HEIDELBERG TARGETS CARTONS WITH NEW XL106

The world’s biggest press manufacturer, Heidelberg, is targeting packaging printers with a new version of the Speedmaster 106 XL, which it says will be the fastest offset press on the market.

The company says that by launching a Speedmaster XL 106 with printing speed of 21,000 sheets per hour, up form 18,000sph on current models, it is enabling an annual output of more than 100 million prints in folding carton production.

The new press is due to go into series production in 12 months’ time. It is being beta tested at Cardboard Packaging in Austria.

According to Heidelberg the economic benefit of the new higher speed XL 106 is an eight to ten per cent higher net output and – provided the full potential productivity is utilised – amortisation in around two years.

“Right from its market launch in 2004, XL technology from Heidelberg has set the benchmark in terms of productivity, performance, and reliability for high-end applications in our sector. Heidelberg has continuously enhanced this successful machine platform ever since,” said Dr Ludwin Monz, CEO of Heidelberg. “With the newly unveiled Speedmaster XL 106, Heidelberg is taking sheetfed offset printing performance to the next level, and is enabling folding carton manufacturers in particular to become more competitive.”

In order to achieve the increased performance, Heidelberg has optimised some 200 components throughout the entire system, from feeder to delivery. For example, two servo motors now drive the feeder directly and, in the delivery, the weight of the gripper bars has been reduced, and they have been adapted to the new printing speed to ensure stable and reliable operation.

The new Speedmaster XL 106 was unveiled during the Packaging Day just held at the Heidelberg site in Wiesloch-Walldorf with the motto “Win the Packaging Race”, which saw 300 existing and potential customers from all over the world take part in this event.

It showcased the latest trends on the packaging market and the associated solutions being offered by Heidelberg and its partner MK Masterwork. The presentations focused on process automation, sustainability, operational excellence, and industrial solutions for the postpress packaging segment.

A live broadcast from Cardbox Packaging’s new production centre in Wolfsberg showed participants the new Speedmaster XL 106 in operation.