CHICAGO, IL., Oct. 6, 2002 – This week at Graph Expo, Heidelberg will unveil new equipment and workflow tools that enhance and accelerate productivity and efficiency in graphic arts and printing processes. From new presses and finishing equipment to complete workflow systems and Internet tools – Heidelberg is poised more than ever to revolutionize the way printers do business. Heidelberg’s show theme, "Connect the Passion," was designed to help reinforce for printers what they love about the business: the passion for the true art of printing. It is also a statement about how technology can reduce business performance concerns, enabling print shop owners and managers to reconnect with the areas of business they enjoy. "We have reached an important intersection of the past and future of printing that holds promise rather than conflict," said Niels M. Winther, president of Heidelberg USA. "Heidelberg has a long history of being at the forefront of the industry’s innovations. We are well positioned to help printers make the transition to more productive, profitable business models that are supported by the latest advances in technology." This year’s Graph Expo will demonstrate these new technologies as well as new ways to enhance existing solutions. A summary of Heidelberg’s top announcements follows. Prinect: The First Comprehensive Integrated Workflow System Heidelberg will place the spotlight on its seamless workflow system, Prinect. Fully compatible with JDF, Prinect is the most global integrated workflow system available. It is Heidelberg’s answer to a computer integrated manufacturing environment. It’s also the first solution in the print media industry to go beyond prepress workflow. Prinect integrates every step of the process – from prepress, to press, to postpress – with a host of modular products that boost efficiency and drive higher profitability. Prinect Printready System™ Provides Fast, Efficient Transparent Production The newest member of the Prinect family is the Prinect Printready System™. Prinect Printready allows for all pre-press processes to be transparently automated, from preflighting, state-of-the-art color management, trapping, imposition, proofing, final plate output and archiving. It even optimizes subsequent press and post-press functions like ink zone settings and the transfer of cutting, folding and stitching information. As the first fully JDF-enabled product of its kind, Prinect Printready is modular and scaleable, able to fit with any production need, big or small. Prinect Internet Portal® Enables Online Collaboration Heidelberg first announced the Prinect Internet Portal® at OnDemand and the product will be available to the market next month. This powerful tool allows printers to offer online collaboration to their customers for quotes, proofing and virtually any communication. Prinect Internet Portal is designed to be customized and flexible so it actually looks like a printer’s own website. It offers RFQ Management and secure file transfer. The Prinect Internet Portal saves time and money on shipping charges and couriers, as well as enabling printers to work with customers as a strategic partner instead of a commodity print provider. Digimaster 9150i - Productivity, Reliability and Easy Workflow Heidelberg’s Digimaster line is proof of the company’s knowledge and expertise in providing the most flexible, reliable digital print solutions. In keeping with this strong heritage, Heidelberg now offers another great expansion to its digital black and white product line - the Digimaster 9150i. The Digimaster 9150i boosts productivity while maintaining superior production-quality printing. With its 8,000-sheet paper storage capacity, it delivers up to 150 images per minute and up to five million impressions per month. And because connectivity is key, the Digimaster 9150i will fit seamlessly into current 9110 environments, as well as coexisting with other manufacturers’ equipment. Book Publisher Heidelberg also has targeted new integrated solutions for book publishing, using digital print processes to automate many steps. Developed to allow for easy integration between Heidelberg components and existing customer workflow solutions, Book Publisher provides benefits including digital input to finished printed output in less than one hour, reduction of overall Creation to Print cycle time, plug and print digital prepress for digital and offset printing. It also includes reliable, affordable Internet connectivity and eServices, as well as online proofing that really works. It uses soft proof, hard copy proof and production printing from the same RIP technology. New software solutions for Nexpress Heidelberg is showcasing its NexPress 2100 family of variable data printing solutions that enables customers of the digital production color printing press to personalize, customize and automate high-volume, high-variable data jobs in the new PPML/VDX VDP open standard. Four new software applications are being introduced that demonstrate that the industry is beginning to adopt the wide use of PPML/VDX and leverage the advantages that open workflows produce. Sunday 2000 Web Press Autoplate Feature Heidelberg will demonstrate the new Autoplate feature on its Sunday 2000 web press. The fully automatic plate changing system cuts makeready times and simplifies operation by allowing a single operator to change all the plates on the press in less than two minutes. Sheetfed technology developments Heidelberg continues to strengthen its sheetfed offerings, demonstrating its continued commitment to this bedrock of the printing industry. Key among the sheetfed division’s Graph Expo highlights: the introduction of the CD 74 with UV integration, the first offset press specifically designed with UV printing and coating in the original design specification. Heidelberg also will spotlight AxisControl, its basis color measuring system in the CP2000 Center for online spectrophotometrical color measurement and control in the color bar. In the first demonstration at a U.S. tradeshow, three AxisControl units will be on exhibit at Graph Expo. Other sheetfed highlights of Graph Expo are enhancements for the Quickmaster DI Pro, including the ability to handle up to 16-point stock and a new Smart Spooling Mechanism that provides potential plate material savings. Heidelberg’s sheetfed business hits a milestone with the sale of the 100,000th Printmaster GTO 52 and announces the addition of a new blanket washing system. The Speedmaster SM 52 series press offers a new Short-Path-Inking-Mode allowing the fastest reaction of the ink train regardless of ink coverage. Heidelberg has also increased its remote service capabilities and introduced the Online Kit CPTronic, which provides automated job management tools for pre-Drupa 2000 presses that are comparable to those found in the CP2000 center. News Highlight Summary Following is a summary list of new equipment and technologies being featured at Graph Expo. For more information on individual listings, please review the full Heidelberg Graph Expo press kit, available at www.us.heidelberg.com. Prinect workflow and software - Prinect Printready - Prinect Internet Portal market availability - Nexpress VDP solutions - Digimaster ImageSmart 5.0 - AxisControl - Book Publisher - HD parallel interface Press - Digimaster 9150i - Hunkeler roll feeder - GTO 52 with Classic center Control Console and Baldwin Blanket Washing Device - QM DI Pro with new plate saving mechanism and 16pt. Stock ability - SM DI with 2nd generation Saphira plate - CD 74 with UV integration - 102 8c P+ L with image control - Contiweb FD Splicer - Sunday 2000 web press with Autoplate Finishing - ST 400 saddle stitcher - Stahl 9110 folder - Polar die-cutter - Probinder - Omniflex high-volume controls About Heidelberg Heidelberg (www.heidelberg.com) is the world's leading print media solution provider. Headquartered in Heidelberg, Germany, the company manufactures and supports an extensive and integrated range of sheetfed, digital and web press systems as well as prepress and postpress components, software and consumables for all printing applications. Heidelberg has by far the largest manufacturing and support network in the industry with 18 manufacturing sites, 250 sales and service sites and nearly 25,000 employees in 170 countries. The installed base of Heidelberg print media technologies includes more than 400,000 systems at 240,000 customer sites worldwide.