SunDance to Add New HEIDELBERG Versafire LV and POLAR Cutter

SunDance, an award-winning print, packaging, and direct mail manufacturer based in Orlando, Florida, is set to install a Versafire LV and POLAR N 137 PLUS from HEIDELBERG early this year. The new five-color digital press and high-speed cutter will boost speed and reliability, reduce workflow bottlenecks, and increase capacity and substrate versatility to support rising demand across SunDance’s business units.

Increasing Demands

With origins in fine art publishing and commercial printing, SunDance has spent the last five years expanding its capabilities in folding carton, wide format, mailing and finishing, and flexible packaging to strengthen its position nationally as a “one-stop shop” for high-quality production. “This unique combination of capabilities allows us to support complex, multi-channel programs,” said JohnHenry Ruggieri, Managing Partner/President of SunDance. “Our controlled and strategic growth has been driven through investments in equipment, automation, and lean manufacturing to improve efficiency, accuracy, and consistency.”

Steady year-over-year growth and the addition of several national accounts have led to a recent expansion of SunDance’s Orlando facility and pushed volumes higher across both print and packaging. With greater demand on the company’s digital production and finishing operations, Ruggieri commented, “We needed higher speeds and uptime, wider material flexibility, and stronger automation to maintain our customers’ expectations for quality and turnaround times.”

To support this increased workload, SunDance turned to its long-standing partner HEIDELBERG to enhance its digital and finishing portfolio. Its new POLAR cutter and Versafire LV will join two existing POLAR 137 cutters and a Versafire CP already in operation.

“POLAR cutters have always delivered long-term reliability, durability, and accuracy,” said Ruggieri. “The Versafire platform provides consistent color, dependability, and streamlined integration within our Prinect workflow. These machines directly support our lean manufacturing objectives – reducing operator touchpoints, increasing automation, and improving quality while decreasing waste.”

Expanded Capabilities

SunDance’s new Versafire LV will expand its current digital capabilities with the ability to run a variety of substrates including coated and uncoated stocks, cover weights, light boards, synthetics, labels, and specialty materials. This broader range allows the company to more effectively bridge the gap between digital and offset production – supporting a wider variety of applications. Additionally, the five-color Versafire LV can print with digital white, clear, and neon toners, enabling extended gamut output and specialty effects for folding carton prototypes, mock-ups, short-run packaging components, security features, marketing materials, and enhanced direct mail.

Aligning with its long-term automation and workflow goals, SunDance selected the Prinect Digital Frontend for its new Versafire. Prinect connects SunDance’s Speedmaster CD 102 and its Versafire presses into one unified workflow – streamlining job routing, scheduling, color management, reporting, and automation. “The Prinect DFE creates a consistent production environment – enhancing the customer experience through improved scheduling and greater data visibility,” said Ruggieri.

A long-time HEIDELBERG Versafire user, SunDance has seen steady advancements in the platform over the years. With improved front-to-back registration, stronger calibration, greater speed stability, and broader substrate support, Ruggieri said he can now run many jobs digitally that previously required offset printing – without any compromise in quality.

Having cultivated a culture of craftsmanship over its nearly twenty-year history, SunDance relies on HEIDELBERG solutions at every stage of production – including the Suprasetter CtP, Prinect Production Manager, Saphira Consumables, Easymatrix die cutter, and Diana folder-gluer – to elevate the quality of its work above competitors. “We value HEIDELBERG’s reliability, ecosystem strength, workflow integration, and continued technological improvement,” said Ruggieri. “They continue to support our focus on quality and long-term goals to increase automation and operational consistency.”

Source: Heidelberg

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