Installations from Heidelberg Give Printers a Leg up on the Competition

Heidelberg has announced the following new product installations:

Absolute Graphics Aims High with New Suprasetter A75 from Heidelberg

Absolute Graphics, a high-end, short-run, trade printer in Davie, Fla., is thrilled with its new Suprasetter A75 CtP device with MetaDimension RIP and impositioning via SignaStation. The single-feed, top-loading model images Saphira Chemfree thermal plates for the company’s 5-color Heidelberg Printmaster GTO 52, 2-color Printmaster QM 46 and other presses with “perfect consistency,” according to company president Evan Owen. Owen also goes out of his way to praise the new Suprasetter’s performance and “outstanding” ease of use, while noting the longevity of the company’s previous Suprasetter, which was a mainstay of the operation for seven years. Other big plusses for the new platesetter include its compact footprint and minimal power consumption.

“I can’t say enough good things about the equipment, the updated software, and the Saphira Chemfree plates themselves,” Owen said, adding, “Our Heidelberg installer and trainer did a stupendous job helping us negotiate a pretty steep learning curve.”

Established in 1992, Absolute Graphics serves a clientele made up of brokers and other printers with agency, retail and commercial customers. The company employs nine full-time staff members.

Foresight Group Upgrades Small-Format Capability with Speedmaster SM 52

The Foresight Group in Lansing, Mich. reports the installation of a Speedmaster SM 52 4-color press to handle its short-run color work, including the production of full-color envelopes “we couldn’t handle in-house prior to the installation.” According to Foresight’s president, Bill Christofferson, the installation was part of a plant-wide upgrade undertaken in connection with consolidation of the company’s operations, previously housed in four separate buildings, into a single facility.

“We had no loading docks, and for years had been driving paper all the way around the block to our different buildings,” Christofferson said.

The company, which also had outsourced its envelope work to a converting facility 90 miles away, is pleased to be able to bring that capability back in house, thereby regaining an important measure of quality, cost control and convenience. Foresight’s new, 30,000-square-foot plant also made room for a new POLAR 137 XT cutter with P-Net and Compucut, two lifts, jogger, and scale, along with several pieces of used equipment, including a Heidelberg Stitchmaster ST 270. The company also has a Printmaster QM 46 2-color press. Christofferson expects the new installations will give the Foresight Group a competitive advantage on both the small-format side and in its cutting and stitching departments. Foresight’s pressroom also is home to a 40” sheetfed offset press, acquired when the company removed three half-size presses and installed the new Speedmaster SM 52. In the bindery, the folding area is home to a pair of Stahlfolders with knife- and gatefold attachments, recently rebuilt and updated by Heidelberg Systemservice technicians.

The Foresight Group describes itself as a general commercial printer with a growing digital print business, including wide-format display graphics and direct mail. Customers include insurance, companies, educational institutions, associations and hospitals within a 90-mile radius of Lansing. The company employs a full-time staff of 34.

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