Speedmaster CD 74 - User Report: Häuser KG and Artoos Communication Group Belgium

Satisified customers give the green light for dynamic sheet brake.

Whether they are jobs for thin or thick printing stock - the experience with the new dynamic sheet brake gathered in everyday print production with the Speedmaster
CD 74 from Heidelberg is altogether positive and has even exceeded customer expectations.

The dynamic sheet brake combined with the blast air delivery system reduces production times already during make-ready - irrespective of the print run's size. The precise sheet transfer on the braking elements increases setup speed by up to 2,000 sheets per hour. Printers say that, specifically for 4/4 printing, production speed could be boosted by up to 15 percent.

Heiko Mazur of the print shop Häuser KG in Cologne reports that he has already produced 17 million prints in two-shift operation on his Speedmaster CD 74-8P installed in October 2005. When he purchased the press, he was uncertain whether he would actually be able to use the second shift to full capacity. Meanwhile, the press operates in three shifts and the company is thinking about investing in another Speedmaster
CD 74-8P.

This boost in productivity at Häuser KG can be attributed to a constantly increasing order intake via the Internet. Yet, the print shop's success naturally also depends on reliable job processing based on the harmonious interaction between online order intake, prepress, press and postpress, which is precisely coordinated by Heiko Mazur.

Since June 2006, the print shop Artoos in Belgium is also using the dynamic sheet brake installed on a Speedmaster CD 74-10 with perfecting device and coating unit. The ten-color press operates along with two long perfectors Speedmaster SM 74 and a Speedmaster CD 74-5. The company often produces short print-runs between 500 and 2,000 sheets. For these short runs in particular, fast job changes are crucial for cost-effective production.

In this context, the dynamic sheet brake in combination with the new blast air delivery system on the Speedmaster CD 74 is a decisive advantage also for Artoos. Many of the print shop's jobs can only be processed with two sheet brakes because images running across the reverse side do not allow for a braking element in the middle of the sheet. But even with just two sheet brakes, make-ready of all grammages and printing stocks takes place at a speed of 12,000 sheets per hour and jobs are processed reliably at up to 15,000 sheets per hour.

The V position of the outer sheet brakes, which tauten the printed sheet, ensures an accurate delivery pile ready for quick finishing. Combined with the blast air system now featuring 18 fans, which are individually adjustable to different format sizes and stocks via a separate control panel at the delivery, this allows Artoos to maintain its normal throughput times.

The innovative dynamic sheet brake together with the precisely adjustable blast air delivery system is highly appreciated by both print shops as "the best delivery they ever had" as it allows them to take full advantage of the maximum speed of 15,000 sheets per hour reached by the Speedmaster CD 74 perfecting models.