October 11, 2017

Heidelberg Technology and Automation Produce Industry-Leading Productivity Levels, Maximize Profits for Printers
	Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG

PO Box
69159 Wiesloch
Germany

Gutenbergring
69168 Wiesloch

Hilde Weisser

Phone +49 6222 82-67971
Fax +49 6222 82-99 67971

Hilde.Weisser@heidelberg.com
www.heidelberg.com

•	Automation and true technology advancements like Heidelberg’s Innovative Push to Stop lower printers’ cost per sheet and improve their profits
•	Two new white papers from Printing Industries of America (PIA) reveal productivity is three times more important than equipment purchase price in regards to printer profitability

Citing two new white papers from the Printing Industries of America, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) finds new technology when driven by the automation of processes like “Push to Stop” provides a direct link to enhanced productivity and maximum profitability.

The two white papers, published by Dr. Ronnie H. Davis, PIA’s Chief Economist, focus on the roles that productivity and costs play in a printer’s overall profitability. Davis argues lowering manufacturing costs is the main way to boost profits. In fact, a 1% decrease in costs equates to a 34% increase in profits based on the industry-wide average of 2% profit.

Lowering Costs Through New Investment
The reports show the wide profit gap ($13 for every $100 Job) between profit leaders in the printing industry and those with profit potential (Figure 1). This gap, Davis attributes, is a direct result of the reduction of manufacturing costs by the profit leaders through investment in new, technologically advanced equipment. According to PIA’s studies, customers who invest in new technology, “save more than two employees per million dollars in sales.”
Heidelberg presses have historically led the industry in terms of highest net productivity and annual impressions. Recent developments, such as “Push to Stop” technology have pushed productivity and automation to a whole new level and have the potential to make the profit gap even wider. The technology, which was introduced at drupa, allows jobs to be autonomously changed over without operator intervention and continue to print until the operator steps in to interrupt if required, which greatly reduces the number of operating steps. The systematic elimination of time on every job change leads to consistent savings and increased efficiency.

Unprecedented Levels of Productivity 
In Davis’s white paper, “Understanding Productivity,” he focuses on how productivity plays the key role in lowering manufacturing costs. When calculating cost to produce a job on different equipment, the productivity of a machine is three times more important than the price differential between the machines. Davis summarizes stating that “The bottom line is that productivity driven by automation, innovation, and technology embedded equipment drives down costs and increases financial performance.”

Early adopters to Heidelberg’s “Push to Stop” technology have already seen drastic improvements in both their productivity and profitability:

Moquin Press, Belmont, California, USA:
“Bringing Push to Stop into our pressroom has been a total game changer. The unprecedented level of integration of the machine with our workflow has made a tremendous impact to our productivity and has already driven our costs down. Accuracy, speed, and incredibly fast changeovers from job to job – compared to our older machine, the difference has been night and day,” said Greg Moquin, President and Owner.

Triangl AG, Prague, Czech Republic:
The recently installed Speedmaster CX 102-5+L with the latest Push to Stop generation has exceeded all expectations for Triangl, with a productivity increase of over 70 percent. With what has been delivered in the first two months, they expect to produce more than 70 million sheets this year.

When asked what these new reports mean to Heidelberg, Andy Rae, Head of Group Marketing states, “At Heidelberg, we are the industry leaders in productivity. This study shows that the productivity gain only needs to be around 33% of the price differential price gap to justify the more expensive purchase. In other words to justify a 25% price premium, you need to deliver 8.75% more output! For our customers, it means the equipment that produces the lowest cost per sheet based on their capacity need, should be the one to purchase for maximum bottom line benefit– even if it seems more expensive at the time. Productivity trumps cost. Period!”

To read the PIA’s Reports in full, please visit http://www.printing.org/programs/print-economics-management/additional-economic-reports 

Chart: Comparative Cost for Every $100 Job

For further information about the company and image material, please visit the Press Lounge 
of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG at www.heidelberg.com.

For further information: 
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG

Hilde Weisser
Phone: +49 6222 82-67971
Fax: +49 6222 82-99 67971
E-Mail: Hilde.Weisser@heidelberg.com