Speedmaster XL105 is Heidelberg’s power play in packaging print

The arrival of the first Heidelberg peak performance press, the Speedmaster XL 105, changes the balance of power in offset packaging print. Designed from the ground up to be the most powerful production engine in its class, it anchors an impressive line-up of packaging finishing solutions. Patrick Howard weighs up the advantages.


It would be wrong to say that the drupa launch of the Speedmaster XL 105 signals the entry of Heidelberg into the offset packaging printing – because the company has enjoyed a major presence in the sector in most markets of the world for many years. But it is fair to say that the arrival of the über press, which is the first in a line-up of peak performance machines, has shifted the company’s offerings to serious manufacturing printers up a gear, ushering in a new era of high-speed, integrated offset packaging production. And from a company of Heidelberg’s stature that is sufficient to alter the dynamics of the packaging printing sector beyond recognition.

We seldom see completely new presses. What are usually presented as such are modified versions of previous models, tweaked to groaning to extract extra performance, often straining the original design beyond its reliable limits. But the XL 105 is that rarity, a machine designed from its inception to be the best in its target market. It has taken only a few years for the XL 105 to emerge from Heidelberg R&D, a gestation period that allowed a complete rethinking of the requirements for a high-end peak performance press that could smash the 18,000 sheets per hours speed barrier. The result finally went on display at drupa where the huge press (six-colour plus coater) ran in production mode at its top rated speed day after day throughout the show without a hiccup – a most convincing debut.

Targeting the market

Such careful attention to product development not only emphasizes Heidelberg’s renewed focus on its core sheetfed business, it has also produced a machine that is first and foremost designed to meet the market’s requirements. Packaging and offset label printers worldwide require sophisticated manufacturing production lines. They need presses that have the throughput and reliability to sustain round the clock production. They also want integrated technologies that form part of a whole. The XL 105 is designed as a heavyweight press, sturdily built to deliver stability with a new style side frame, larger cylinder diameters and speed compensated air settings throughout. It showcases the latest Heidelberg production innovations – contact-free sheet transport, integrated inking/dampening system and highly automated plate changing.

According to Andreas Sommer, (pictured - Photo: Steve Crowe/ Proprint) head of sheetfed solutions in Heidelberg Australia and New Zealand, the target market here is primed and ready to take advantage of the new press. Many local packaging printers are operating equipment designed for different production patterns and it is his belief they are now open to the advantages of the latest technology.

“Not everyone in the sector has moved to upgrade their equipment in recent years and production patterns have changed. Run lengths are getting shorter and there is a greater variety of products being produced. Printers are recognising that they need the benefits of modern presses and automated workflows,” he said.

Too often the point of discussion in offset packaging print is a matter of size, but in the current conditions size is often missing the point. The Speedmaster XL 105 is certainly not the largest offset press for the packaging market, but it is designed to service the new paradigms of the sector. Being able to print ultra large sized sheets is not a requirement for most of the industry – big corrugated sheets are the exception rather than the rule. What is required is faster throughput, stability of performance and short changeover times. “There are two drivers to packaging printing now – cost effective production and flexibility,” said Sommer.
It is worth noting that while most attention is focused on the new XL105, the company’s largest-ever press, Heidelberg continues to develop its CD 102 and the half-sized CD 74, both of which are popular with packaging as well as commercial printers. The new CD102 drupa 2004 generation employs the new feeder and new delivery developed for the XL 105 as well as coating innovations that boost productivity by eight to ten percent compared to the pre drupa version.

“Only a thorough analysis of the customer needs can determine what is the best solution to build on the specific strength of a company,” said Sommer. “Major aspects might be special applications, UV printing or even coating before printing. We have introduced a number of innovations for the packaging industry and Heidelberg is always open to listen and to design customized press configurations, committed to supplying the best solution, not necessarily the largest.”

Packaging and label printers who handle long runs have specific needs, especially in sheet sizes, which the new press meets with its increased 105 x 75 format. This allows printers to gang up the optimum number of labels and packages across the sheet. In addition to the higher speed of the XL 105 this contributes to what Heidelberg quantifies as a 30 per cent increase in productivity.

