Heidelberg chases short-run market with new inking system

The new inking unit will be shown at Ipex in April, and is unique in that it contains no inking zones. According to Heidelberg, the new technology allows for even the shortest of runs to be produced using a standard offset workflow, while retaining the higher margins associated with its equipment.

Glenn Plummer, marketing manager for Heidelberg in Australia and NZ, claims the new inking unit demonstrates his company will do whatever it takes to keep offset in competition with emerging digital technologies.

“This Anicolour innovation illustrates Heidelberg's continued commitment to research and development and investment in offset technology,” says Plummer.

“With the Australia and NZ marketplace being early adopters of leading-edge Heidelberg technology, we expect there to be considerable interest in Anicolour,” says Plummer.

Heidelberg claims the lack of ink-zone settings on the new unit cuts make-ready times by as much as 40 percent, boosting press capacity by 25 percent as a result. The startup sheets required when using the new unit are reduced to as little as ten or twenty, depending on the print motif, meaning startup waste is reduced by as much as 90 percent.

Another eye-catching feature of the Anicolor unit is that it claims to remove ghosting from the printing process. The format-size screen and inking form roller allows exactly the same amount of ink to be supplied to the printing plate with each revolution, and the temperature control system allows for the ink applied to printing materials to be adapted over the entire printing form.

While Heidelberg is yet to announce the rollout for Anicolour in the Australian and NZ marketplace, Plummer confirms mid-2007 as the likely date.