What is it?
It’s a five-colour press with UV coater.

Why did you choose this particular machine?
We went for the Speedmaster 74 because it’s got a proven track record. Also we’ve got the F version at the moment and we wanted a bigger size. In terms of the UV coater, we wanted to get into that market because we feel that it is one of the ways forward. We do a lot of two-up perfect binding work and we wanted to be able to do UV-ing on the covers as well. This machine will open a lot of doors for us.

Did you look at any other similar machines?
We looked at Roland and at KBA.

What specific features do you particularly like about the Heidelberg model?
As well as the combination of different factors mentioned above it’s great for instant turnaround work and we found it to be absolutely fantastic on uncoated paper. It also frees up our 12-colours from doing short-run work, which means that the big machines can now concentrate on the bread
and butter stuff.

What features do you wish it had that it doesn’t have?
It’s a bit of a bone of contention between us and Heidelberg that it hasn’t got any ink agitators, which is one of Heidelberg’s little add-ons. They sold me an all-singing all-dancing machine – other than the ink agitators.

How fast is it?
Most of the work that we do is short-run, high quality stuff and it’s pretty quick. The fastest that we’ve run it so far is at 16,000 sheets per hour.

How reliable is it?
It’s very reliable and hasn’t broken down yet – touchwood!

What’s the quality like?
The quality is brilliant. We get a lot of dot gain on UV, but we’ve got that under control by repro.

Would you say that it’s saved you any time or money?
It’s too early to say yet, but the makeready times are quick.

Has it won you new work?
Yes, because some of the work that comes off it has been brilliant. We did a job for a well-known fashion company recently and it looked lovely.

Were there any difficulties experienced during installation?
No – it ran smoothly.

What about the service?
We haven’t had any need to call on Heidelberg because it hasn’t broken down. We’re doing our own in-house training on the machine so that we can have a team of crews that
can work it.

In conclusion who do you think the machine is right for?
No one but ourselves – I’m kidding! This is our first time into UV and we’ve got big plans for the future. For us, it’s definitely one of the ways to go – but it’s not the only way.

Under what circumstances would you buy another?
We’ve got every intention of buying another Speedmaster 74 or, at least, something similar as and when we get this one established.

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CONCLUSION
User’s verdict
Speed 4/5
Quality 4/5
Reliability 5/5
Value for money 4/5

Supplier’s response
Steve Cavey, Speedmaster product manager at Heidelberg UK, replies: “Ink agitators are not fitted as standard on the machine, but they are available as an optional extra. It’s down to the discretion of the customer to decide whether or not they want them.”
Price From £800,000
Contact Heidelberg UK 020 8490 3500

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