Offset Printing
Ace-Twill Reduces Makeready Times by 50% with Heidelberg Speedmaster CX 75-6+L
Friday 18. January 2019 - Ace-Twill, a family-owned business located in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey, has cut their makeready times in half after installing their new Heidelberg Speedmaster CX 75-6+L powered by Prinect.
Increased Flexibility and Efficiency without the Extra Cost
As a complete Heidelberg shop, Ace-Twill knew that they were going to purchase a new Heidelberg press to replace their older machine it was just a matter of deciding which one was right for them. Closing the gap between the Speedmaster SX 74 and XL 75, the Speedmaster CX 75 offers high flexibility and efficiency with the right amount of automation. Printing at speeds up to 15,000 sheets an hour, the Speedmaster CX 75 can process substrates ranging from lightweight paper to rigid cardboard because of the double-diameter impression cylinders on the press.
“When we were looking for a press, we knew that we needed something that would help us cut down our makeready time and paper waste and improve our quality,” said John Cooper, President of Ace-Twill. “We do a lot of short runs, so it was crucial for us to be able to switch over to different substrates quickly and efficiently. With our previous press, wed go through about 800 sheets for a typical makeready. Now, we are ready to go in under 250 sheets even with difficult jobs, which is a huge savings.”
Since installation, Ace-Twill has reduced their makeready times by 50%. Cooper believes this is due to upgrading their Prinect workflow. With Prinect, Ace-Twill is able to integrate the presettings from the prepress stage to the feeder and delivery allowing Ace-Twill to switch from the last sheet in a run to the first good sheet in the next run in less than ten minutes.
Built with an impressively compact design, the Speedmaster CX 75 is the narrowest press offered by Heidelberg in the 50 x 70 cm format. This format allows Ace-Twill to keep more jobs in-house and appeal to a broad customer base. According to Cooper, “I now have confidence knowing that whatever a customer needs me to put on this press, I can.”
Reliable and Consistent in a Fast-Paced and Thorough Industry
Since founded in 1972, Ace-Twill has always been a complete Heidelberg shop. Currently, Ace-Twills print shop consists of a Suprasetter A 75, Speedmaster SM 52-6, Speedmaster SM 74-2, Printmaster QM 46, POLAR 92 cutter, POLAR 115 cutter, and POLAR lift and jogger while also using Heidelbergs Saphira Consumables.
“From prepress to press to postpress to the consumables in between, everything just runs seamlessly,” said Cooper. “When we do have a problem, we call service and they are always there, which is a huge factor in why we buy from Heidelberg. Heidelberg and their people are reliable and consistent, which is important when youre a part of a fast-paced and thorough industry.”