Kennesaw, Ga. – Burke Group of Edmonton, Canada recently signed the First North American Heidelberg Subscription contract, which will enable Burke to double their productivity and increase profit without the challenges that come with equipment ownership.

Through the Subscription Model, Heidelberg provides everything Burke needs – new Heidelberg equipment, Prinect software, Saphira consumables, parts, consulting, and service all for a monthly fee that is based on the number of printed sheets Burke produces each month. The cost-per-sheet charge is calculated by working with Burke to analyze current operations and to predict what production levels can be expected once all Heidelberg components are in place. This helps establish a goal for Burke to increase overall production and decrease their cost-per-sheet.

“Heidelberg has recognized that the printing industry is so much more than just selling a press every 5-7 years,” said Ian Burke, CEO of Burke Group. “They have the products, technology, service, and people needed to help print shops succeed. With Heidelberg putting all of these components together in one Subscription Model, it really sets the stage for an excellent partnership. Rather than focusing on our press and equipment, we can now put our focus on our growth strategy, which is accomplishing faster turnaround times and producing more work. With all the equipment we are installing with the Subscription Model, one of our goals is to produce perfect bound books within 48 hours.”

“With the Subscription Model, we’re sharing the opportunities and risks with our customers,” said Felix Mueller, President of Heidelberg Americas. “We’re providing everything the customer needs and simply selling productivity.”

High Performance Postpress for Highly Productive Press
Burke’s Subscription contract includes a new Speedmaster XL 106 8-color perfector with coater and LE UV curing, a Stahlfolder TH 82-P with the high performance PFX pallet feeder, and a POLAR N 137 cutting machine. Running 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, Burke plans on running twice as much work through their print shop thanks to their new equipment and partnership with Heidelberg.

Replacing a competitive press, Burke’s Speedmaster XL 106 will join their Speedmaster SM 52 and Speedmaster SX 52 in their press room. Thanks to the LE UV technology on the XL 106, all papers produced on the press will be able to go straight to postpress. Printing at speeds up to 18,000 sheets an hour, Burke found it crucial to have postpress equipment that was just as efficient as their industry-leading press.

“There are so many printing companies throughout the world that install a printing press that produces 16-18,000 sheets an hour, but then neglect to install postpress equipment to support the press,” said Burke. “Printing at peak-productivity is the easy part. However, getting those pieces through postpress is more challenging. With our new Stahlfolder TH 82, we plan on having our postpress equipment just as productive as a press.”

Allowing speeds beyond 16,000 sheets an hour, the award winning Stahlfolder TH 82-P with the PFX pallet feeder will improve Burke’s turnaround and makeready times. Thanks to the PFX pallet feeder, one sheet exits a fold plate while the next one is entering it. This innovative technology keeps the linear speed of the TH 82-P in a typical comfort zone of 160 m/min for consistently high quality folding. The TH 82-P is the first folder that matches the output of a modern sheetfed printing press.

Beyond Industry-Leading Technology
Heidelberg Subscription goes beyond providing customers with equipment, technology, and perfectly-tuned Saphira Consumables. The Subscription Contract also includes performance efficiency meetings in which the Heidelberg team analyzes Burke’s KPIs and compares them to other printers in the industry. During these meetings, both companies agree on ambitious goals for Burke’s monthly or annual print productions in order to increase their productivity.

“At Burke, we believe in doing anything our client needs to succeed. We try to be with them throughout the whole process, and that’s exactly what Heidelberg is doing through the Heidelberg Subscription model,” said Burke. “When you have a partner like that, we’ll both end up being successful. Heidelberg is there for us well beyond just selling a highly-productive press – they’re there to make sure we achieve all of our goals.”

For more information on Heidelberg Subscription, click here.

Front row from left to right: Ulrich Hermann, CDO Heidelberg; and Ian Burke, CEO of Burke Group. Back row from left to right: Clint Ferner, Heidelberg Canada; Barry Burke and Carmen Rouselle, both from Burke Group; and David Schmedding, Head of Corporate & Digital Business Development at Heidelberg.