology and equipment. Without it, we couldn’t provide a high-quality product or be able to do it fast enough.” The company, who primarily serves the medical, pharmaceutical, cosmetic and food industries, made a self-proclaimed quantum leap in print quality and efficiency upon purchasing its first HEIDELBERG press in 2017 – a Speedmaster XL 106-6+L. After installation, Pereira says the press created “a domino effect” on the production floor. “We have this press pumping 18,000 sheets an hour, and although I have three die cutters, the press was burying them with work.”

Looking to alleviate this bottleneck while reducing manufacturing costs and makeready times, Spectrum Litho recently installed a new Promatrix 106 CS from HEIDELBERG – replacing one of its older die cutters. The Promatrix, which cuts up to 8,000 sheets per hour, has drastically improved the production speed and turnaround times for the company. After its exceptional experience with the XL 106, it decided to purchase its first die cutter from HEIDELBERG to continue to grow within what Pereira calls the HEIDELBERG Ecosystem. “The more I’m part of that ecosystem, the more of a partnership it becomes. There’s no finger pointing like with other companies. HEIDELBERG will be there to help us overcome obstacles if they arise.”

The Promatrix, with the integrated Quick Lock system in the stripping station, has also significantly decreased the company’s makeready times. The die cutting team at Spectrum Litho, whose average run length is between 5,000-25,000 sheets, is now able to complete three jobs a day on the Promatrix versus one (or sometimes less than one) job on its previous die cutter. According to Pereira, “The Promatrix has really outperformed my expectations. On our old machine, we were always fighting the delivery or the makeready or a number of other issues.” Additionally, Spectrum Litho has seen an improvement in overall product quality thanks to its consistent registration and the automatic lateral pile control on the feeder, which keeps the pile in the optimum position for reliable feeding. This feature helps the machine run continuously, with very few trips, to ensure the highest productivity.

Six Times the Print Jobs
Spectrum Litho, who was equipped with a press of competitive technology, also struggled with slow press makereadies and inconsistent print quality prior to purchasing its XL 106 six years ago. Often, the press could only produce a single print job in a shift. “Our crew no longer has to go to battle with the press to reliably print good sheets,” said Pereira. “We can run the XL 106 at top speeds – printing upwards of six jobs per day.” Many of the efficiency gains have stemmed from easier and faster makereadies thanks to Prinect Inpress Control, the industry’s leading inline spectrophotometer that measures and controls color and registers on the fly at any speed. For Spectrum Litho, the XL 106 has reduced makereadies from four hours on its older press to less than 30 minutes.

Upon purchasing its new press, the company decided to also migrate to HEIDELBERG Saphira Consumables, Prinect Production Manager workflow and Prinect Business Manager MIS – investing into the HEIDELBERG Ecosystem to maximize every feature of the press like Push to Stop technology. “Going ‘all in’ meant we could really leverage all of the automation that HEIDELBERG offers from prepress to press,” said Pereira, “minimizing touchpoints and lessening errors or delays due to human nature.” “Being part of the Ecosystem” means Pereira and his team only have one call to make should an issue arise. “HEIDELBERG knows how its products work best, and I think if we if we work with them as intended, then we’ll achieve success.”