Heidelberg printers drive Eastern Press evolution

Melbourne printer’s transition from a print store and dispatch organisation after 25 years to an on-demand print service speeds up with a new Speedmaster XL75 press.

According to Eastern Press managing director, Frank Hilliard, when the cost of printing and storing large quantities was weighed against the efficiency of current make-ready and print speeds, he found little reason to continue with the company’s old print model.

"All the new equipment we are purchasing is geared towards making that transition, profitably. And it will also help us to reduce waste. I’d estimate around 20% of the print we store for customers ends up being discarded,” he says.

Frank believes the new Heidelberg XL75 (pictured) five-colour press with coater will enable his company to more effectively meet the on-demand requirements of the market and provide customers in the A2/A3 markets with a more efficient service.



“We operate in the medium to high quality print space and often produce jobs that require heavy ink coverage. Without a coater these jobs have to be left overnight to dry before we can do anything with them. We anticipate the XL 75 with coater will speed up the process considerably,” he adds.

Frank says the most significant shift he has seen in recent times are customers moving away from the print, store and dispatch model of print management to ordering as needs dictate. He is an advocate for this model.

Eastern Press’ recent purchases hastening its shift towards on-demand printing include Australia’s first Anicolor Speedmaster press and an HP Indigo 3550.

Alastair Hadley, general manager of sales & marketing at Heidelberg, believes Frank has the right attitude towards investing in new equipment to enable him to better serve his customers’ shifting needs.

“Those companies who focus on patching up outdated equipment are only prolonging the inevitable. You cannot be competitive working with old technology. The only way to ensure sustainability and drive profits is to employ the most efficient production equipment and solutions,” says Hadley.