Payne Printery adds a new Heidelberg Speedmaster CD-74 to keep up with an ever-growing list of jobs. Next move: into the packaging industry.

Payne Printery Inc., Dallas, PA bought a press and wound up embracing a whole new market—packaging.

Back in 1931, Payne was a one-man shop printing business cards, letterhead, and raffle tickets on its single one-color press. Today, Payne owns two 28 x 40 in. Heidelberg Speedmaster 102 FP 5-color sheetfed offset presses, a 13 x 18 in. Heidelberg Quickmaster DI 46-4-PLUS 4-color digital press, and its latest installation in June 2002—a Heidelberg Speedmaster CD-74 6-color system with aqueous tower coating and extended delivery.

With a printing portfolio these days consisting of brochures, envelopes, folders, CD and pharmaceutical packaging, Payne has experienced 38 percent growth just since last January. So, to keep up with its steady workflow, Payne needed to purchase a new press as well as a stitching machine and a scoring/folding unit. "When you can deliver a better product to your clients, your business is going to expand," comments Brett Gauntlett, chief operating officer at Payne.

The new Speedmaster CD-74 online at Payne is a 23 x 29 in. model geared for medium-run jobs and capable of speeds to 15,000 sph. Doug Ehret, vp of production at Payne, says the press sits right on 15,000 sph with most jobs. "Not every single job, but our slowest job is 13,000," he claims.

The press is controlled by Heidelberg's CP2000 Center. All settings and current press performance are displayed on a central user interface. A preset feeder with a wide range of standard features is also part of the setup.

As for sheet-feeding, the AirTransfer system transfers sheets between the double-diameter impression cylinders of the printing units. Sheet travel sensors after each printing unit monitor progress. "When you get to heavier board stocks, this machine does not bend the sheet around the transfer cylinder, like a lot of your older presses do. It floats on an Air Venturi System through the whole press," states Ehret.

All plate, blanket, and impression cylinders are chromium-plated. Heidelberg's AutoPlate, the automatic plate changing system fitted as standard, clamps the plates in less than one min/printing unit.

Inking and dampening systems include the short ink-train option for jobs with light inking, a "zero oscillation function" for the oscillators, and separation of roller groups during stoppages to cut down on waste when resuming production. Alcolor, a continuous film-dampening system, ensures a stable ink/water balance and makes sure the print quality remains consistent throughout the run. The Alcolor Vario removes any hickeys by creating a speed differential between the dampening form roller and the plate cylinder.

The Speedmaster has two coaters, changeable according to job requirements, to run aqueous or varnish coatings. The DryStar Combination dryers then cure the coatings with infrared, hot-air, circulating-air and suction modules. There are also water-cooled sheet guide plates to prevent the delivery from heating up excessively.

Not only does Payne print, it also offers complete finishing. When the Speedmaster was ordered, Payne also purchased a Stitchmaster ST 270-6 saddle-stitcher, a Stahl B30 folding unit, and a Roto Crease scoring unit from Heidelberg. Because print volume at Payne increased, so did its bindery work.

The maximum speeds for the saddle-stitcher will run about 11,000 to 12,000/hr. [With the old machine], "we had to make adjustments by shutting down, stopping, resetting and then trying to go," says Ehret.

A RIMA Stacker System was added as well to count the books. "You can set it to count 15, 25, or 50 when they're stitched," says Gauntlett.

The Stahl B30 scoring/folding unit is a low-profile folder that doesn't require the operator to reach as high to load material. This unit is capable of running 9,000 in./min when folding a 4-page brochure. "Speeds this machine will run are truly amazing," states Ehret.

The only problem Payne had with this unit was the scoring. "Heidelberg came in and stayed until it was straightened out," he says.

Payne's venture into the world of digital print began with the April 2001 purchase of its Heidelberg Quickmaster DI. Initially, Payne took delivery of a repossessed unit that seemed to have a few issues. "We weren't happy with it, so Heidelberg brought a brand new one in and replaced it for no extra charge," claims Gauntlett.

