Kennesaw, Ga. \u2013 Edward Enterprises, like many printers in business for sixty-five years, has weathered innumerable challenges throughout its long history. Despite these challenges, the Honolulu based company continues to find new ways to reinvent itself and today is considered the largest commercial printer in Hawaii. Needing a press capable of expanding its burgeoning folding carton business, Edward Enterprises recently installed a Speedmaster CX 104 from HEIDELBERG. The new six-color press equipped with UV curing replaces two older presses and has drastically improved the plant\u2019s throughput and efficiency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
More Output, Less Shifts
After fifty years of commercial printing, Edward Enterprises began producing its first folding cartons almost ten years ago when it installed a Varimatrix die cutter and Easygluer folder gluer \u2013 both from HEIDELBERG. While there was a slow learning curve at start-up, \u201cHEIDELBERG was there for us every step of the way, educating and training us year after year,\u201d said Alex Upton, Vice President of Operations for Edward Enterprises. Shifting more of its business from commercial to packaging printing was always part of the company\u2019s long-term plan, but in 2020, the pandemic accelerated that shift even faster. Wanting to further improve its packaging capabilities and efficiency, Edward Enterprises installed a new Speedmaster CX 104-6+L in May to replace its twenty-five-year-old CD 102 and XL 75. Since installation, the press has cut the company\u2019s maintenance costs and consumables usage in half.
\u201cOur need for a new press was pure necessity,\u201d said Upton. \u201cWe planned to purchase one earlier, but then the pandemic happened. Our CD 102 had over 350 million impressions, and its outdated UV and coating system limited our capabilities and the type of folding carton work we could run.\u201d
Running at 15,000 sheets per hour, the new CX 104 has significantly increased the company\u2019s print capacity. The new press is fully equipped with HEIDELBERG\u2019s latest technology, which includes autonomous Push-to-Stop technology and a completely new operating philosophy, the HEIDELBERG User Experience (UX). Coupled with the patented Intellistart 3 and other assistance systems, HEIDELBERG UX ensures short makeready times and the best possible support for press operators throughout the press run. Edward Enterprises selected the CX 104 based on its speed and the types of jobs and quantities the company typically runs. According to Upton, \u201cHEIDELBERG played a huge part in helping us determine the specs that would best serve our existing customers and our expected growth.\u201d After running only a few months, the CX 104 produces more work in two 8-hour shifts than the company could produce with three 10-hour shifts on its two older presses.
Edward Enterprises has significantly reduced its production time and waste thanks to the press\u2019s state-of-the-art UV curing system. The company, who produces many cartons for chocolates and candy sold throughout Hawaii, often runs these boxes with four colors plus UV with a strikethrough coating. With the outdated drying system on its older press, Edward\u2019s team had to resort to multiple passes through the press to achieve the desired effect. \u201cThis presented a lot of its own issues,\u201d said Upton. \u201cBeing able to do this in one pass on the CX is a game changer for us.\u201d
Additionally, Prinect Axis Control, the fastest spectrophotometer in its class with a measuring speed of 200 mm\/second (7.87 in\/sec.), has reduced the makeready time at Edward Enterprises by at least 75% with the expectation to further reduce times as the operators continue to get more comfortable with the new technology. \u201cWe used to measure density the old-fashioned way with hand-held spectrophotometers. Now paper usage has reduced significantly \u2013 we use less makeready sheets and run fewer waste sheets. Hitting color in one to two pulls is just incredible,\u201d said Upton.
In Good Hands
To further boost its efficiency, Edward Enterprises chooses to use HEIDELBERG\u2019s Saphira Consumables and Prinect Production Manager. After using both workflow and plates from a competitive technology for the past twenty years, Edward Enterprises made the switch to Prinect six months prior to its press installation. \u201cThe undeniable advantages of Prinect are the color accuracy between proof and press and its seamless integration to the CX 104,\u201d said Upton. Additionally, the majority of Edward Enterprise\u2019s consumables including press chemistry and inks are all from HEIDELBERG. He said, \u201cRunning all HEIDELBERG consumables alleviated a lot of the issues we had on press for years.\u201d
Edward Enterprises is also equipped with multiple Versafire digital presses and POLAR cutters. The company changed to Versafire from another digital provider, and since installation, has produced \u201cthe quality and stability we needed,\u201d said Upton. It also plans to continue expanding the digital side of its business by upgrading its Versafires in the coming years. \u201cAll of our HEIDELBERG products have played a key role in our ability to grow our business\u2019s capabilities over the years,\u201d said Upton. \u201cWith HEIDELBERG, we always know we\u2019re in good hands. They have unbeatable support and expertise. They\u2019re all great people too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n