The world's first Speedmaster XL 162-8P from Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) was recently taken into operation at the online print shop unitedprint.com SE in Radebeul near Dresden. Heidelberg unveiled the Speedmaster XL 145 and XL 162 at drupa 2008 which are now also available as large-format presses with tried-and-tested perfecting technology from Heidelberg. Furthermore, an innovative delivery concept has been added for sheet formats 6 and 7B.

unitedprint.com SE - the parent company of the online print shop print24 - uses the Speedmaster XL 162-8P primarily for high-quality commercial work and mixed forms in short runs. The combination of innovative technologies, extremely short makeready times, and minimum waste means that the Speedmaster XL 162 is ideally suited for these types of jobs. The press is equipped with the Prinect Press Center, the user-friendly operator guidance system Intellistart, an integrated wallscreen, Prinect Inpress Control for fully automated inline color and register control, and the tried-and-tested three-drum perfecting device with Perfect Jacket technology from Heidelberg.

Innovative sheet delivery ensures top print quality and lower material costs

This perfecting press is also equipped with a revolutionary delivery concept. Unlike traditional large-format deliveries, the sheet is transported to the delivery not just by means of a gripper bar at the front edge of the sheet, but by two gripper systems at the front and rear edges. On arrival at the delivery, it is slowed and delivered using another gripper system. This innovation dispenses with the need for a sheet guide plate and the sheet brakes in the press delivery. This leads to far higher print quality, because it eliminates the possibility of fresh ink finding its way onto the sheet guide plate or sheet brakes. The elimination of the braking corridor also allows the size of the untrimmed sheet format to be reduced by around 50 mm. With a print output of 30 million sheets per year, for example, this would save up to Euro 200,000 per year in material costs. What's more, it also enables the production of mixed forms with different repeat sizes. Further benefits of this new technology include reduced makeready times, as there is no need to set the brakes, and improved pile quality due to unprecedented control of the sheet drop in the delivery.

Successful large format - as a straight printing press and with a perfecting device

The Speedmaster XL 162-8P underpins Heidelberg's leading role in the sheetfed offset sector, particularly in the area of perfecting technology. The large-format presses from Heidelberg are of interest to industrial-scale commercial and packaging print shops. Speedmaster XL 145 and XL 162 presses are based on the technological platform of the XL 105 and deliver impressive benefits such as faster makeready times, less paper waste, consistently high print quality, good flexibility with a range of substrates, and high availability. These features are enhanced by simultaneous washing of the blanket and impression cylinder, and fully automatic plate changes in just a few minutes. Last but not least, the Prinect print shop workflow enables this format class to be fully integrated in an end-to-end solution.