Present Perfect: 40" Sheetfed Perfectors

Productivity. Versatility. Revenue. These three characteristics of 40"-wide perfector presses have kept this segment of the sheetfed market growing for press manufacturers as well as printers using the equipment.

Printers report double-digit productivity over older presses when printing both sides of the sheet in a single pass. At the same time, convertible perfectors, which can easily be switched between straight and perfecting modes, provide much-need versatility in printing a variety of jobs.

And finally, printers find they can use the equipment to expand their business base as well as increase job turnaround, thereby increasing revenue.

"Perfectors are still very much a hot market," says John Dowey, vice president of sheetfed sales for Heidelberg, which leads all comers in terms of number of sheetfed perfectors installed. "One big reason is that perfectors allow printers to differentiate themselves competitively while giving them production versatility. Together with quicker makereadies and press OKs, printers can go after two different markets and be competitive in both."

To date, he reports, Heidelberg has installed more than 150 Speedmaster "long" perfectors (presses consisting of more than six printing units) in the 29" and 40" format in North America, more than 100 of them in the 40" format. Worldwide, the number is well over 700, again more than two-thirds of the machines in the 40" size.

"We're clearly the leader in perfecting, having sold well over 25,000 sheetfeds of all types and sizes with a perfecting unit," says Dowey.

At the Print 01 show in Chicago last month, Dowey says Heidelberg sold "upwards of a dozen" long perfecting presses in the 29" and 40" formats, including the 12-color on the show floor, sold to an as-yet-unnamed customer.

Several of the 40" presses were sold with the automated Cutstar roll-to-sheet feeder, which Heidelberg debuted at Print 01. "Our customers were very excited to see how this paper-saving and cost-cutting system worked in combination with our long perfecting presses," says Dowey. "We think it's the ideal combination."

"We've sold quite a number of perfectors in the past year," says Bob McKinney, director of marketing for the sheetfed division of KBA North America. "It's a growing area for us." A recent sale involved a fully automated 41" Rapida 105 six-color perfector to Quebecor World Kingsport, which operates a one-million-square-foot book manufacturing facility in Kingsport, Tenn.

At MAN Roland, "Half of our discussions with customers at Print 01 were about perfectors," says Jerry S. Manzi, manager of packaging and key accounts.

Komori America unveiled its Lithrone 40SP Super Perfector press to the North American market at Print 01. In this design, sheets pass directly between Komori's standard double-diameter impression cylinders, each of which has a special ceramic jacket that ensures that cylinder surfaces are identical, providing print uniformity on both sides of the sheet.

Komori sold its first Super Perfector to Taylor Publishing in Dallas.

"In conventional perfecting, the thinking has always been to print one side, then turn the sheet over in the press to print the other side, but our Super Perfector changes that thinking," says Doug Schardt, Komori's product manager. "We print both sides without turning the sheet over. Since our press has no transfer cylinders, printers can get the same print quality on both sides of the sheet, which solves the big issue that many printers have with perfectors."

The Lithrone 40SP, available in Europe and Asia for two years, is installed in 60 to 70 sites.

Manufacturers continue to direct research and development dollars into perfecting the sheetfed perfector design.

Heidelberg has been adding its PerfectJacket to long perfectors and retrofitting older Speedmasters. PerfectJacket involves a specially treated surface used on all the impression cylinders that follow the perfecting unit; it is designed to repel wet ink from the downward side of the perfected sheet.

"The beauty of the system," says Dowey, "is that the jacket allows a lot wider range of papers to be perfected with top quality; allows the printer to run higher densities without muddy halftones or stray ink around type; allows almost identical quality on both sides of the perfected sheet, even when printing identical images; and allows the press to run between 50,000 and 100,000 sheets between impression cylinder wash-ups."

Without PerfectJackets, he explains, cylinder surfaces customarily have to be washed up about every 10,000 to 15,000 impressions.

MAN Roland claims that its new AirGlide delivery system smooths the sheet path on its perfectors by conveying the printed sheet on a cushion of air on its way to the delivery. Moreover, the actual extension is downstream of the sheet ascent ramp, which extends the distance. A visual check of the sheet travel for a correction in time can be performed via numerous openings in the side wall.

Such improvements keep perfectors at the top of the list of printers' purchases. For example, Shorewood Packaging, a 24-year-old, 175-employee printer of home entertainment, music, and CD booklets, actually began its research for a new press with a web press in mind. The Edison, N.J.-based firm, a division of International Paper, has a lot of Heidelberg 40" sheetfeds, including two six-color and one two-color Speedmaster perfector models.

During its research, Shorewood tested a new eight-color 40" Speedmaster at a California site with 10 of its own jobs.

"Those tests made a believer out of me," says Joe Aurillo, plant manager of Shorewood's facility in Edison. "We couldn't tell the difference between the front and back side of the sheet."

Four months ago, Shorewood took delivery of its own 40" Speedmaster four-over-four perfector. "Our new eight-color has quickly become the workhorse of the plant because the bulk of our work is mainly four-over-four," says Aurillo. "In the past, we'd have to turn over the sheets and run them back through the press."

