Since the end of last year, French packaging printer Cartoneo has been operating not one but two new six-color presses from Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) - a Speedmaster XL 162 and a Speedmaster XL 105. Both presses have a coating unit and integrated UV equipment for printing with UV inks and coatings. They replace two competitor presses in the same formats. Cartoneo specializes in the design, printing, and packaging of point-of-sale (POS) items such as displays and surface-finished packaging in short and very short runs. The company's exacting requirements in terms of print quality and surface finishing options and its focus on very short runs were the main reasons that led it to opt for Peak Performance presses from Heidelberg. Cartoneo makes products for customers in the cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, fashion, and spirits industries and also for small and exclusive vineyards in the Champagne region that operate in the high-price segment. The company is planning further market growth in these areas. 

It has a number of production sites in the up-and-coming economic region of Rhône-Alpes. These are located in south-eastern France, between Lyons and Geneva. A new building was constructed specifically for the new presses at the company's Geovreissiat site near the Swiss border. Cartoneo has around 100 employees and is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. 

Top quality, far shorter makeready times, and less waste 
Cartoneo uses the Speedmaster XL 162 large-format press primarily for displays and POS items and the Speedmaster XL 105 for packaging with surface finishing. In large-format applications in particular, the average run is 3,000 sheets or less. The two new presses quickly enabled makeready times to be cut by up to 30 percent thanks to their high level of automation and integrated control of color and register with Prinect Inpress Control. This has also significantly reduced paper waste and led to lower production costs - benefits that are all the more important when using substrates with surface finishing and this particular format. What's more, the customer is impressed by the presses' print quality, with their clean printing of screens and solids, and by their stable color balance during production. 

A whole new level of performance in large-format packaging printing 
Heidelberg first unveiled its two large-format presses - the Speedmaster XL 162 and Speedmaster XL 145 - at drupa 2008 and started series production in 2009. Packaging printers now own more than 50 percent of all large-format presses built by the company. While the presses in the Speedmaster XL 145 family are primarily used in folding carton production, the Speedmaster XL 162 series is mainly intended for printing POS materials in short runs. Both presses set the benchmark in their class when it comes to flexible and profitable production. They give users a clear technological edge on the market.