For over a year now, the Trulli print shop in Vence has been using a Speedmaster XL 105 ten-color press with perfecting device. The press was ordered at drupa 2008 and was at that time the first press with this configuration in the whole of France.

"We wanted a competitive, high-performance press that would enable us to set ourselves apart from our competitors and boost our potential. The productivity, quality, and user-friendly operation of our new XL have exceeded all our expectations," sums up Sylvain Trulli. He and his brother Julien Trulli are in charge of the print shop. "80 percent of our orders are produced at a constant speed of 15,000 sheets per hour. With automatic presetting of the format and paper thickness at the feeder, and transfers between the units, perfecting device and delivery, we can process a whole range of different substrates between 56 and 600 grams. In addition, automatic setting of the perfecting device means we can switch from straight printing to perfecting mode very quickly. This high level of flexibility has enabled us to tap into new markets. Makeready times have been halved, regardless of the complexity of the job. We have also been able to cut the amount of waste considerably. Despite the crisis, we have increased production by 20 percent within the space of a year," continues Sylvain Trulli.

Founded by Michael Trulli in 1980, the print shop now supplies publishing houses, agencies, insurance companies, art galleries, and mail-order companies. The company began using the first Speedmaster SM 102 ten-color press in France as early as 1999. This has now been joined by a second long perfecting press of the XL generation. The product portfolio ranges from magazines and art books to brochures and leaflets. The full-service print shop employs 22 staff and has annual sales of EUR 5 million. Its postpress operations use a Stahlfolder TH-56 with six buckle plates, fully-automated Stahlfolder TH 82-6 buckle plate folder, and Polar 137 XT Autotrim high-speed cutter.

The Trulli print shop has held the printing industry's "Imprim'Vert" eco-label since 2008. The company's two-story premises cover an area of 6,000 m2, with all peripherals for the machines located on the lower floor. "As a result, we can work in a clean environment with no odors and far lower noise levels. That generates very positive feedback from customers and staff alike," confirms Sylvain Trulli. "Our XL 105 operates with zero percent alcohol for all jobs. It is also equipped with the CleanStar air extraction system that removes around 80 percent of powder emissions, and an automatic ink feed system from large drums that enables us to use approximately eight percent less ink per year. 99 percent of our waste is recycled and reused," continues Trulli. The Trulli print shop is in the process of applying for the "1.2.3. Environnement" certificate, the third certification level of which corresponds to ISO 14001.

CLP Packaging uses Speedmaster CD 102 Duo UV to manufacture high-finish packaging for the luxury market
Similarly, it is now over a year since CLP Packaging in Avallon expanded its range of machinery with a one-off, customized Duo configuration. The Speedmaster CD 102 LY-7-YLX consists of eleven printing units with extended delivery and UV equipment. The Duo press operates with a flexographic printing unit and a drying unit upstream of the offset units. This means flexographic opaque white or a special particle coating can be applied prior to offset printing. "We supply the very top end of the luxury packaging market - cosmetics, perfumes, champagne, and spirits. Our customers demand exceptional quality for their highly sophisticated end products," explains Thierry Dubar, technical director at CLP Packaging. "That in turn calls for special manufacturing processes. Whether folding cases or rigid cartons, each product has its own specific characteristics and communicates the image of the particular designer. To meet these high expectations, we needed a customized press that would enable us to offer end products that are extremely complex in terms of both color and finishing, and require innovative production processes," continues Dubar. The decision was made based on four key criteria - productivity, quality, flexibility, and the ability to offer new products that meet the increasing demand for more and more colors. Founded in 1986, CLP Packaging employs a workforce of 130 and is today part of the Verpack group.

"Since we replaced the previous press - a slightly less complex system from a different company and dating from 1998 - our productivity has doubled. With the Speedmaster CD 102, we have been able to cut makeready times by around 30 percent and also reduce wastage considerably thanks to the far greater color stability within individual print runs," says Dubar. "We have also established that the quality of opaque white applications on metallized PET substrates and transparent plastic foils is far better than with the previous press. We can now apply pearl effects or particle coatings underneath the actual print motif in a single pass. This press makes it much easier to process difficult substrates or jobs with static charging issues. As a result, we experience far fewer feeder jams and less wastage when working with these expensive materials. With less material consumption, improved printing quality, reliability, and rapid settings, it's an all-round winner," concludes Dubar.

CLP Packaging holds the printing industry's "Imprim'Vert" eco-label and is also FSC-certified. Following ISO 9001 certification (version 2000), CLP is aiming to achieve an ISO 14000 certification in the next few months. With the Speedmaster CD 102, water-cooled cabinets with added glycol in the cooling water prevent temperatures from rising too high in the summer, thus limiting the need for air-conditioning systems. This also ensures that employees in the pressroom enjoy good and, above all, healthy working conditions.

Gueutier print shop uses alcohol-free printing on all three Speedmaster presses
For some years now, the Gueutier print shop in Cesson-Sévigné has been pursuing a consistent policy of sustainable development. The company holds the printing industry's "Imprim'Vert" eco-label (2005) and in 2007 was the first print shop in Brittany to also be awarded the PEFC certificate. The international PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes) aims to improve the use and management of forests worldwide. Today, the company uses three alcohol-free presses - a Speedmaster CD 102-6 LX, Speedmaster CD 102-5 LX, and Speedmaster XL 75-5 LX - that all deliver outstanding quality and productivity thanks to extensive automation. The automatic ink feed system has reduced the volume of special waste considerably.

All the presses use Prinect Image Control, which carries out spectrophotometric color measurement for the entire print image. This system enables the color setting in all printing units to be adjusted online at the same time. Prinect Image Control records all quality parameters and measured values, and the number of corrections carried out. As the sixth largest French print shop with PSO certification (process standard for offset printing) based on ISO 12647-2, a device such as this represents a logical addition to the equipment already in place at Gueutier. That's because this type of certification ensures color quality and stability throughout the entire process chain and delivers print products with optimal color results. In addition, the stable print quality also reduces waste considerably.

Founded in 1923, Gueutier Imprimeur now employs 34 staff and generated sales of over EUR 6 million in 2008. Its customers include agencies and companies.

"Our productivity has increased enormously and, thanks to Prinect Image Control, so has our print quality," says Jean-Yves Lebon, Director of Gueutier, with satisfaction. "What's more, automatic adjustment at the feeder, delivery, and printing units makes the equipment easier to use than ever. The operator has to step in much less often and makeready times are shorter. That's an important factor, since customers in the high-end commercial printing sector now require increasingly complex print products in shorter and shorter runs, thus generating a far higher number of job changes. The rapid plate changes achieved by our Heidelberg presses are really impressive. Here, each press produces 15 to 20 jobs per day in three-shift operation," continues Lebon. The full-service print shop has a comprehensive range of Heidelberg postpress equipment comprising three Stahlfolder folding machines, a Stitchmaster ST 400 saddlestitcher, and four Polar 115 cutters. "Our immediate goals are to expand our customer base and branch into new markets without, however, neglecting our role as advisor and consultant," concludes Lebon.