With the new press, he explains, the operator loads a skid of paper once and doesn't touch the job till it is completed. The press is filled to capacity every shift and on weekends during overtime shifts.

Aurillo adds, "We've found that this press produces two-and-one-quarter times more work than our two older six-color perfectors. This productivity rate is giving us faster turnaround, which is what our nationwide clients demand, and has cut our paper waste by 85%."

Eva-Tone Inc., a customized print, audio, data, and multimedia supplier located in Clearwater, Fla., installed a 41" 10-color KBA Rapida 105 perfector in June, cutting makeready time and boosting productivity.

Eva-Tone prints direct-mail work, brochures, and packaging-related material, including CD sleeves for music labels, plus it produces CDs and CD-ROMs and offers Internet services. Although it already had two five-color straight 40" presses as well as a two-color 40" perfector, Eva-Tone was seeking a perfector with higher print quality and ease of operation.

Also, being able to print five-over-five or a straight 10 colors enhanced the appeal of the purchase, especially since so many of Eva-Tone's designers are asking for seven-color jobs.

After a year-long search that included challenging print tests, Eva-Tone found it could not duplicate the superior results produced on the Rapida 105. "We felt the layout of the roller design in the press produced better color control," says Kyle Weaver, manager of print operations for the company. "One-third fewer rollers produce less heat and friction, jobs don't ghost, and the press carries the ink very well."

The 240-employee firm has boosted press capacity by 33% and achieved a 35-minute makeready for both sides of the sheet, half of the previous time.

Although the press is 67 feet long and weighs 85 tons, just two operators run the machine because it is equipped with fully automatic plate changers, CIP4 digital interface, automatic washers and ink roller wash, and a KBA Densitronic closed-loop spectrophotometry system.

Says Weaver, "We had planned to put 70% to 80% of our work on the new perfector, which we've been able to do because of the extensive automation."

One unique attraction was KBA's perforating and scoring unit, applied to only five other sheetfeds in the world, including Eva-Tone's first-in-the-U.S. press. "Our 10-unit press actually has an eleventh unit," explains Weaver. "Before we begin to print, we can perf and score a job in line, which is a big plus since we print a lot of direct-mail reply cards and CD booklets."

The Dallas plant of Taylor Publishing, a division of Commemorative Brands Inc., plans to install two Komori Super Perfectors this fall. The first press is to arrive in early November, the second in early December. Managers of the firm, which prints school annual yearbooks, fine books, and trade books, spent a year researching equipment.

"We needed to totally update our organization," says Timothy H. Wright, vice president of print operations for Commemorative Brands. "In the past, only 10% to 30% of our yearbook printing involved color; now we'll be able to offer full-color yearbooks."

A few months ago, Taylor installed a 40" eight-color Kormori perfector.

In Lancaster, Pa., Intelligencer Printing operates as a privately owned 225-employee general commercial printer billing $48 million in sales. The company, founded in 1794, serves clients in the Northeast corridor, from North Carolina to New York and Connecticut. It produces 60% of its work on half- and three-quarter webs for the direct-mail industry and 40% of its work on four sheetfeds, two of which are 40" perfectors.

Intelligencer installed a MAN Roland 700 seven-color perfector in 1998 and added a six-color MAN Roland 700 perfector last year.

"We've always had perfector presses," says Michael Stief, president and chief executive of Intelligencer Printing. "In fact, we started with Miller presses, before that company was acquired by MAN Roland. Miller pioneered perfecting, then MAN Roland added its Transverter system, which we think makes the press truly markless. We believe Roland perfectors are the superior perfector on the market."

Intelligencer's perfectors can print four-over-two, six-over-one, or five-over-two. "We made a concerted effort with our sales staff to boost perfecting," says Stief. "Now we're researching new markets that can use perfecting and adding new capabilities to our presses."

Meanwhile, in North Andover, Mass., Flagship Press, a 51-year-old general commercial printer with 15 years of perfecting experience, decided to add a 40" Mitsubishi six-color perfector to its line of six sheetfeds in May. The 135-employee shop, which is located in a 65,000-square-foot facility, caters to a mix of high-tech, medical, publishing, and software clients in the Northeast corridor.

"We wanted to add to both our straight and perfecting capabilities," says Charles Poor, president of Flagship Press. "With this press, we can straight print four, five, or six colors with coating, or produce three-over-three, four-over-two, or five-over-one work. It's also faster, prints higher quality, and gives us more versatility."

Since the installation, Flagship Press has been running two-thirds of its jobs as perfecting on the press, printing from 50-lb. paper to an 18-pt. sheet in matte, dull, gloss, and opaque.

Sakurai USA, Inc. offers its Oliver 2102EPII press, a 40" two-color convertible perfector said to be ideal for the book market. The heavy-duty machine, available in low- and high-pile models, features automated perfector changeover, automatic plate changing and interactive control system, continuous dampening, and remote-controlled running register adjustment.