• High quality combined with high automation and flexibility
• Almost 100 Stahlfolder KH 82 folding machines already sold worldwide

"Printing performance" for Schaan-based Gutenberg AG in Liechtenstein means perfection in every respect. To keep on meeting these expectations in finishing, the company recently invested in a Stahlfolder KH 82. The combination folding machine from Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) is equipped with a new, automatically adjustable cross-fold unit, the automatic combination buckle plate, gatefold device, and gluing attachment. Non-stop operation is assured right up to the highest performance levels of 30,000 cycles per hour using a Twinstacker TSH 70 with two stacking levels.

The successful tests at other users of Stahlfolder folding technology impressed Managing Director Remi Nescher. The folding machine also won plaudits with its high level of automation, which significantly shortens makeready times. "The Stahlfolder KH 82 combines the automation, the ability to store all fold types for our jobs, and fast filling using the pallet feeder to give us the sustained high level of performance required," says Nescher.

Gutenberg AG prints in medium format on a Speedmaster SM 74. By selecting a machine with an infeed width of 82 cm (32.28 in) for folding, sheets can now also be processed with oblong sheet feeding, giving the print shop the necessary flexibility in terms of direction of travel and processing of repeats. Gutenberg AG and its more than 30 employees produce a range of products that includes high-quality books and postage stamps for the Swiss postal service, Schweizer Post.

Almost 100 Stahlfolder KH 82 folding machines already sold worldwide
This is already the thirteenth Stahlfolder KH 82 folding machine installed in Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Overall, almost 100 machines have been supplied to all major industrialized nations since the market launch at drupa 2008. The Stahlfolder KH 82 combi folder has set a new standard in the cost-effective production of folding sheets thanks to its high level of automation, resulting in minimal makeready times, and the uniquely high production speed of 230 meters (754 ft) per minute.

The centerpiece of the new folding technology, the automated cross-fold unit, is available from Heidelberg with working widths of 66 and 82 centimeters (25.98 and 32.28 in). The servo-powered folding knife enables the maximum speed to be increased to 30,000 cycles per hour. The servo drive allows the knife speed to be regulated independently of the main drive. The knife can also be moved manually using the jog wheel (electronic handwheel) to check that sheet infeed is centralized, for example. All knife settings, such as the height and incline, can be stored and reproduced for repeat jobs. The lift kit in the parallel folding unit and the slitter shaft carriages in the cross-fold units ensure optimum accessibility to the slitter shafts.

The Stahlfolder KH 66 and KH 82 machines thus cover the most common format range in industrial-scale commercial signature production and are one reason for the success of this new generation of folding machines. They can be fully integrated via the Prinect print shop workflow and offer yet further possibilities for optimization through the combination of workflow and highly automated folding machines.