First-Rate Inline Coating in a Single Pass

From this September onwards, the Korus Packaging printshop in Bordeaux, France, will be using a specially configured Speedmaster CD 74 from Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg). With eight ink units, three coating units, a dryer, perfecting device, and extended delivery, the Speedmaster CD 74 UV can create a complete, high-finish print product in just a single pass. The configuration can print a wide range of combinations of inks and coatings, thus creating particularly striking effects. "Our customers come from the cosmetics and perfume industries and are particularly discerning," explains Serge Durandet, Managing Director of Korus Packaging. He made a special trip to Wiesloch to approve the press and was impressed with the test jobs. "We focus on the luxury packaging sector and our motto therefore has to be quality every time," adds Durandet. Since 2001, Korus Packaging has offered UV printing on a Speedmaster CD 102-7 LX-UV and is looking to expand this sector with the Speedmaster CD 74-UV. Earlier printing for food products was abandoned in favor of luxury packaging.

With the Speedmaster CD 74-UV, Korus Packaging will soon be able to offer its customers even faster delivery, as jobs which used to have to go two or three times through the press can now be printed in a single pass. Durandet is enthusiastic about the excellent quality, which is equally high in both recto and verso printing. This was one reason for the purchase, as the trend in perfume cartons is moving toward double-sided printing. Another motivation was the F format of the Speedmaster CD 74, 60.5 centimeter x 74 centimeter (23.82 x 29.13 inch), which is in tune with packaging printing needs. Run levels at Korus Packaging average 8,000 to 10,000 sheets with grammages of 280 to 350 grams per square meter.

Korus Packaging, founded in 1993, employs 62 staff and generated sales in 2005 of over nine million Euro. It has two diecutters and one Diana folder gluer with a Jackpack and Jackfeed for finishing. The printing plates are produced by Speed Impression, managed by Gérard und Francis Durandet, both brothers of Serge Durandet. Speed Impression is a purely commercial printshop, employing 53 staff and generating sales in 2005 of almost seven million Euro.

The Speedmaster CD 74 all-rounder
The Speedmaster CD 74 was launched on the market at drupa 2000 and since drupa 2004 it has also been available as a perfecting press. Over 5,000 printing units have now been shipped. Customers appreciate its high productivity and flexibility and wide range of applications it supports. A ten-color Speedmaster CD 74 with a coating unit before and after sheet reversal was unveiled at Ipex 2006. It enables customers to boost productivity by 30 percent as the printed sheet reaches the finishing stage much faster.

The modular design allows a wide range of configurations. Heidelberg supplies one out of every five presses in this format as customized presses and many of these feature integrated UV technology. Over 150 Speedmaster CD 74 UV presses have been installed throughout the world. The Speedmaster CD 74 with perfecting device is in high demand on the French market as it enables high quality packaging in a single pass, printed on the front and reverse sides. Since the middle of 2005, a Speedmaster CD 74 with 13 printing units has already been in use at a French packaging printshop.