Kennesaw, Ga. - Kennesaw, Ga., – Heidelberg has announced the following new product installations:
 
Brilliant Graphics Adds Luster to Its Heidelberg Lineup with KAMA Die Cutter
 
Brilliant Graphics, Exton, PA confirms the installation of a KAMA ProCut 74 automatic die cutting system with hot foil module. The purchase eliminates Brilliant's need to outsource its half-size die cutting work, yielding a greater measure of quality control and the ability to meet ever-tighter turn times.
 
Said General Manager Harut Shahverdian, "The versatile KAMA ProCut 74 consistently delivers what it promised: high-quality, multi-purpose finishing combined with short setup times, fast changeovers from cutting to foil stamping, and a minimal footprint. Altogether, the KAMA ProCut is a worthy addition to our Heidelberg equipment lineup."
 
KAMA ProCut die cutters can be used to make presentation folders, CD covers, displays, pre-printed sheets for cardboard models, window stickers, flyers, calendars, customer cards, cardboard toys, book covers, register sheets, packaging material, product badges, tax seals, promotion badges, kiss-cut applications such as stickers and decorative labels.
 
Brilliant Studio already operates a fleet of Heidelberg presses, including a 6-color Speedmaster XL 105, a 5-color Speedmaster SM 52, and a 2-color Speedmaster SM 102. Saphira Thermoplate PN plates-exposed at up to 400 lpi with Heidelberg Hybrid Screening technology-are supplied by a Suprasetter S105 CtP unit. As for digital workflow, Brilliant's Heidelberg Prinect capability extends from estimating to bindery. Prinect production components including Signa Station and MetaDimension handle imposition, RIPping, prepress data exchange, and other critical functions. Brillliant also selected Prinect Prinance as its MIS solution, and has taken advantage of Print Color Management (PCM), a color consultation program that shows Heidelberg customers how to optimize the performance of all their Heidelberg devices and software. Brilliant's postpress capability is supplied by a Heidelberg Stitchmaster ST 450 saddlestitcher, a Stahlfolder TH 82, and a POLAR 137 XT paper cutter with jogger, pile turner and Transomat. Both a new Stahlfolder TH 66 and EB 600 perfect binder will be installed shortly.
 
Brilliant Studios produces a wide variety of printed and die-cut materials for high-end retailers, art galleries, auction houses and members of the visual arts community across the U.S. and internationally.
 
Executive Press Appreciates Labor-Saving Features of New Suprasetter
 
Executive Press in Richardson, Texas is running cleaner and greener since it replaced a violet platesetter with a Suprastter A75 thermal computer-to-plate device from Heidelberg. Used to image Heidelberg Saphira Chemfree plates for the company's four offset presses, including a 6-color Speedmaster SM 74 and 4-color Printmaster GTO, the new Suprasetter "fell right in line with our workflow," said General Manager David Allen. Most impressive to Allen and his team is the automatic top loading capability of the new platesetter, which provides fully automated plate loading and slip sheet removal that permits mostly unattended operation of the unit.

Executive Press has a longstanding commitment to green printing. Accordingly, the company has converted to soy-based inks and prints on post-consumer waste recycled or FSC-certified paper, unless otherwise specified. The company has implemented proven systems in its production area to reduce energy usage while recycling all paper and aluminum plates used in the printing process. The new Suprasetter contributes to this effort with its own set of environmental credentials. Consuming 0.7 kilowatts per hour, the Suprasetter A75 platesetter draws around five times less power and generates around five times less waste heat than comparable models from other manufacturers.
 
"Heidelberg equipment is simply the best there is, and its service technicians are well-trained, knowledgeable and persistent," Allen said. "There's none better."
 
Approaching a quarter-century in business, $2.5 million Executive Press currently employs a staff of 12, and serves real estate and building clients and a variety of associations doing business in North Texas.
 
