The Primefire 106 enables packaging printers in particular to take the first step in developing new areas of business, for example with the production of variable or personalised packaging. The system, designed for industrial production of digital printing applications in 70 x 100 format, offers a number of highlights, including the highest quality of 1200 x 1200 dpi at a printing speed of up to 2500 sheets per hour, even achieving production volumes of up to 1.5 million sheets per month in future productivity modes.
The newly designed system, being premiered at drupa, is based on the leading inkjet technology from Heidelberg’s development partner Fujifilm and the proven Heidelberg Peak Performance platform from its offset technology.
The seven-colour inkjet system with Heidelberg Multicolour technology also covers up to 95 per cent of the Pantone colour space. At the same time, water-based inkjet printing meets strict environmental and recycling requirements and therefore also permits food-safe production.
Heidelberg has outfitted the Primefire 106 with a revolutionary operating concept in the form of the new Prinect Digital Centre Inline with Perfect Stack technology. In combination with the Prinect Digital Frontend (DFE) from Heidelberg, the new high-performance control station ensures seamless integration into a print shop’s existing overall workflow.
In combination with the Perfect Stack technology and controlled by the Prinect Digital Centre Inline, the Speedmaster XL-based feeder only allows good sheets into the delivery pile. The operator can also output test sheets directly to the control panel at the push of a button to visually check their quality.
‘The Heidelberg Primefire 106 combines the best of both worlds and is the first commercially available, industrial digital printing system in 70 x 100 format. This opens up completely new market segments both for our customers and Heidelberg. Folding carton producers in particular develop new digitally driven business models and thus improve their competitiveness. Heidelberg now offers a first-rate solution to do exactly that,’ said Stephan Plenz, Member of the Management Board responsible for Heidelberg Equipment, during the presentation of the Primefire 106 at drupa 2016.
Heidelberg also launched the new drupa-generation Speedmaster XL 106, which marks the start of a new era in industrial print production. Heidelberg combined its expertise in automation and ergonomic operation, and can amply satisfy the requirements of commercial, packaging and label printers. Against a background of ever-declining run lengths and more frequent job changes, what is needed in order to be competitive in the market is fast, automated, reliable and efficient production. With the Speedmaster XL 106, new features such as intelligent assistance systems and parallel, automated processes are lifting industrial print production to a whole new performance level. The greatest focus is on ease of operation and integrated, digitised processes, extending all the way to autonomous printing.
A notable new feature is the ‘Hycolor Multidrive’, which can operate the inking and dampening units independently from the main drive. For example, the inking units are washed while the main drive is responsible for changing the coating plates, or washing the rubber blankets and impression cylinders. What’s more, individual inking units can be shut down if they are not needed. The inking units do not have to be disengaged for this, but always remain connected to the main drive train. On the one hand, this saves on time spent engaging and disengaging, while on the other hand the drive system remains stable against vibrations, regardless of how many and which inking units are shut down.
The coating unit now also features more extensive automation. With ‘AutoPlate Coating Pro’, a fully automated coating plate change will be presented at drupa. Further optimised wash up programs allow even faster washing times for rubber blankets and impression cylinders.
AutoPlate XL 2, the second generation of simultaneous plate changing, has been further accelerated and also runs completely independently and parallel to rubber blanket and impression cylinder washing.
