Heidelberg packs the house

The Polar PACE Cutting System, Varimatric 105CS die-cutter and the Easygluer 100 folding box cutter took centre stage at Heidelberg's Open House.

Visitors from around Australia and overseas attended the demonstrations in Notting Hill, Victoria last week. According to Alastair Hadley, general manager, the emphasis on packaging and die-cutting is part of a global focus from the company.

"We recognised that packaging is an area of growth and has better return than commercial print," he said.

"The Open House was an opportunity for our existing customers wanting to grow their business to look at adding value through packaging."

Hadley acknowledged that packaging and die-cutting is a natural extension for the press provider, while also complimenting the existing capabilities of Heidelberg's products.

"The cutting systems allow users to do things faster," he said.

"You need to be able to speed up the bindery somehow; and that's an area that hasn't seen a lot of automation until recently."

John Harrison, product manager, packaging solutions, gave presentations and demonstrations on the Varimatrix and Easygluer respectively.

The Varimatrix 105 C/CS is an entry-level solution for economical die-cutting and embossing that can process up to 7,500 sheets and hour and is ideally suited to medium-length and long runs.

In the five years it has been available, 160 Varimatrix machines have been sold and, Harrison believes, will continue to do so.

"Before the Varimatrix, Heidelberg was not involved in packaging," he explained.

"All of those [original] Heidelberg customers had very high expectations of the Varmatrix and they weren't disappointed."

While Harrison (pictured above) described the Easygluer 100 as "ideal for entry into cartons", he sees its flexibility as a chief selling point.

"The Easygluer's strength is its ability to do a number of different jobs," he said.

Designed for commercial printers and carton manufacturers, the Easygluer has a maximum speed of 300 metres per minute and can be ergonomically operated by remote control.

Heidelberg veteran, Rudi Kolbach, product manager, postpress, demonstrated the Polar PACE Cutting System with the help of Polar technician, Klaus Mueller.

Kolbach noted that Polar's cutting systems offer higher efficiency, personnel costs (only one operator is needed to handle the entire cutting process) and improved ergonomics.

Pictured: (L-R) Klaus Mueller with Rudi Kolbach.

Response to all three products was strong, Hadley said.

"Our visitors were a combination of both operators and owners who see things differently," he said.

"Operators are looking at how equipment can make their job easier; owners look at it from a cost perspective. There was a lot of interest from both."