Rider Dickerson Installs Heidelberg Speedmaster XL 105

KENNESAW, Ga.—Rider Dickerson is carving out a high-tech future with the installation of a Heidelberg 6-color Speedmaster XL 105 with coater. The added capacity and speed of the new press comes at a critical time for the company, which recently expanded into a new 85,000-square-foot facility in Bellwood, Ill.

“The XL 105 is a great addition to our larger shop and enables us to expand our capabilities as we expand our space,” said Rider Dickerson President and CEO Bill Barta. “This press can handle the bread and butter of our business, our general commercial print work, while opening new doors for us to look at markets like packaging in the future.”

The XL 105’s speed, efficiency and quality fit with the company’s lean operations and focus on customer needs.

“The timeframes of our customers’ jobs are getting shorter, so one of the challenges we face is increasing our through-put,” Barta said. “With real production speeds of 18,000 sph and a paper format of 75 x 105 cm (29.53 x 41.34 in), the XL 105 is the fastest 40-inch press that I’ve seen on the market. It also has the highest level of quality and efficiency.”

Barta estimates the XL 105 can handle the workload of his two older six-color 40-inch presses with coater. That is due, in part, to the Autoplate Advanced with its simple, register-accurate plate changing. Extensive presetting functions in combination with fast and very efficient parallel wash-up processes dramatically reduce make-ready times. Barta also credits the new DryStar 3000 dryers, which are 30 percent more powerful and supply superior results, even at maximum press speeds. “The jobs are bone dry,” said Barta. “As soon as they come off the press, sheets are ready to back up or go to the bindery.”

In addition to being more efficient, the XL 105 has increased versatility. It can print on a wide range of substrates, from onion skin to 40-point cardboard and point-of-purchase materials. It also is the ideal production tool for label and packaging printers handling large volumes of multiple-up work.

“We’re planning to increase ourpackaging business since that is one of the key applications for this press,” said Barta. “It also will help us to better serve our current clients, and that goes back to our philosophy of putting customer needs first.”