Every printer knows that what happens to the sheet after it is printed is no less critical to the success of the job than the laydown of the inks and the coatings. Offering more postpress and finishing solutions (including digital in-line and near-line) than any other supplier, Heidelberg will capitalize on its presence at drupa 2012 to showcase the value its systems can add in these areas throughout the show.
 
Finishing Solutions for Offset and Digitally Printed Materials
Among the standouts in the category of commercial postpress are new and improved versions of Heidelberg’s Eurobind 1300/1300 PUR (polyurethane) and Eurobind Pro adhesive binders; a new, efficiency-boosting digital machine control system for the Stahlfolder Ti 52 and Stahlfolder Ti 36 buckle folders; a new, pneumatic twin lay device on the Stahl TD94/112; a new line of POLAR guillotine cutters from 56cm (22”) to 176cm (69”), including new networked workflow and expanded features; a POLAR BC330 three-side book trimmer; and enhanced cutting productivity solutions for label production by faster cycle speeds and material handling improvements. 
 
Digital Book Production
New automated functions lend the Eurobind 1300/1300 PUR adhesive binder even greater flexibility and cost-efficiency in digital book production. The professional four-clamp binder processes folded signatures and single sheets in runs from 1 to 5,000 copies, regardless of whether offset or digital printing has been used, at speeds up to 1,300 cycles per hour. The machine incorporates a host of innovations, the most important of which are a user-friendly 15” touchscreen, a new PUR glue application nozzle with side gluing unit, and a fully automated cover feeder. Special functions for digital printing applications include an automatic block thickness measuring device for single-copy production, in addition to an optional bar code reading system that continuously compares bar codes for covers and content to ensure that all the individual parts fit together correctly. A bar code printer is also available for hard cover production quality inspection. Print shops and bookbinders can use the machine to cost-effectively manufacture everything from simple catalogs and quality brochures to digitally printed personalized photo books in the shortest of runs.

New Digital Control System for Stahlfolder Ti Series
Heidelberg’s Stahlfolder Ti series with new CCT (Compact Control Technology) offers key benefits to small and medium-sized print shops having to cope with a large number of different variants combined with shrinking runs. The new digital machine control system for the Stahlfolder Ti36 and Ti52 buckle-plate folding machines significantly reduces the makeready time per job while making the operator’s job even easier. Both folders are operated from a console located on the feeder that features a clear layout and an ergonomic design for easy access. A graphic user interface guides operators step-by-step through the setup process, and an electronic self-learning mode offers additional support. Various monitoring functions that together ensure end-to-end quality control and greater production reliability, and that include a sheet travel monitor to check that all sheets comply with the specified length. A movable remote control for the 2nd and 3rd stations allows control of the folder downstream.

With up to three folding units and a maximum of 14 (Ti 52) and 16 (Ti 36) buckle plates, Heidelberg’s Stahlfolder Ti series folders produce a wide range of fold types, including complex fold-gluing and gatefolds. The 3.15”x3.94” Stahlfolder Ti 36 specializes in the very short fold lengths with numerous parallel and cross-folds that are typical of items such as pharmaceutical inserts, user instructions, advertising materials, and packaging inserts. The Stahlfolder Ti 52 fulfills the requirements of medium-format customers, such as quick and easy processing of traditional advertising brochures, flyers, and signatures with eight A4 or A5 pages. It can fold flat formats ranging from 3.94”x5.91” to 20.47”x 33.07”. A host of configuration options enable both folding machines to be adapted for individual jobs.
 
Oblong Feeding 
On the high-output Stahlfolder TD94/112, an ingenious pneumatic twin lay system substantially increases output without increasing machine speed. Normally, the sheet is fed into the folding machine lengthwise, but with the new pneumatic twin lay system, it is rotated 90 degrees for oblong feeding. The pneumatic twin lay system after the first folding station transports the sheets to a twin lay at the second folding station, where two sheets at a time are processed in parallel. As a result of the sheet's shorter feed length at the same machine speed, output is increased by around 30 to 40 percent based on format alone. 
 
