Rochester, NY-based label and packaging printer Hammer Lithograph is no stranger to "firsts."

The company installed a Heidelberg Speedmaster CD 102, an 8-color, 40-in. offset press with both aqueous- and UV-coating capabilities, closed-loop scanning spectrophotometry and Heidelberg's CutStar roll-to-sheet feeder. That early May 2004 installation represents two firsts: Hammer's first Heidelberg, and the first US CutStar installation geared to print on lightweight oriented-polypropylene film from rollstock. The configuration lets Hammer produce sheets of cut-and-stack labels faster—running its Speedmaster CD at 15,000 sph—while trimming production costs and waste.

Founded in 1912 as Genesee Valley Lithograph, Hammer Lithograph affiliates include New Frontier Packaging (a producer of roll-fed flexo labels); and J. MacKenzie, Ltd. (a sheeter/converter of on-demand print papers). New Frontier was profiled in Converting, Feb. 2000. Hammer Lithograph's $56 million in sales represents 70 percent of the three firms' $80 million in combined revenue.

Over the years, Hammer has expanded its capabilities to include high-quality, multicolor cut-and-stack labels for food and beverage markets; and puzzles, box wraps and point-of-purchase materials for consumer-goods makers. It's now the world's largest converter of cut-and-stack bottled-water labels.

Growth has prompted several relocations, most recently in 1999, a $15-million capital improvement initiative including construction of a 92,000-sq-ft plant near Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). Proximity to RIT's School of Print Media has given rise to an educational exchange program for Hammer associates and customers. In fact, employees must complete 16 hrs of in-house and offsite training each year as a condition of employment.

Acquisition of the Heidelberg Speedmaster CD 102 with CutStar is a logical extension of the company's involvement in the market for synthetic labels. Hammer Litho's pressroom contains a fleet of Mitsubishis: two 7-color, 56-in. presses; two 8-color, 40-in. and one 6-color, 40-in.

A five-year trend toward OPP-substrate labels accounts for most of the 10–12 percent annual growth in Hammer Lithograph's business the past three years, says chief executive officer James Hammer. Top customers include Nestlé's Poland Spring water, Coca-Cola's Minute Maid juices, PepsiCo's Tropicana, and Cadbury-Schweppes' Snapple and Mott's beverages.

"Running these challenging substrates from a roll rather than from pre-cut sheets lets the press run faster and more consistently," Hammer says, with this added bonus: "We can adjust CutStar exactly to the sheet length we need, which saves material."

This factor in the CutStar roll-sheeter's performance combines the cost benefits of web offset with the flexibility of sheetfed. Rolls are less expensive than pre-sheeted converted material, yet work well when sheeted and fed directly into the offset press. Handling problems associated with slippery or static-prone piles of pre-cut metallized papers and synthetic labelstocks are also reduced.

Hammer's Speedmaster CD 102 is networked to Heidelberg's Prinect Image Control, a closed-loop system that monitors color, in keeping with the growing customer demand for verified reduction in print-quality deviations. After measuring the entire print image spectrophotometrically—the only system on the market to do so—Prinect Image Control determines deviations from predefined reference values, and automatically tells the operator what adjustments are needed. Once approved, changes are sent online to the press, which then regulates the ink zones in all the printing units simultaneously. Hammer Litho's version, capable of scanning up to eight colors in a single pass, gives it an important competitive advantage in the exacting label business—where color and brand consistency is key.

The new press is also "hard-wired" to a fully digital prepress system, permitting ink presets when desired. The converter also operates a bank of programmable Polar cutters—automating setup in the trim-intensive label finishing process. Hammer subscribes to Heidelberg's Web-based remote service to troubleshoot press issues along the way. (For more on Hammer Litho's digital prepress operation, see Converting, March 2004).

Investing, Hammer says, "keeps the banks interested, and keeps costs down. As a business owner, whatever changes you make, whatever equipment you install—you have to be able to make money doing it."

Hammer warns his peers to avoid the trap of becoming over-extended financially that it becomes impossible to recoup an investment. Hammer observes an 18-month "rolling strategic plan" for capital investment, conducting quarterly and annual strategic planning. Its capital expenditure evaluation leads it, at times, to refrain from investments it cannot justify.

Yet the list of investments that have withstood this bottom-line scrutiny is impressive, ranging from remote proofing and in-line UV coating, to in-line backside printing, wide-format capability up to 60 in., and full digital direct-to-plate technology. The company implemented JIT delivery in the late 1980s, well ahead of the printing-industry curve.

Hammer's installation of the Heidelberg Speedmaster with CutStar marks the beginning of a collaboration of two innovative companies. Hammer is currently running the CD 102 at a full 15,000 impressions/hr. The company estimates that the new machine's roll-to-sheet capability could boost pressroom productivity substantially compared with previous production methods, and it plans to add additional capacity in line with business growth.