The London-based printer installed the Drupa-launched machine last week and began a training programme on it yesterday (18 June).
Park deputy managing director Paul Walker said operators would be required to “fully understand the technology” of the machine, which incorporates Heidelberg’s 150m/min PFX shingle feeder. The KH 82-P can process up to 16,000 16pp A4 sections an hour.
Park’s machine has been configured with fully automated rollers and plates.
Walker said he had been keeping an eye on the post-press market, because he was conscious that recent developments in press technology meant that finishing was coming under increasing pressure.
“We’ve invested a lot of money in litho technology and the speed of litho presses has enhanced massively; there hadn’t been that leap as yet within folding until this was released. It stops bottlenecking within the bindery.”
The shingle system works by underlapping single sheets from the pallet into the infeed and overlapping sheets in the subsequent second and third folding stations. This reduces the ‘pitch' between sheets so that although the machine is mechanically slowed down, throughput is higher.
“It’s all about the folding accuracy,” added Walker.
“Because the machine is mechanically running slower that means the quality of the folding gets more accurate and within this technology that really helps the process so we can enhance the turning speed and maintain the quality with the fold.”
The folder reaches maximum speeds of 250m/min and takes a maximum sheet size of 820x1,100mm, with paper weighing between 70gsm and 250gsm.
Heidelberg UK's commercial post-press manager Ian Trengrouse said so far 14 UK companies had installed variants of the Stahlfolder KH 82-P, which costs between £70,000 and £300,000 depending on configuration, with Buxton Press and Stephens & George both early adopters.
Walker said further investments are in the pipeline this year for £13m-turnover Park, which employs around 130 staff in its Beckton facility. Last year, it updated its finishing facilities with a £200,000 spend and the year before it took an HP Indigo 7800 and a KBA Rapida 106.
