Frye Williamson Experiences Best Sales in 40-Year History with Heidelberg Press
When Rick Serena and his brother Lynn, co-owners of Frye Williamson Press in Springfield, Ill., decided to enter the 40-inch market by purchasing their first 40-inch press, they expected to upgrade the capacity and speed of their pressroom. What they did not expect, however, was to immediately experience the best two months of sales in the company’s 40-year history after installing a 5-color Speedmaster SM 102 press with coater and perfector from Heidelberg. “The stars just completely aligned for us,” Rick Serena said. “Because the SM 102 installation went so smoothly, we were able to take on additional work when our competitor closed down, causing our sales to increase by 250 percent year-over-year. We absolutely could not have accomplished this without Heidelberg’s expert advice and technology.” Serena was most impressed with the planning and execution of the installation itself, citing the support and expertise of Heidelberg’s installation team. “I’ve never seen anything so well planned out,” he said. The new press, which replaced several 20-year-old models, is primarily used for high-end creative work for advertising campaigns, publication development and quality general commercial work for clients in the central Illinois region. To help keep the new press at its peak, the company’s operators use Heidelberg Saphira Consumables – including blankets and foils. Prinect Prepress Interface seamlessly links the new Heidelberg press with all of Frye Williamson’s prepress workflow systems, helping to drastically reduce make-ready time. The company’s foray into the 40-inch market comes at a perfect time, as they are celebrating their 40th year as Frye Williamson, which now has 30 employees. However, the company’s history with Heidelberg goes back many more years. The two companies that merged in 1968 to form Frye Williamson were both more than 100 years old at the time, and both already used Heidelberg equipment. Today, a Heidelberg Windmill and a reconditioned Heidelberg letterpress machine are still in use at Frye Williamson for finishing work. The company also runs an older model Heidelberg MOVP press and two Heidelberg QM DI presses. “We are so happy with Heidelberg all around,” Serena said.

Hafner Printing Company Finds Prepress Success with New Suprasetter from Heidelberg
When Mike Shallberg, owner of Hafner Printing Company in Chicago, recently decided to upgrade his prepress production equipment, he and his team of prepress specialists looked far and wide for the best solution available for their eight-person shop. “We were very impressed with the Suprasetter A52 from Heidelberg, even though we had never before worked with Heidelberg prepress equipment,” Shallberg said. The company installed the platesetter early this fall, along with Heidelberg’s Prinect MetaDimension RIP and additional Prinect workflow software. According to Shallberg, the prepress department is “extremely happy” with the positive results they have experienced since installing the Suprasetter, and are equally impressed with Heidelberg’s service team. “Heidelberg’s reliable team of service experts has us covered, even though we are a small shop,” Shallberg said. “It is nice to know that someone from Heidelberg is always available and willing to help us with any problems that may arise.” The company, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2007, also runs two Heidelberg GTO presses - in both 2-color and 5-color models. The new Suprasetter is used with Heidelberg Saphira Chemfree thermal plates. Hafner Printing primarily produces short-run, general commercial products and business materials for nonprofit organizations in the Chicago area.

Heidelberg Service Makes POLAR Cutter Easy Choice for DeRoo Printing
DeRoo Printing in Casselberry, Fla. has upgraded its postpress capabilities with a new POLAR 92 X cutter from Heidelberg. “I had an older cutter and decided it was time to replace it with more modern technology,” said John DeRoo, the shop’s owner. “The new cutter is faster, the throat is better, it has more bells and whistles overall and we’re excited about the programming opportunity. It’s working out fantastic.” The company, in business since 1994, is a general commercial shop with around 10 employees. In addition to the new cutter, the shop also runs a 5-color MOFP press with coater and a Stahlfolder folder. DeRoo’s experiences with Heidelberg Systemservice — and the ability to get support from people who really know the equipment — were key factors in his decision to purchase the cutter. “Once I had a problem on a Sunday night at 11 p.m.” he said. “I called Heidelberg, and within 30 minutes someone from Germany called me back to help me find a solution. It’s the most amazing service organization I’ve ever experienced in any industry, anywhere, period. The service and parts availability are just incredible. The timeliness of the response and the knowledge of the service operator are second to none.”

Greater Georgia Printers Running At Full Speed, Full Size with Heidelberg Speedmaster CD 102
After Kevin Miller, plant manager and part owner of Greater Georgia Printers in Crawford, Ga., decided to expand his shop to include a full-size 40-inch press, the decision to go with a 4-color Speedmaster CD 102 from Heidelberg was easy. “Heidelberg’s service and reputation were the main factors that caused us to go with the CD 102,” Miller said. “We already had a Stahlfolder and a POLAR cutter, and we have been really impressed with the service we receive from Heidelberg.” The shop was founded in 1969 and for years focused on the web market. The company purchased its first duplicator in the 1980s, but its sheetfed business really took off in 2001. Now, with around 35 employees, Greater Georgia Printers offers a range of web and sheetfed offset services, plus a full mail house. Miller also enjoys the convenience of online ordering for Heidelberg Saphira Consumables for the new press, which came equipped with an inline aqueous coater. To accommodate the larger sheet size of the press, the shop also installed a new POLAR 115 X cutter with stack lift and pile turner. Greater Georgia Printers added 6,000 square feet of space to its building to make room for the new equipment. “I wanted to be able to run faster, and the larger format will allow us to be more competitive with larger jobs,” Miller said. “I think the CD 102 is going to be a really good purchase for us.”