Heidelberg believes that the new Speedmaster CX104 can become its universal press, appeal to both commercial and carton printers that do not want the performance level represented by the XL106 series of machines.
In Europe that may be smaller commercial printers with a five-day working week and a focus on customer engagement rather than those chasing commoditised print. In the developing world, this may be a carton printer running round the clock where runs remain long and where labour is plentiful and the press needs to deliver 50 million impressions a year. The CX104 is being positioned to cope with all this.
The Speedmaster CX104 is the latest iteration of the press that began as the CD102 for its carton diameter impression and transfer cylinders. It became the CX102 and now the CX104, incorporating features drawn from the 2020 generation XL106. This is most evident in a squared off design for each press unit and by employing a vertical LED light to show the status of the press. Green is good to go, yellow requires intervention, red is a stop.
There is Intellistart 3, Intellirun and the Wallscreen monitor seen on the flagship machines. The user interface has been cleaned up and operation is through the touchscreen that supports different gestures, rather like a smart phone. “It’s much easier to run the machine,” says Ludwig Allgöwer, Heidelberg’s global head of sales and marketing.
Wash Assistant and Powder Assistant can be set according to the paper used and ink coverage; Colour Assistant likewise handles adjustments for consistency.
There are choices on colour control, covering Impress Control, Axys Control and, for the first time on a B1 press, Easy Colour. Running speeds are a standard 15,000sph or 16,500sph for the higher speed version.
Heidelberg will be able to supply the CX104 in a wide range of configurations, up to 15 print and coating units in length and with different levels of automation up to connectivity with Prinect and Push to Stop levels of automation. “We can go right up to autonomous printing,” says produce manager Florian Franken. However, like the predecessor models, there is no perfecting option.
There are also special packages to handle board to 1.2mm thick and for lightweight stock, such as used for in-mould labels where extra air systems through the press are necessary.
The coating unit has been completely redeveloped from previous CX and CD presses. The anilox roller can be lifted into position and away from the press easily thanks to a lightweight design using composite materials and the use of laser engraving to produce anilox cells and with a positive pressure doctor blade system to create an even coating of varnish without the risk of foaming. Changeover time drops from a quoted 5’30” to 1’20”. The doctor blade chamber is not removed for an anilox change.
Heidelberg has adjusted the development process on this machine, involving a broader selection of its employees, including front line sales teams.
“That has been really refreshing,” says Heidelberg UK’s Matt Rockley. “Research and development came to interview us. It’s nice to have been involved. The resulting coating unit is really mint.”
Development has also benefitted from an agile approach where virtual reality technology is used in designing components and sub assemblies before they are pieced together and tested separately before being assembled into a prototype machine and after feedback and testing at the factory, to be installed as beta sites.
One of these is a Belgian printer that is finding run lengths are falling so needed a press to cope with short runs while also delivering on some of the long run jobs it has.
This remains the pattern of work for many commercial printers worldwide: growing volumes of fast turnaround short run work, which might suit a digital press, but interspersed with long runs where offset litho is the only practical solution.
The first audience for the press, other than some of beta customers, has been Chinese printers visiting China Print last week. They saw a machine with Foilstar inline cold foil application put through its paces. Metallic foil is big in China were gold is extensively used to denote good fortune. The company says that it has done deals for 100 machines at the event.
There is interest too in the UK. “I have already produced three quotes for it,” says Rockley. This first could be in place before the end of the year.
The CX104 is going to be produced both in Germany and China with many parts supplied through its new joint venture company set up with Masterwork in Tianjin. This manufacturing alliance was announced last year, while this year Heidelberg has been increasing staff levels at its factory near Shanghai.
The Speedmaster CS92 SRA1 press has received the same upgrade treatment and becomes the CX92.
Also new for China Print is a new version of the B1 rotary die cutter. The XL106DD becomes the XL106D as what has been a two-unit machine becomes a single unit, cutting space and energy consumption and no doubt price. Polar showed a faster paper handling system using its Transmat technology and AirGo jogging. It now takes just 60-90 seconds to jog and present each stack. There is a new folder roller with a changed geometry, combining a hard polyurethane coating for a crisp fold with a softer polyurethane for a better grip.
There was mention too in Heidelberg’s online Showtime even for the Versafire, but only in the contest of existing machines. There was no announcement that the five-colour version might have gold and silver options as the Ricoh equivalent has, nor any mention that Heidelberg might pair the CX104 with a Heidelberg version of the upcoming B2 inkjet press from Ricoh.
