Building on its strategic relationship with Ricoh, Heidelberg is poised to launch a new generation of digital printing systems, as well as a new digital front end. Following the success of its Linoprint C751 and C901 models, Heidelberg will market their replacements: the new Linoprint CV and Linoprint CP digital color printing systems.

A new generation ups the ante on performance

According to Heidelberg, the new Linoprint CV and Linoprint CP models deliver improved flexibility and productivity in the cost-effective production of short, personalized, and hybrid print runs. Heidelberg’s new Prinect Digital Frontend (DFE) supports the integration of both of these digital printing systems into a shop’s overall production workflow.

The company also states that it is only conventional manufacturer active in the digital printing sector to successfully offer integrated digital and offset applications.  The new Heidelberg Prinect DFE will be offered in addition to EFI’s new Fiery FS150 digital front end.

“Both the Linoprint CV and Linoprint CP offer greater productivity, near-offset quality and tremendous substrate flexibility to complex graphics work and commercial printing,” says Dan Maurer, vice president digital print and postpress product management for Heidelberg USA. “The new Prinect DFE builds on the success of our previous Prinect Digital Print Manager by enabling either of these new digital presses to integrate more elegantly into commercial offset print environments. Heidelberg’s unique color management, along with improved print quality stability and tight registration, enables these new engines to achieve true hybrid job production matching a shop’s offset presses. The engines’ expanded substrate range, ability to accommodate format sizes up to 13×27.5”, together with the Linoprint CV’s 5-color capability, offer commercial printers marketable applications not previously available in this price class.” 

Flexible all-rounder

The Linoprint CV has a printing speed of 90 ppm across its substrate range. The system is intended for customers that that already have digital capacity and want to grow both volume and application flexibility. In addition to printing with the four primary colors, the system also offers either a high-opacity white or high-gloss coating as an exchangeable fifth color.

Registration accuracy enables multi-pass applications featuring raised printing and unique white effects for short-run labels or packaging. Users can choose from a huge variety of substrates ranging from structured papers and coated media to colored paper and synthetic films up to 14-point board.

The Linoprint CV is designed for paper formats up to 13×27.5”, therefore users can produce three-page folding brochures or posters up to 27.5” in a single operation. Multiple paper magazines can be refilled on the fly, keeping makeready times short.

The color toner is comprised of ultra-fine particles, which helps deliver high-resolution images. Added features include a generous color scale as well as toner with a low melting point. The combination of these features make it possible to print on a variety of materials—including heat-sensitive plastics—with image and color quality close to that achieved in offset.

Productive high-achiever

The Linoprint CP produces advertising and presentation materials at a printing speed of 130 pages per minute, as well as personalized print products, bound books and brochures. The heavy-duty modular design of the system, which incorporates separate imaging and fusing units, can yield monthly print volumes exceeding one million images.  

Its flexibility, scalability and user-friendly operation make it an option for high- or low-print volume. The standard configuration includes a vacuum/suction-tape feeder that ensures even difficult printing materials such as heavy coated media are reliably fed through the press. Assorted inline finishing solutions include bookletmaking and inline UV coating, as well as high-capacity stacking, perforating, folding and adhesive binding.

Like the Linoprint CV, the Linoprint CP also has a low toner melting point, which enables it to process a range of materials, including structured papers and plastics. The system can accommodate up to 18-point board stock, a capability useful in the production of short-run packaging and packaging proofs.

Both the Linoprint CV and Linoprint CV will be available with Heidelberg’s Prinect Digital Front End, or with EFI’s Fiery front end, depending on the production workflow already in place.

Intuitive user interface

Heidelberg’s Prinect Digital Frontend (DFE) ensures that all print jobs can be centrally managed in one workflow system, regardless of the selected printing process. Additional benefits include highly flexible digital printing and reliable quality and color management.

To ensure repeat jobs can be carried out with greater certainty and reliability, all work processes such as job creation, preflight checking, color management, and impositioning can be saved as linked sequences. This certainty in production also extends to the printing of personalized data. Prinect Digital Frontend supports the finishing options of the new Linoprint systems, enabling several print jobs to be produced and ready for sale in a single operation.

“Heidelberg is excited to bring the new Prinect Digital Front End to the market for both our traditional customers and those that already have a substantial digital footprint,” adds Maurer. “We have received great customer feedback from our installs of Prinect Digital Print Manager workflow with our Linoprint C901+ and C751 systems, based on its ease of use, features, and integration to Prinect prepress and press software. Our new DFE takes all this up another notch.”

The Linoprint CV will launch in January 2015, with the Linoprint CP and DFE to follow in March and July, respectively.

Something for the smaller shop

In response to customer demand, Heidelberg USA will begin marketing the new, entry-level Linoprint CM high-volume, black-and-white digital production machine to supplement color production in smaller shops. Also new is the Linoprint CE, which will enable smaller commercial shops, quick printers, and in-plant operations to transition to an upgraded platform at lower volumes and lower cost with no loss of quality.