IPEX 2010 saw the launch of the Speedmaster CX 102, a new printing press for industrial offset printing from Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg). The launch was a resounding success with Heidelberg already having sold 15 presses featuring some 100 printing units to customers around the world from Brazil to Australia.

"The high demand from our customers confirms that we are on the right track with our strategy of rounding up our portfolio in the 70 x 100 cm format range and thus opening up a new market segment," explains Stephan Plenz, Member of the Heidelberg Management Board, responsible for Equipment. "The Speedmaster SM, CD, CX, and XL models offer our customers the right solution for every press speed and level of productivity, regardless of whether the print shops specialize in advertising or packaging printing".

The first German customers underline this statement and are certainly impressed: "The new press was launched at just the right time for us," explains Alexander Mende, Managing Director of Pinguin Druck GmbH in Berlin. "The CX 102 was the right choice in the current business environment. The CX model now also makes key XL components available in the 102 format for the first time. The Prinect Inpress Control inline color measuring system is such a component because it delivers dramatic reductions in make-ready times while also taking us one step closer to our goal of environmentally-friendly production by cutting down the paper waste," says Alexander Mende, who will shortly be taking a four-color CX 102 press with coating unit into operation.

"Asian suppliers in particular are currently offering rock-bottom prices that are very tempting at first glance," says André Kern, Managing Director of the print shop Kern GmbH in Bexbach, Germany and owner of a five-color CX 102 press with coating unit. However, our job portfolio and three-shift operation call for a press that delivers excellent productivity, consistent print quality and high availability from start to finish. We also print on an extremely wide range of substrates, running the gamut from 50 gsm paper to board weighing over 300 gsm. The Speedmaster CX really is the best solution for this range of requirements."

Other Speedmaster CX 102 presses have also been sold to customers in Brazil, the UK, France, Germany, India, and Australia. Due to the versatility and modular design of the CX 102, the sold presses range from four-color presses with coating units to six-color presses with dual-coating configuration.