"That was one of the reasons they [Heidelberg] got the business on the [CD-74]. When a company goes that far to do something like that, they're telling you something," he says.

Payne's need for a digital press materialized when Gauntlett approached a local customer in the healthcare industry, that was running various brochures on a copy machine.

After crunching the numbers, a three-year contract was signed with the customer. From there, the press was purchased, and Payne's staff approached other potential sales. "It's nice to say to our customers, we can run 500 4-color brochures or we can run 75,000. We can go from the DI press short-run to the new 29-in. medium-size run to the 40-in. large run," says Gauntlett.

The digital press meets Payne's demands for versatility as well. "The great thing about the DI for the short-run market is it will run up to 12-pt board. A lot of other equipment out there will not do that," says Gauntlett.

For many converters, computer-to-plate (CTP) technology is still fairly new. Payne switched over to CTP within the past few years as well. Its CTP department consists of a Creo Spectrum 40-in. 3244+F with Spectrum Option, and a Kodak Thermal 830NM processing line with prebake and postbake. "It [CTP] was a great thing to put in," says Gauntlett. "What used to take a half-hour per plate, we do in under 3 mins," claims Ehret. By adding CTP, Payne has increased its quality. Printing is now a lot sharper and cleaner overall, say managers.

Along with CTP technology, Payne's prepress department employs a Fuji FG800 RA (rapid access) film processor, a Misomex 802 Step & Repeat machine, two Olec AL35D exposure units, four Gretag-MacBeth densitometers, three NuArc Jetline 54-in. stripping tables, three Stoesser stripping and plating punch systems, and three 42 x 62-in. Douthitt XDraw plate frames.

For proofing, Payne has a 3M Matchprint III system, a 3M color key system, two 40-in. Douthitt Xdraw systems, a Creo Spectrum Kodak Type II media proofing, a Kodak 800XL laminator, and a Hewlett-Packard 42-in. inkjet digital CP pagination proofer.

The Speedmaster CD-74's ability to run up to 32-pt paperboard is helping Payne explore a new frontier of packaging-industry customers. "We're very excited about the challenges of entering a new market and the opportunities that the future presents," adds Gauntlett.

Originally, Payne just wanted to get into the mid-size market with the CD-74. "When we realized what the press could really do, we thought why not use it for what it was really made for," he says.

"Some of our clients want one-stop shopping. They don't want to be bothered with 'I need a web house, I need a packaging manufacturer.' They want someone they can deal with on a one-stop basis and handle their problems for them," explains Ehret.

"What we're finding out is a lot of them have a need in the 23 x 29 [size]. People are starting to realize what it is, and what it's capable of," adds Gauntlett.

Payne has already opened the door to package printing as another specialty. "We just did run some packaging with metallic inks for a pharmaceutical company," says Gauntlett.

"We're taking our infant steps and starting to move forward," concludes Ehret.

More information from:

Heidelberg USA, 888/472-9655, fax: 770/794-6272, www.us.heidelberg.com Enter 280 · RIMA, 714/893-4534, fax: 714/892-7010, www.rimasystem.com Enter 281 · Creo Inc., 800/685-9462, fax: 604/437-9891, www.creo.com Enter 282 · Kodak Polychrome Graphics, 800/264-8144, fax: 203/845-7173, www.kpgraphics.com Enter 283 · Fuji Photo Film USA, Inc., 800/659-3854, www.fujifilm.com Enter 284 · Misomex North America, 847/671-5385. Enter 285 · Olec Corp., 714/930-2500. Enter 286 · Gretag MacBeth, 800/622-2384, fax: 914/565-0390, www.gretagmacbeth.com Enter 287 · NuArc, 800/962-8883, fax: 847/967-9664, www.nuarc.com Enter 288 · Stoesser, 800/874-6532, fax: 949/399-6501, www.olec.com Enter 289 · Douthitt, 800/368-8448, fax: 313/259-6806, www.douthittcorp.com Enter 290 · 3M Co., 800/362-3550, fax: 800/223-7427, www.3m.com Enter 291 · Hewlett-Packard, 800/752-0900, www.hp.com Enter 292.