KENNESAW, Ga., June 22, 2005 – At PRINT ’05 in Chicago, print media industry leader Heidelberg will showcase the newest member of its Speedmaster family of sheetfed offset presses: the Speedmaster XL 105. The first press in an entirely new “Maximum Performance Class,” the XL 105 sets the industry standard for productivity, quality and cost-effectiveness. “We are committed to providing printing professionals with the most advanced systems on the market, and at PRINT ’05, we will demonstrate the next generation of equipment that will help our customers thrive in the future,” said Roland Krapp, vice president, sheetfed and Prinect product management, Heidelberg USA. “The Speedmaster XL 105 is made for industry leaders and trendsetters and sets new benchmarks for fastest makereadies, maximum real production speeds and highest printing quality. With this new press, our customers will be well-equipped to face the industry challenges of today and tomorrow.” Officially presented to the North American market on May 25, 2005, during an open-house event at Heidelberg’s corporate headquarters in Kennesaw, Ga., the Speedmaster XL 105 will take center stage in the company’s booth at PRINT ‘05. Capable of attaining a maximum speed of 18,000 sheets per hour in the 75 x 105 format, the Speedmaster XL 105 is the ideal production unit for label and packaging printers handling large volumes of multiple-up work. The press produces the highest quality product at the highest real production speeds on the widest variety of stocks. The Speedmaster XL 105 offers many customer benefits. The press is easy to operate and fully automated, allowing users to drastically reduce makeready times and increase real production speed while maintaining the highest level of quality. These unique capabilities make the Speedmaster XL 105 the most productive press on the market. In fact, numerous beta-test sites in Europe proved that maximum production speeds achieved on the press were beyond 17,000 impressions per hour for up to three-quarters of jobs produced during the test phase. Tightly integrated into Heidelberg’s Prinect workflow and equipped with fully automatic pre-setting as well as comprehensive memory functions of the Prinect CP 2000 Center press control system, the Speedmaster XL 105 enables reduced makeready for new and repeat jobs. In addition to the new PresetPlus feeder and delivery generation, the newly released Air-Transfer sheet transfer system with exceptional aerodynamic properties provides a sound basis for achieving the highest production speeds on the widest variety of substrates. Other innovative features such as "Autoplate Advanced" for simple and register-accurate plate changing and MultiLoader, the intelligent screen roller storage and exchange system on the coating tower, further increase the cost-effectiveness of the press. Specifically designed to ensure the highest level of print quality possible at speeds exceeding 15,000 sheets per hour, the innovative Hycolor unit, the Speedmaster XL 105’s inking and dampening system, sets new standards for quality. Hycolor significantly increases the amount of ink transferred to the paper/board, thus enlarging the reproducible color gamut and increasing densities up to 30 percent without compromising on dot-gain. The option of switching from the complete inking unit to a shorter inker guarantees that the ink supply remains stable during the printing process. In addition, the inking unit reacts quickly to ink zone changes, even when a small amount of ink is required by the printed subject. Sophisticated oscillator settings on the new Hycolor system achieve top color stability throughout print runs and drastically reduce physical limitations such as ghosting. To see the Speedmaster XL 105 in action at PRINT ’05, visit the XL 105 Theater in the Heidelberg booth, just outside Heidelberg’s Packaging Solutions area.