KENNESAW, Ga. – September 19, 2007 – John Roberts Co., Coon Rapids, Minn., has installed a Speedmaster XL 105 press with full UV/hybrid capability, one of the first of its kind in the United States, enabling real productions speeds for UV jobs of clearly beyond 15,000 iph. With the right consumables UV-production at speeds all the way up 18, 000 iph is possible.
The new press, which replaces an aging Speedmaster CD 102, greatly increases the commercial printer’s production capacity and enables it to take on an even wider range of work by reducing make-ready time and giving the shop the ability to run up to 18,000 iph. The company is an all-Heidelberg shop on the sheetfed side.
In addition to the new XL 105, it operates a 10-color Speedmaster SM 102 perfector with CutStar; a 6-unit Speedmaster CD 74; a 6-unit Speedmaster CD 74 with UV/hybrid capability; and a 2-color Speedmaster SM 102 to produce work on paper, plastic substrates and board stock for advertising agencies, direct marketers, and industrial clients based primarily in Minnesota. Packaging work accounts for roughly 10 percent of its portfolio.
The company currently is using the XL 105 to print 500 copies of a new edition of the hand-lettered and illuminated St. John’s Bible on 10-point cover stock. Fully assembled, each volume will be worth around $130,000.
“You can’t entrust work of this kind to just any press,” says John Roberts President and CEO Michael Keane. “Heidelberg’s reputation for superior equipment and excellent customer service has always stood us in good stead. The XL 105 UV offers further proof that Heidelberg is at the top of its game, and we’re delighted to be the beneficiaries of that expertise.” The company employs 350.