Heidelberg can now sell the Palamides delivery with its Stahlfolders and one of the first companies to benefit is the Sudbury Print Group. The busy commercial printer will install two highly automated Stahlfolders, a KH 82 combination machine and a TH 82 buckle machine, and the Palamides will switch between the two models.
"We anticipate a 30% lift in output," says Jeremy Richold, managing director of the Sudbury Print Group which he founded 23 years ago. "These folders replace a 1998 Heidelberg folder and a Herzog model. The combination will be used for high speed section work and the buckle will give us the versatility across a broad range of jobs. The Palamides delivery can keep pace with these high speed models and it minimises the risk of marking."
The company needed this lift in folding capacity because of a switch in press technology from Mitsubishi to Heidelberg. It has bought two second-hand machines from White Horse Machinery, a Speedmaster XL 105-5+L and an XL 75-5+L. His primary reason for switching was the better availability of spares and support in the UK.
To ensure the folders arrive and move straight into full production two operators, one from the night shift and one from the day shift, will undertake a day's training at the Heidelberg National Showroom in Brentford. They will support other staff in addition to the training received from Heidelberg at installation time.
Folding operators who understand the characteristics of paper are best placed to get the best results and to prevent issues, although today's machines are more forgiving and feature much more automation and artificial intelligence. Understanding the impact of grain, moisture and paper finish/coating can help operators to produce optimum results so that folds are clean and do not re-open. Stahlfolders are built to produce high quality at speed. The split between buckle and combination sales is roughly 60 to 40% respectively in the UK.
Sudbury Print Group's folders will run on Continental shifts Monday to Saturday and also on night shift Tuesday to Thursday.
Having successfully ridden the recession, Mr Richold's verdict is "the outlook for print is much better now".