Florida Trade Graphics Serves Up Improved Print Quality with Suprasetter 105 from Heidelberg Florida Trade Graphics, providing printing and binding services exclusively to trade printers and bona fide print brokers nationwide, reports the installation of a Suprasetter 105 computer-to-plate device with workflow from Heidelberg. Since the new platesetter began imaging Heidelberg Saphira Chemfree plates for the company's 6-color Speedmaster CD 102, President and CEO Dennis McNaney says, our organization takes pride in improved print quality across the board-"Customers have noticed, "McNaney said- as well as in running cleaner and greener because the Suprasetter uses less power and because chemical influences have been removed. McNaney adds that from the company's point of view, Heidelberg's prepress workflow is "second to none."
 
Elsewhere in the shop, Florida Trade Graphics operates a 45" POLAR guillotine and a new Stahlfolder TH 82 with VSA stacker, which replaced two aging, competitive folders. According to McNaney, the 25-year-old company is on track to achieve a 25 percent growth in sales this year. The firm employs a staff of 35 in Pompano Beach, FL.
 
Spectrum Printing Adopts Digital Workflow with Heidelberg's Assistance
 
Spectrum Printing, a general commercial and digital wide format printer in Killeen, Texas recently completed its transition from film-based to digital workflow with the installation of a Suprasetter A75 thermal platesetter with single cassette loader and software from Heidelberg. The new CtP device images Heidelberg Saphira Chemfree plates for use in Spectrum's offset equipment, including a Printmaster Quickmaster QM 46 two-color press and an Akiyama four-color press.
 
"We'd been experiencing failures with our film processors, and I was afraid the time would come when it would be a real challenge to have them serviced," said company owner Scott Keese. "It was high time to switch."
 
Heidelberg technicians were instrumental in making the transition as swift and painless as possible, Keese said. "The installation went very smoothly, we were up and running within a day, and Heidelberg kept us going until the training guys arrived. Now," he continued, "We can burn a set of plates faster than we could get the film out and into the stripping department."
 
As for quality, "We've always run a high dot," Keese continued. "That said, we are getting better color consistency and can see the improvement in our printed materials. One of the reasons we selected Heidelberg was our confidence in their color expertise."
 
Established in 1998 and acquired by Keese in 2003, Spectrum Printing accommodates a variety of corporate, financial and educational clients within the state of Texas. It also serves a steady stream of walk-in customers. The company employs a full-time staff of 10.
 
UT Knoxville Lauds Labor-Saving Features of New Stahlfolder USA B20
 
The Graphic Arts Services department at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville (UT Knoxville) recently took delivery of a fully automated 2-station USA B20 Stahlfolder with gatefold attachment to aid in the finishing of printed materials for the Knoxville campus. The new folder replaces an aging, semi-automated model. It adds touchscreen setup, programmability, and the ability to store and recall folding programs used in the production of a wide variety of brochures, newsletters, and small-signature booklets and forms for the University community.
 
According to Graphic Arts and Mail Services Acting Director Jack Williams, the labor-saving automated features of the new folder have made the shop more productive and efficient, as well as limited its need to outsource or rely on hand-finishing and work-arounds for gatefolded products. Operators especially like the automated fold plate setup, Williams said.
 
Graphic Services is a longtime user of Heidelberg equipment, including a 4-color Speedmaster XL 105, a 2-color Speedmaster SM 74, two Printmaster QM 46-2s, and a 36" 2-color SORDZ. In the prepress area, Graphic Services relies on Heidelberg's Prinect Prepress Interface, which links the shop's two-year-old Speedmaster XL 105 with its prepress workflow system by transferring print-relevant parameters from prepress to press. Other postpress equipment includes a 26x40" Stahlfolder, POLAR 115 XT and 78 X guillotine cutters, and a POLAR pile turner.
 
"We've always been impressed with the consistency, quality and reliability of our Heidelberg equipment," Williams said. "Just as important, we maintain a good relationship with Heidelberg's service organization, which is knowledgeable and responsive whenever we call."

In continuous operation for 50 years and more, UT Knoxville's Graphic Arts Services department provides printing and duplication services to faculty, staff, and students. Reproduction equipment ranges from black and white copiers to multi-color printing presses. Basic design and layout assistance on simple projects is also available. UT Knoxville's Graphic Arts Services employs 32. Fourteen employees work in UT's Mailing Services Department, while a staff of two mans the University's Convenience Copier Program.