Kennesaw, Ga. – Heidelberg USA has donated a Stitchmaster ST 350 saddlestitcher to Printing Industries of America for use in the organization's research and training facility in Sewickley, Pa. Installation is scheduled to start in June.

The new saddlestitcher is the latest addition to the wealth of Heidelberg equipment and software previously donated to Printing Industries of America for the purpose of industry education and research. Printing Industries currently has a Speedmaster SM 102 P, Printmaster QM 46, POLAR 137 XT, Stahl B-26 Folder and a Prinect 3.5 workflow solution.

"Appropriate training and education are vital to any company's success," said Mark Bohan, Vice President, Technology and Research for Printing Industries of America. "Heidelberg understands this, and its generous donation of an ST 350 saddlestitcher will go a long way toward ensuring that industry professionals who come to Printing Industries of America to improve their skills continue to receive the highest quality training and education on state-of-the-art equipment at our world-class facility." 

"Heidelberg is committed to the cause of graphic arts education at every level. We underscore that commitment with annual donations of money and equipment to a number of institutions-including Printing Industries of America-that are as passionate in their support for our industry as we are," said Jim Dunn, President of Heidelberg USA. "The return on our investment lies in the knowledge that our gift will be used to further opportunities for training and education in the graphic arts."

"Can't Think of A Better Investment"
The professional saddlestitching solution for medium to large editions, Heidelberg's Stitchmaster ST 350 features an intelligent control system as well as an exceptionally high level of operator-friendliness, quality, and reliability. Boasting speeds to 12,000 cycles per hour, product formats from 12 5/8 x 18 7/8" to 3 3/8 x 5", and automatic synchronization of the saddle chain with the feeders and stitcher, the ST 350 earns high praise from users who appreciate its versatility.

"We do a lot of mailing work for our customers, and our ST 350 saddlestitcher offers us maximum flexibility in this area. The automation enables our operators to do more, but if needed we still have the ability to make fine manual adjustments to keep us up and running through real life job variations," said Jim Hogan, Executive Vice President, Operations, Whitmore Group in Baltimore, a Printing Industries of America/PGAMA member. "It's a well-engineered machine that can adapt in this way. Factor in the total cost of ownership based on productivity over the useful life of the machine, and I can't think of a better investment."