From the middle of this year, Paul Gerin GmbH & Co KG, a print shop based in Wolkersdorf, near Vienna, will be running a Speedmaster XL 106 with LE UV (LE = low energy). The eight-color perfecting press with coating unit from Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) is the first of its kind with this innovative drying technology to be installed in Austria. "This investment is the most important step we have taken in recent decades. It will open up new opportunities, enabling us to offer our customers an even better service and become a pioneer in our sector," says managing director Michael Braun. The new press is replacing two presses from another German manufacturer. 

Established in 1871, the family business has 135 employees and produces a wide range of commercial work - from business cards to large-format posters. Some 80 percent of the print shop's 300 biggest customers come from the advertising and industrial sectors. For example, Gerin handles all the printing work for Austria's national rail company (the ÖBB) and a large number of orders for Swarovski. The company also manufactures print products for publishing houses and is the market leader in the art printing sector. "We are now finally in a position where we can supply even the most discerning artists with books that retain the tactile qualities and brilliance of natural paper and achieve the best possible quality, without the need for protective coatings," says Braun. The print shop supplies products to all the states in Austria and to Germany, the Czech Republic, Solvenia, and Liechtenstein. "We want to achieve even shorter delivery turnarounds with the Speedmaster XL 106 LE UV and save energy to help protect the environment," says factory manager Ernst Scheidl. With run lengths getting ever shorter - currently at an average of 2,500 sheets - the new press will make a big difference thanks to minimal makeready times and maximum automation. "Because the LE UV technology ensures that sheets exit the machine dry without the need for powder, complaints will drop to virtually zero, as we won't have to deal with problems such as smudging in postpress," says Scheidl. 

"Excellent and thorough customer support is very important to us. Now we can offer even more finishing options and we're planning to extend our portfolio to include foil printing," says Braun. The Speedmaster XL 106 with LE UV is equipped with the foil package, which means it can print on both absorbent and non-absorbent substrates. "We hope this press will help us lure back previous customers, give existing customers even more reasons to stick with us, and win completely new ones," says Braun, outlining his ambitious aim. "By providing its huge expertise - which also stretches to both ink suppliers of highly reactive inks - and a fast and far-reaching service portfolio, Heidelberg is helping us do just that."