Between June 18 and July 2, 2001, over 400 customers from all over the world spent a day visiting the Wiesloch plant of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg), 2001. The event provided small-format printers with the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the technical innovations of the Speedmaster SM 52, Printmaster GTO 52 and Printmaster QM 46, and workflow solutions for the A3 format. Today's printers are facing new challenges. The print market is forecast to grow worldwide over the next few years. This is especially true of publications that carry advertising messages such as brochures, newspapers, magazines and packaging. Along with this increase in quantity come new quality requirements. Today's customers expect more and more topicality and individuality from their print products – demand for additional services and the very latest technologies is growing. Printshops are clearly feeling the consequences of these changes – print runs and delivery times are shrinking and print products need to be more and more customized. Furthermore, price pressure is increasing. Faced with shrinking margins, printshops need to increase their sales and take on more jobs in order to stabilize profits. "That is why, these days, printing alone is not enough to gain a competitive advantage and establish customer loyalty", states Christian Wiethüchter, Head of 35x50 Product Management. "Customers expect added value for their print products. Printshops also need to streamline their processes and make sure they are equipped to deal with their customers' future needs in terms of flexibility and cost-effectiveness." In future, therefore, companies which work fast and flexibly and are customer-oriented will be the most likely to survive on the market. High quality print products, new offers, additional services and streamlined production processes are all success factors. To help them deal with this changed market situation, Heidelberg is offering small-format printers cost-effective solutions. New inline finishing options for A3 applications offer greater flexibility for finishing printed products and give the customer real added value. Inline coating or punching shortens throughput times and reduces production costs. Direct contact with the customer is especially important for Heidelberg - which is why Heidelberg holds the "Inforum for inline finishing solutions in 35x50 format." This event enables printers to experience the benefits of Heidelberg's technical innovations first hand on the machines themselves. Inline finishing on the Speedmaster SM 52 •Protective coating for fast order throughput A new feature of the Speedmaster SM 52 is the option of fitting six-color machines with coating units. The inline coating unit which has been available since November 1999 has made the SM 52 more flexible and was well received on the market. Protective coating applications for even faster finishing are particularly popular on the short-run color market. The coating unit for the Speedmaster SM 52 represents the most cost-effective method of inline finishing in its format class. •Inline die cutting unit The Speedmaster SM 52, with its inline die cutting unit – a further innovation, is the first press that can print, punch, perforate and score in a single pass. For small-format work, this makes the SM 52 a fast and efficient alternative to finishing performed offline on e.g. letterpress machines. The first machines are due to be shipped at the start of 2002. The advantage of the Heidelberg solution is that the printer can offer his customers even shorter delivery times. And there is no longer any need for interim storage. The inline die cutting unit is fitted after the last printing unit. A magnetic cylinder is used as a basis for holding the die plates. The printer performs the settings for circumferential, lateral and diagonal registers via the CP2000 control center. A die-maker uses digital data or films to make the die plates, which are reusable. The fact that both the inline die cutting unit and the coating unit can be raised ensures a smooth setup procedure when changing over to the next job. Coating with the Printmaster GTO 52 The fifth printing unit has made the new Printmaster GTO 52 even more versatile. The use of special colors and printing varnish is becoming more and more important, even in short and medium-sized print runs. A mobile Laco inline coating unit and IVT infrared drier provide an alternative means of coating at a very low investment cost. The new Printmaster GTO 52 can also be fitted with a manual, easy-to-operate sheet reversal device for cost-effective perfecting and shorter job throughput times. Further optional extras such as numbering and perforating devices increase the range of uses of the Printmaster GTO 52 in all areas of the 35 x 50 class. This versatility makes the Printmaster GTO 52 essential standard equipment for jobbing printshops around the world looking for impressive and cost-effective offset quality. Heidelberg also used Inforum to unveil the new Printmaster GTO 52 with the ClassicCenter remote inking and register control system which ensures even smoother operation. The fact that the ClassicCenter also enables transfer of CIP3 data from the prepress helps streamline printshop processes even further. Printmaster QM 46 with small-format feeder Heidelberg has developed the Printmaster QM 46 especially for small-format jobbing work with spot colors. All of its parts and functions, such as the Autoplate and the central format adjustment for feeder and delivery unit are specifically designed to keep setup times to a minimum. It also ensures outstanding print quality. The Printmaster QM 46 is highly flexible, featuring a large format range stretching from 140 x 89 mm to 460 x 340 mm, support for a whole raft of printing stock thicknesses ranging from 0.04 mm to 0.3 mm, and add-ons for numbering and perforating. The new add-on for small formats now makes this press even more versatile – the 10 x 10 cm minimum format enables the printer to produce both labels and C6 envelopes in landscape format. Processing C6 envelopes in landscape format enables them to be printed with repeating motifs. This means the printer can decide, depending on the subject, whether the envelope should be processed in landscape or portrait format. Highly reliable sheet travel comes as standard on the Heidelberg Printmaster QM 46 – even with very small formats.