Anicolor Technology from Heidelberg Helps the Environment
Proving being ecological and economical are not mutually exclusive,
the ABC Print Group in Hereford in the U.K. has been printing for
over a year with a Speedmaster SM 52 with an Anicolor short inking
unit. Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) unveiled Anicolor
technology at IPEX 2006, enabling customers to cut waste by up to
90 percent. "We estimated we'd save one million sheets and are
pleasantly surprised to find that this figure is actually over 1.5
million sheets for the year," says Mike Greene, Managing Director
of the ABC Print Group. "We therefore save over 32 tons of paper
each year and reduce the impact on the environment by around 40
tons of CO2 a year," he adds. The short makeready times enable the
print shop to produce up to ten 180-sheet jobs an hour. "Anicolor
is a highly innovative technology that ensures profitability for us
and allows us to offer our customers a fast, high-quality print
service," says a delighted Greene.
The Anicolor press can print up to 15,000 sheets per hour in A3 format or 30,000 sheets per hour in A4 format, offering high quality with total colour stability. Anicolor technology thus enables cost-effective production of short and very short runs, and shifts the boundary between digital and offset printing further in the latter's favour. What's more, Anicolor's strengths can also be exploited to the full with long runs, which is not the case for digital printing.
One other interesting fact that Mike points out is that their previous conventional SM 52 with coater, which they replaced with the Anicolor press ran for two or often three shifts, but now they clear their work in one single day shift of about 10 hours. "The savings in labor costs and electricity are pleasing to say the least" he says.
A win-win situation for the environment and customers
Environmental issues are playing an ever greater role in the print industry. For a number of years, Heidelberg has been working on solutions for the development, production, and utilization of presses that will limit the depletion of resources, reduce emissions, and cut wastage.
In the end, cutting consumption is not just beneficial for the environment - it also helps reduce print shop costs. As well as competitive prices, print shops can also offer their customers and print buyers specific environmental benefits.
The Anicolor press can print up to 15,000 sheets per hour in A3 format or 30,000 sheets per hour in A4 format, offering high quality with total colour stability. Anicolor technology thus enables cost-effective production of short and very short runs, and shifts the boundary between digital and offset printing further in the latter's favour. What's more, Anicolor's strengths can also be exploited to the full with long runs, which is not the case for digital printing.
One other interesting fact that Mike points out is that their previous conventional SM 52 with coater, which they replaced with the Anicolor press ran for two or often three shifts, but now they clear their work in one single day shift of about 10 hours. "The savings in labor costs and electricity are pleasing to say the least" he says.
A win-win situation for the environment and customers
Environmental issues are playing an ever greater role in the print industry. For a number of years, Heidelberg has been working on solutions for the development, production, and utilization of presses that will limit the depletion of resources, reduce emissions, and cut wastage.
In the end, cutting consumption is not just beneficial for the environment - it also helps reduce print shop costs. As well as competitive prices, print shops can also offer their customers and print buyers specific environmental benefits.
