The PDI Group has grown substantially since it was founded in 1970. Currently the largest independent sheetfed printer in Quebec, CEO Gaetano DiTrapani and President Jamie Barbieri felt it was time to “rejuvenate our capabilities to better serve our customers.” So they invested in a Heidelberg Speedmaster XL 106-5 offset press with LED drying and Push to Stop technology, set to arrive at its Montreal facility next month.
The press has a unique configuration. A single-lamp Heidelberg DryStar LED Curing System at the end of the press ensures that sheets exit completely dry. The method commonly used today (an aqueous coating tower to flood the sheet, cured with an infra-red or hot-air knife system) is costly, less efficient and requires more press floor space. “About 80% of the coating we do is purely to dry the sheet, not to add effects to it,” Barbieri revealed. “This was not a cost-efficient way to dry.” Other benefits of the system include reduced maintenance and enhanced print quality on matte, satin and book offset substrates.
PDI’s XL 106-5 LED also includes Heidelberg’s groundbreaking Push to Stop technology. Total integration with prepress delivers job-ticket information to the Prinect PressCenter XL 2 Console. The console converts the job data to the press autonomously, triggering a completely automated job change. Once all the sheet size and inking parameters are set, plates are hung automatically with AutoPlate Pro, and printing begins. Using Prinect Inpress Control (an inline colour and register system), sheets reach colour approval status quickly based on preset parameters. The good-sheet counter is turned on and production begins at 18,000 sph. All this can happen in under 5 minutes and the press operator sees nothing that would tell him to interrupt (i.e. Push to Stop) production.
“The environmental footprint of this press is also worth talking about,” said DiTrapani. “Low waste, fast run speeds, LED drying, no AQ coating. It all adds up to a very low carbon footprint per sheet and job.” Barbieri added that: “Many of our clients are deeply concerned about the environment, so we’re doing what we can to support them.” In fact, PDI has taken its ‘green’ efforts one step further. This press will feature distinctive CO-2 neutral accreditation. Heidelberg and PDI worked together to generate a carbon footprint for the manufacture of the entire press, and PDI purchased CO-2 credits to balance that manufacturing. Bottom line: Next month, PDI will add the most environmental and production-efficient offset press in the province to its equipment portfolio.
PDI expands capabilities and reduces carbon footprint with Heidelberg Speedmaster XL 106-5 LED
