Kennesaw, Ga. - F.P. Horak Company is a $30 million, full-service print provider located in Bay City, Mich. The company recently installed a 6-color Speedmaster XL 75 high-performance press with aqueous coater and extended delivery to improve productivity and speed turnaround times. The new press replaces an aging 5-color press, and the difference is like night from day. According to company President Tim Dust, the XL 75's 18,000 sph running speed and significantly faster makereadies "permit us to pound out the work more quickly. As a result, we have reduced pricing in some product categories and improved delivery in all categories." Since the new press was installed, the company also has noted a bigger crossover with its digital capabilities, such that the all-Heidelberg sheetfed division is steadily picking up a greater range of short-run sizes.

Compared with the older press it replaced, the Speedmaster XL 75's extensive automation has been "a revelation," Dust said. From the high-performance Prinect Press Center with Intellistart to the AutoPlate plate changer, to the Prinect Axis Control color measuring system, the capabilities of the XL 75 dovetail perfectly with F.P. Horak's stated mission to provide comprehensive print and marketing solutions that build long-term, value-driven relationships. "We have made a proactive business decision to use our technologies to help marketers get a better return on their dollar spend," Dust explained.

The company's sheetfed division also operates a 6-color Speedmaster SM 102, a 2-color Heidelberg SORKZ, a pair of Printmaster QM 46 2-color presses, in addition to two programmable POLAR 115 paper cutters with Transomat and Speedbander, Stahl B20 and B26 folders, and a Heidelberg ST 270 saddlestitcher. Personnel not only received on-site post-installation training on the XL 75, but the company also sent two pressmen and a foreman for additional training at Heidelberg's Print Media Demonstration Center in Kennesaw, Ga. "Service and support after the sale have been outstanding," Dust confirmed, "especially the three-year Systemservice 36plus extended warranty package with Remote Service."

A longtime Heidelberg customer, F.P. Horak embarked on a program to "reinvent" itself in the early 1990s, after establishing its reputation as a business forms printer since 1946. Shortly thereafter, the company expanded into the digital printing, mailing and fulfillment. "About 70 percent of our total revenue is tied to promotional spending rather than transactional print," Dust said. The company currently employs 200 in two Bay City locations.