A Cutting Edge for One-Shift Operations 
Connectable via ordinary house current wall outlet, the new programmablePOLAR 56 guillotine cutter with hydraulic drive is an apt choice for commercial one-shift and digital printers. Equipped with a 5.5'' monochrome (56 ECO) or 18.5” touchscreen display for the networkable version (56 NET), the small-format POLAR 56 combining POLAR’s legendary reliability, build quality, and ease of use in a new, small-format size will be launched at drupa 2012.
 
Digital Book Trimming
Digital book production down to run lengths of 1, combined with commercial print quality trimming at a reasonable cost has been a challenge in the industry. Choices for trimming have been either expensive book trimmers, or cutting on standard guillotine cutters. The latter raises quality issues due to the clamp crushing the spine, unless a special clamp is used. At drupa, Heidelberg and POLAR will show the new BC330 book trimmer that is ideally suited for digital book production in combination with single clamp perfect binders, such as Heidelberg’s Eurobind 600. The BC330 is capable of cutting books from raw sizes of 4 ¾” x 6” to a maximum of 12” x 13” with a thickness per cut of 2”. Multiple books in a lift also can be cut, improving productivity to a maximum of 240 blocks of books per hour. 
 
Cutting Automation
POLAR also will launch a new version of its “N” series guillotine cutting systems. Evolving from the highly successful X series cutters, “N” series cutters from 78cm (30”) to 176cm (69”) incorporate all of POLAR’s industry leading technology, including hydraulic clutch with worm gear drive design with either a 22” (N Pro) or 18.5” (N Plus) color touchscreen display. These cutters combine POLAR’s latest networking capability to drive cut programs from impositioning software in prepress directly to the cutter through CompuCut 5.0. Production information from the cutter can be retrieved back to the MIS system, and animation of all cutting functions promotes ease-of-use, shortens makeready, and minimizes waste. Also available is an OptiClamp that provides for improved cut quality of compressible or wavy stocks such as synthetic labels. The POLAR N92 now also boasts a front downholder feature for small cut product. 
 
Label Cutting Production
POLAR label cutting solutions will also see some improvements in time for drupa 2012. The speed of the DC-11 die cutting system increases from 16 cycles/minute to 20 cycles/minute, for example, and a belt conveyor system is now available following the integrated banding unit. The DCC-10 system adds a LT-N loading table and improves die cutting for applications with a cardboard underlayer. The square-cut label system SC-10 adds an integrated airboard lift and can incorporate a BM-105 multistation bander. TheSC-25 square-cut system adds log-banding capability for applications or fulfillment requiring larger stacks of labels.
 
All-Purpose, Short-Run Finishing Options
For the short-run finishing of packaging, commercial and digital materials, theKAMA ProCut 53 die-cutter and the new KAMA ProCut 76 with hot foil boast new features including an Auto-Register system that catches slight register differences and quickly adjusts every single sheet to a printing mark, ensuring that embossing, die cutting, and foiling are exact on every sheet, and giving digitally printed sheets a high-end finish. New applications for the KAMA ProFold 74 folder-gluer include a creasing, cutting and perforating unit. The new module integrates these operations in the workflow prior to folding and gluing, and works perfectly for jobs such as creased and folded greeting cards and blanks, cut and glued displays, and perforated response cards. Several accessories for short run (digital) packaging are available as well, including a lock bottom device and a pre-breaker. The new KAMA Job Planner 2.0 SWfacilitates makeready by analyzing the carton design file and delivering a makeready job ticket procedure.
 
More To Come
As the only manufacturer to offer equipment, workflow, and services covering the entire value-added chain for packaging printing, Heidelberg will reinforce its focus on the packaging market at drupa 2012 with solutions that will enable packaging printers to offer an expanded range of applications to their customers. Among these are the compact, flexible Diana X 80 folding carton gluer; the versatile Varimatrix 82 CS diecutter; and the short-makeready, high-performance Dymatrix 106 Pro with new chase changer. Details about these and other packaging innovations will be covered a forthcoming press release.