Industrialised printing

There is no doubt the XL 105 (shown with its advanced Autoplate function) is designed primarily for high-end packaging printing where it introduces much needed flexibility, but it is important to remember that in these environments the press is only part of the overall system. In this Heidelberg is fortunate in being one of the pioneers of total workflows through its Prinect system, which integrates various aspects of the business from start to finish. To give an example - technology advances now allow printers to remake printing plates driving Heidelberg RIP technology directly from the CP 2000 press console even if no prepress staff are present. Heidelberg Prinect is continuing to add more JDF-based applications. This level of process control is essential in manufacturing printing where automated processes take on added importance. Minimal operator intervention is a fact of life in this type of production, but clarity of information and the ability to act on a problem before it impacts on production are essential. The feedback loop in Prinect is second to none.

From end to end of the process

Heidelberg has long promoted itself as the only end to end solution supplier i.e. it manufactures every part of the system, prepress to post. Nowhere is this capacity likely to operate to better advantage than in industrialised printing. While it is fanciful to compare a multi-million dollar packing printing line to a shrink-wrapped product, there is no doubt that printers will find it worthwhile to buy a complete, single-branded line backed up by a service organization that has a manufacturer’s knowledge of all its components. The fact that Heidelberg retains the largest field service force in the country with over 170 engineers and instructors, must also give force to its claim to a higher profile in, and a larger share of, the packaging print market here.

Andreas Sommer is confident that Heidelberg’s more powerful offering places it in a much better position to discuss investments with packaging and label printers in Australia ad New Zealand. “With the XL105’s advantages packaging and label printers will start to see us in a new light as it becomes available to the market here next year,” he said.

He is quick to emphasize that although the XL 105 is directed primarily towards the packaging and label sectors, with its wide range of stock capabilities and versatility it is also more than useful to high-end commercial printers. “The versatility of this peak performance press is an important feature. I call it the most ‘inspirational press’ because there are no limits to what you can do with it,” he says.

Certainly the separation between high-end commercial printers and dedicated packaging printers is likely to become increasingly blurred with the arrival of such a press.

Feeding the press at 18,000 sph

There are any number of innovative features built in to the XL 105, such as the new air transfer sheet transport system, essential in maintaining the 18,000 sph production rate.
There is also the new inking/dampening system with adjustable oscillator strokes, the ability to switch between the standard and short inking units, and the remote adjustable lateral distribution of the inking form rollers. Fast emulsification and a reliable inking and dampening solution feed also ensure that solids, thick ink coatings or jobs with low ink consumption can be printed effectively.

But perhaps the most impressive ancillary feature of the XL105 is the logistics system that keeps the press running non-stop. Apart from the new feeder and delivery systems (the former using a new single suction tape feeding system that is quickly becoming the new industry standard) the unified pallet system developed by Heidelberg illustrates the advantages of having a single design ethos throughout the system.



Heidelberg Logistic Systems integrates the material workflow so that no press of this size works in isolation and Heidelberg’s flagship XL105 partners with the company’s range of flatbed die-cutters, of which the very impressive Dymatrix 106 (pictured) drew much attention at drupa. This is a part of Heidelberg’s packaging solutions we are not familiar with in this region, which is a pity because the company has produced industry leading solutions for a very specialized technology.

The postpress integration is helped by the fact that the die cutter infeed works off the same system pallet used in the press delivery from the XL105. A simple and obvious integrated solution you may think, but how many pile turners are out there swapping pallets in order to accommodate different systems? Plenty.

The integration continues with the same system pallets being used between the die-cutter and the range of folding carton gluers that are also manufactured by Heidelberg. Impressively all the machines, the press, die-cutter and folding carton gluers are controlled through a look-alike CP2000 console. The multi-skilling advantages are obvious.

It all adds up to a packaging production system, which is centered on a brand new peak performance press, which provides the local industry with the opportunity to extend its capacity to meet the challenges of a fast changing market. The arrival of the Speedmaster XL 105 heralds a new era in industrialized printing. Andreas Sommer quotes the company’s tag line on the heavyweight press; “At sixty-two tons, you’ll never move it – it moves you.”