By opting for one of the new data-based packages on offer from Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG, an increasing number of print shops worldwide are benefiting from the variable options of these Print Site Contracts.

Customers have a choice of four packages with different scopes of services and methods of payment. They range from a “Lifecycle Smart” contract that includes services and consumables to a “Subscription Plus” package that covers consulting, training, service, consumables, Prinect software and equipment solutions.

Heidelberg has now concluded some 400 of these contracts across the entire range, and they already account for more than 10% of the company’s total sales.

Based in Warminster, PA, in the US, Old York Road Printing (OYRP) decided on a Heidelberg Subscription agreement for its food packaging division. Covering one of the company’s latest-generation Speedmaster XL 106 presses with Push to Stop technology, the subscription contract also includes Prinect software, Saphira consumables, spare parts, consulting and service operations. Billing is based on the number of sheets printed.

Working together, Heidelberg and OYRP use existing data to analyze and optimize operating processes while also further reducing production costs. Within four months of commissioning the new system, this has significantly increased the print output. All key performance indicators have improved, with less makeready time, less waste and a higher job throughout.

The machine produces up to 90 print jobs in 24 hours and always operates at the maximum speed of 18,000 sheets per hour. Makeready times between jobs are no more than around five minutes.

“When we defined our targets at the outset, I never thought the XL 106 would be able to handle this volume, but the new press is exceeding all our expectations,” said OYRP plant manager Tom Chwieroth.

Hoehl-Druck is based in the German town of Bad Hersfeld and has a printing tradition dating back over 250 years. Its services are now aimed at a variety of customers from the commercial printing sector and the pharmaceuticals industry. 

The Lifecycle Smart contract it has entered into covers all service operations for a Speedmaster SX 102 with Image Control and a Speedmaster CX 102, together with virtually all necessary consumables for a period of two years. 

All the rest of the company’s Heidelberg systems benefit from Remote Service as a minimum. The total contract value is in the mid-six-digit euro range.

“Reliable partnerships are extremely important to us if we are to maintain our high quality and give our customers in the pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and food industries everything they need for their highly sensitive products,” Managing Director Markus Gutberlet said. “That’s why the Heidelberg contract model won us over. Having just one contact for a large number of matters helps us eliminate numerous interfaces.”

“Partnerships based on digitization are paying dividends – for our customers and for Heidelberg itself. More and more print shops are opting for our Print Site Contracts,” Heidelberg CEO Rainer Hundsdörfer said.