The new XL 106 Highspeed Version was unveiled at a special Packaging Day held at the manufacturer’s Wiesloch-Walldorf site at the end of last month, with some 300 existing and potential customers worldwide attending either in person or online.
The printing speed of up to 21,000sph makes it the fastest sheetfed offset press on the market.
Heidelberg CEO Dr Ludwin Monz said the firm had continually enhanced the XL technology since it was originally launched in 2004.
“With the newly unveiled Speedmaster XL 106, Heidelberg is taking sheetfed offset printing performance to the next level and enabling folding carton manufacturers in particular to become more competitive,” he stated.
The press is capable of producing more than 100m impressions a year and is targeted at customer that require “ever higher machine output” such as high-volume packaging.
The first pilot user of the new press is Cardbox Packaging in Austria, which prints for leading brands including Lindt and Yeo Valley.
Cardbox managing director Roland Schöberl described competition in the international packaging market as “fierce”, and said being able to achieve consistently high productivity was a key competitive factor for the company.
“We are therefore delighted to be working with Heidelberg and piloting the new Speedmaster XL 106, currently the world’s fastest sheetfed offset press. Following the start-up phase, we expect it to give us a big productivity boost,” he said.
The Packaging Day event included a live broadcast from Cardbox Packaging’s Wolfsberg plant showing the new high-speed Speedmaster running.
Heidelberg said that the near-17% uplift in maximum running speed resulted in an 8%-10% increase in net output, with ROI in “around two years” if the press was operated at peak productivity.
The manufacturer said the speed gain had been made possible by optimising and refining at least 200 components across the press. This includes dual servo motors to drive the feeder directly, a more powerful main drive, reinforced dampening unit bearings, and changes to the delivery “to ensure stable and reliable operation”.
Series production of the new XL 106 Highspeed Version is slated for autumn 2023.
With the new model Heidelberg will take the speed crown from Koenig & Bauer’s 20,000sph Rapida 106 X, launched in 2020.
