Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) hosted a Security Day for the first time in Wiesloch, Germany in mid-July, receiving over 120 attendees from around the world.
Live demonstrations on two differently equipped Speedmaster XL 75 presses – one Anicolor press printing simulated bank cards and a second machine impressing visitors with its range of application modules for ID printing – generated interesting impressions. The importance of the prepress and postpress processes for high-quality and zero defect production was illustrated by the Suprasetter A75 CtP platesetter. This is ideal for applications on ID cards, for example, as well as being fully integrated and offering a high resolution of 5080 dpi. The Diana Eye offline inspection system’s capabilities were also shown.
Visitors attended presentations about the Primefire 106 as well as the varied applications of the successful Versafire series, which are opening up entirely new applications in security printing through personalisation and customisation.
‘The demand for tamper-proof documents like passports, driver licenses, official badges, and tax stamps is growing worldwide,’ said Joachim Hüber, product manager security printing at Heidelberg. ‘The precision and versatility of the Speedmaster XL 75 and its ability to handle the complex production methods and strict specifications of customers make it the press of choice for most providers.’
While cash use is falling worldwide, plastic card use is on the up. Industry analysts from the Nilson Report expect that the number of prepaid, debit, and credit cards alone will increase to 22 billion by 2020. ‘When producing cards like these, every cent; an attractive appearance for marketing purposes; and, to a lesser extent, the security aspects, count,’ explained Hüber.
