KENNESAW, Ga., - February 5, 2004 - Heidelberg today announced that Mississippi's largest commercial printer, Hederman Brothers, headquartered in Jackson Mississippi, has increased its saddle stitching productivity by 11% using a single Heidelberg Stitchmaster 270. After just three months of operation, Hederman Brothers has stitched more than two million books and reduced its run waste by 60%. The ST 270 replaced two competitive six- and eight-pocket cover feeder systems with a single ST 270 with cover and card feeder. The ST 270, which runs between 7,000 and 11,500 cycles per hour, has increased Hederman's production rate and reduced its overall operating costs. "We've been astonished with the performance of this saddle stitcher and its ability to consistently hold its output numbers," said Bob Diehl, executive vice president and chief operating officer. "We're now able to execute five or six different jobs with various makereadies and multiple adjustments while producing 30,000 finished pieces a day. That type of productivity in an eight hour shift was unimaginable before we installed the ST 270." The ST 270 incorporates pockets that allow Hederman to achieve these higher output rates and produce nicer looking finished products. Book inserts are easily stitched and can be run in a single pass by adjusting the pocket to the needs of each particular insert tab, head trim and lip. Heidelberg also fine-tuned both the trimming and scoring features on the ST 270 to help operators achieve one pass productivity and exceed production standards. "The ST 270 provides users with advanced features that make it operator friendly and efficient all at the same time," said Steven Calov, product manager for Heidelberg’s saddle stitching operations in the US. "Heidelberg is committed to developing postpress and saddle stitching equipment that operators find easier, safer and more enjoyable to operate than the systems in the past." Heidelberg's ergonomically designed saddle stitcher, Stitchmaster ST 270, is manufactured to run a highly diverse range of products and substrates. Speed range is up to 11,500 cycles per hour. In today's changing postpress environment where run lengths are shorter and demand a quick turn around has set the standard and has taken the approach to design equipment that can be easily prepared and made readied to insure that the postpress production deadline demands are achieved. "The design of the system has really impressed everyone here at the shop," Diehl said. "Its operator assisted functions provide just the right amount of data to the operator and it maximizes performance to make everything run smoothly and easily. The ST 270 has done everything promised it would plus a whole lot more." In addition to using the ST 270 saddle stitcher, Hederman's sheetfed work is done on Heidelberg systems, including a 6-color Speedmaster CD 102, a 4-color Speedmaster 102 Perfector, a 40-inch 2 color Speedmaster, 1-color 29' Speedmaster and a 5-color Speedmaster 52 with coater. Hederman also runs three Heidelberg Stahl folders and a Heidelberg/Polar cutting system in its finishing department. Hederman Brothers began printing in 1898 and has grown to become the largest commercial printer in Mississippi. With 81 employees and hundreds of clients including some of the state’s largest casinos, corporations, telecommunications companies and universities, Hederman is quickly becoming one of the premiere printers in the southeast.