Heidelberg Printing Machines, a precision mechanical engineering company headquartered in Heidelberg, Germany, is the largest producer of offset printing presses in the world. It is the only company that produces equipment for all stages of the printing process: prepress, press, and postpress. In the development, production, and sale of sheet-fed offset printing presses, Heidelberg is the global industry leader, commanding a market share of over 47percent of this segment of the industry.
Sheet-fed offset printing is used mainly to produce high-quality color print media, including catalogues, calendars, posters, and labels. Heidelberg produces two main families of printing presses: the Printmaster and the Speedmaster. Printmaster presses are smaller, less expensive printing presses aimed at the small and medium sized business market. Speedmaster are larger, more expensive industrial printing presses designed for high volume and productivity, and are highly automated. Heidelberg also produced as vast range of accessories and specialized equipment, allowing their customers to adapt their Printmasters or Speedmasters to the specific requirements for specialized functions.
Printmasters, being designed for personal use and small businesses with limited budgets and office space, are smaller and less expensive than the industrial models. Measuring 35×50, they are only slightly larger than a typical photocopying machine. They are designed for the on-expert, with an intuitive interface that is easy to learn and operate. They are highly automated and need little supervision, freeing up business owners to be more productive of focus on customer service.
There are two models in the Printmaster series. The Printmaster QM 46 is designed for individual and small business user, being smaller, less expensive, and printing in one or two colors. The Printmaster GTO 52 is designed for medium-sized businesses and is essentially a tiny industrial model. Although it is larger and more expensive, it is more flexible. It can be used for a wider range of printing jobs, and can handle a larger volume of printing jobs faster. It can print in up to four colors.
The Speedmaster series, designed for large business industrial use, is larger (up to 120×160, depending on the model) and more expensive. The Speedmaster series focuses flexibility and customization. Through customization and the addition of extra equipment, each Speedmaster model can be tailored to your specific requirements. Of course, all Speedmaster models also feature the high-quality printing, automation, and high price-to-performance ratio of all Heidelberg machines that has made this company the industry leader.
At the low end of the Speedmaster series is the Speedmaster SM 52. The smallest and least expensive, this model still includes an 18-roller inking unit for fast, high-volume printing, and UV inks and coating for scratch- and scuff-resistant high-gloss surfaces. Midrange models include the Speedmaster SM 74. Ideal for commercial print shops, these midrange models combine the speed, volume, and quality of industrial printing with the flexibility of an all-in-one unit. This model features a modular design and preset configurations, allowing it to quickly be converted to print almost anything–business stationery, brochures, leaflets, forms, postcards, greetings cards, dust covers, labels, etc. Finally, at the high end of the Speedmaster series are the Speedmaster XL 145 and XL 162. Enormous and expensive, these models are designed for high-speed peak performance, able to meet even the tightest production schedules while still delivering the highest standards in quality, productivity, and reliability.
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