Kennesaw, Ga. -- Heidelberg, the world’s largest supplier of print media solutions to the graphic communications industry, invites Print 09 attendees to view its latest equipment, technologies and workflow solutions in a fully integrated print shop environment. Booth 1200, located at the head of the main aisle in the South Hall of McCormick Place, has been redesigned not only to showcase the technologies that are driving the transformation of the printing industry, but also to highlight the pivotal role Heidelberg’s Prinect family of workflow products plays in automating and managing the entire print production process.
 
“Integrated workflow may well be the most important technological development our industry has seen in the last 10 years. However, it can be a tough concept to grasp, since you can’t run sheets through it to show how beautifully it performs,” said James Dunn, president of Heidelberg USA. "In coming up with our plan for this year's booth, we focused on highlighting the benefits of an integrated workflow in a powerful and visual way that would speak directly to our customers' need to leverage the efficiency of their production process. We strongly believe that our visitors will find our coordinated display of equipment, workflow and supporting services of tremendous value in optimizing and plotting the strategic course of their businesses."
 
Fully Integrated Print Shop
To underscore that point, Heidelberg will locate a server and eight Prinect workstations at the center of its 30,000-square-foot space – the largest of any exhibit on the show floor. At the workstations, continuous demonstrations of solutions for production control, process management and color quality will emphasize that all processes in the booth are networked and centrally directed - just as they can be in any plant that embraces computer integrated print manufacturing with the help of Prinect from Heidelberg. From the workstation hub, paths will lead to four quadrants set up both as equipment areas and as theaters for the various production processes on display.
 
Various structural elements of the booth also have been repositioned from previous shows to be more consistent with the new layout. As they tour the booth in logical sequence, visitors will understand how workflow connectivity can turn any print shop into a fully integrated production environment. Indeed, that message will be hard to miss: It will be happening before their eyes both on the screens at the central hub and in the live demonstrations in each of the quadrants.
 
In something of a departure this year, Heidelberg has elected to highlight two important aspects of its business by giving them a booth of their own. In booth 1593, Heidelberg Original Parts will stand shoulder –to-shoulder with Certified Remarketed Equipment from Heidelberg.
 

Digitally-Enabled Offset Lithography
Heidelberg’s technical leadership in offset technology will be much in evidence, from the company’s pre-eminent XL press technology with Intertech Award-winning InPress control and Autoplate simultaneous plate changing and Intellistart, to tailor-made prepress, press and postpress solutions engineered to equip printers across all customer segments for success. Heidelberg's answer to the challenges of short-run printing, the Speedmaster SM 52, will be shown in a four-color plus coater configuration with the Anicolor zoneless inking system. By delivering absolutely consistent volumes of ink across the entire sheet, Anicolor makes it possible to achieve makereadies in minutes with just a handful of waste sheets. Anicolor's efficiency and the automated flexibility of the Speedmaster SM 52 are an unbeatable combination for profitability in short-run, quick-turnaround production environments. Also on display will be a two-color Printmaster QM 46, the mainstay of small shops from one end of the country to the other. A small-format (18.11" x 13.39") press with a surprisingly high level of automation for a machine of its size, the Printmaster QM 46 is ideal for shops that depend on quick turnarounds of one- and two-color jobs. (More information is available online at Printers Advantage, www.printersadvantage.com <http://www.printersadvantage.com> .)
 
Postpress and Packaging Prowess
Packaging and postpress, always trade show highlights for Heidelberg, will get plenty of exposure with a cross-section of high-performance equipment for these applications. Heidelberg’s assortment of packaging solutions is entirely in keeping with a special emphasis on package printing and converting at Print 09, which will include, for the first time, PackPrint: a 49,000-sq.-ft. show-within-a-show dedicated to the production of folding cartons, flexible packaging, tags and labels, and more.
 
Heidelberg’s contributions to the PackPrint theme from its home booth will include, in their North American debuts, the Easygluer 100 folding carton gluer and the KAMA ProCut 74 automatic finishing diecutter. The Easygluer 100 is a highly automated, remotely controllable carton maker that can turn out up to 50,000 lockbottom cartons per hour. The compact KAMA ProCut 74 makes easy work of die cutting, creasing, kiss-cutting, cold embossing, hot foil stamping, hologram stamping, and hot cutting—even for shops that are newcomers to value-added finishing.
 
Live in the postpress area, attendees may view another sure-fire crowd-pleaser: a POLAR P.A.C.E. cutting system configured for fully automatic loading, cutting, and offloading by a single operator. Visitors interested in other bindery processes can see the versatile Stitchmaster ST 450 saddlestitcher and the highly productive Stahlfolder TH 82 combination buckle-plate folder.
 
 
Consumables
Heidelberg Saphira-branded consumables including plates, inks, blankets and proofing supplies are guaranteed to bring the highest performance and stability to the print production environment. That includes Heidelberg’s fully integrated print shop, where a wide range of Saphira consumables specifically engineered for compatibility with Heidelberg technologies and applications will work their magic in the generous array of equipment on display. To ensure environmentally compliant production, Heidelberg Saphira products always meet the latest industry standards for environmental friendliness.
 
And speaking of the environment, Heidelberg experts will be on hand to answer questions about Heidelberg’s own sustainable manufacturing practices, as well as productivity improvements and waste-reduction features built into all Heidelberg hardware, software and consumable products.
 
 
Press Conference/Special Events
Heidelberg will conduct a press conference on Friday, Sept. 11 at 10:30 a.m. in Booth 1200. Heidelberg Chairman Bernhard Schreier, Chief Technology Officer Jurgen Rautert and Heidelberg USA President James Dunn will bring members of the trade media up to date on Heidelberg's business fundamentals, future strategy and Print 09 presence before inviting questions and comment from the audience. On Saturday at 11 a.m., also in Booth 1200, Andy Paparozzi, Chief Economist for NAPL, will discuss what's next for print markets and the economy in the months and years ahead. In addition, a schedule of daily customer panel discussions on topics from workflow integration to postpress and packaging will shortly be posted on a special microsite slated to launch later this month at www.us.heidelberg.com <http://www.us.heidelberg.com> .
 
Printers who have embraced Heidelberg’s technology proclaim it second to none. What they will find at PRINT 09 - in abundance - is ample evidence that when it comes to “HEI Performance” and “HEI Value,” game-changing technology from Heidelberg – as ever – is a winning formula for success.