World's only 2x8 format web press delivers compelling
productivity and efficiency advantages
Heidelberg has once again leveraged gapless blanket
technology to offer web offset printers an innovative new
opportunity for enhanced productivity and efficiency.
The new Sunday 3000/32 is the world's first
single-circumference web press to offer the advantage of an
eight-pages-across cylinder configuration. A web width of 1830
millimeters (72 inches) allows the press to print 32 magazine-size
pages per revolution at speeds of up to 100,000 impressions per
hour.
Heidelberg will display a printing unit from the Sunday
3000/32 at drupa, along with a new PCF-3 pinless combination folder
that complements the press and runs at 100,000 impressions per
hour. Thijsen Rotatiedruck in The Netherlands has been operating
the first Sunday 3000/32 since February. Three additional Sunday
presses are being installed by Arandell and Quad/Graphics in the
United States.
"This is an important breakthrough in the revolutionary
Sunday Technology development program that began more than a decade
ago," explains Werner Albrecht, president of Heidelberg's
Web Systems division. "The new productivity, efficiency and
versatility advantages of the wider format are right on target with
the market requirements and competitive pressures that high-volume
printers around the world are facing."
Gapless blanket technology is vital to the new 2x8 format.
The tubular blankets eliminate vibrations that would otherwise
compromise speed and print quality with the wider,
eight-pages-across cylinders. Heidelberg first introduced gapless
blankets in 1993 with the original 24-page Sunday 3000 press.
Market applications
Printing 32 pages per impression instead of 16 or 24 pages
increases productivity and allows more efficient press
configurations. The 2x8 format can also deliver signatures in a
variety of "industry standard" page increments.
Albrecht says the new one-web Sunday 3000/32 is an attractive
replacement option for the large installed base of two-web 16-page
presses common in North American catalog and publication printing
operations. "The productivity is higher, the number of
printing units is cut in half and the complexity of running two
webs is eliminated," he explains.
The Sunday 3000/32 can also be installed in a two-web
configuration. Replacing a pair of two-web 16-page presses with a
two-web Sunday 3000/32 offers the additional advantage of a
reduction in the number of operators required.
The new single-circumference Sunday 3000/32 also provides a
new alternative to double-circumference presses for high-pagination
applications. "For many printers, the single-circumference
format has always been the standard for the highest quality web
offset printing," Albrecht explains. "With the wider
Sunday Press, we have extended the productivity of that format
without compromising the quality."
New folding technology
Heidelberg now offers high-speed pinless former and
combination folders that complement the Sunday 3000/32. The new
PCF-3 combination model includes three innovative signature
handling technologies. A patented Double-Cut process separates
signatures from the ribbon in two steps to maintain positive
control, while a new Dynamic Diverter minimizes marking by
eliminating stationary surfaces in the signature diversion process.
The PCF-3 also features a new matched-velocity system to slowdown
signatures by up to 45 percent for accurate quarterfolding.
A PFF-3 double-former folder delivers magazine, tabloid and
slim jim signatures that can be adjusted in four-page increments.
Both Sunday 3000/32 folders run at full press speed of 3,000 feet
per minute (15 meters per second) and can be preset from the
Omnicon control console.
Pinless folders minimize trim waste, complementing the paper
saving made possible by the small non-print area of the gapless
Sunday Press blankets
Standard Sunday Press features
The Sunday 3000/32 is controlled by the Heidelberg Omnicon
controls and Prinect Web Center modules, allowing full integration
of all components, direct presetting and extensive automation.
Additional standard Sunday Press features include independent AC
drives, 14-roll ink trains and in-line cylinder stacks. Heidelberg
can supply fully automated zero-speed splicers or flying pasters
with the press. Dryer options include the Ecocool with integrated
chill rolls, the Ecotherm or the Ecoweb.
Image:
The new Sunday 3000/32 extends web widths from six pages
to eight pages, providing productivity, efficiency and versatility
advantages.
For further information:
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
Corporate Communications
Hans-Dieter Siegfried
Tel.: +49 (0)6221 92 50 63
Fax: +49 (0)6221 92 50 46
E-mail:
hans-dieter.siegfried@heidelberg.com
Heidelberg Web Systems
Greg Norris
Tel.: +1 603 740 5907
Fax: +1 603 749 3301
E-mail:
greg.norris@heidelberg.com