What Hot Products?
by Terry Poltrack
Thursday morning's Hot New Technologies session at the Post-Press segment focused less on products and technologies, and more on the philosophies and histories of some key suppliers.
Karl M. Zimmerlin, executive vice president of Muller Martini Marketing AG, noted that Muller, owner of GMA, focuses on consistent, modular hardware capable of tailoring for newspaper needs; powerful, streamlined control-system software that works both with machines and databases; and system engineering to ensure full integration.
He reviewed the company's product line, from the Alphaliner inserter capable of insertions at a rate of 15,000 per hour, to the SLS2000 at a maximum of 32,000, to the Newsliner, which screams along at as much as 50,000. He also referenced the development of peripherals, such as the evolutionary FlexiRoll, which builds on the success of the company's PrintRoll, and a new multitasked bundling device currently being tested in Allentown, Pa.
Howard Dare, chief executive officer of Heidelberg Finishing Systems, offered answers to oft-asked questions about his company as it expands beyond presses and acquires a full portfolio of newspaper products. Underlying these moves is a growing confidence in the global market for print products. Heidelberg, he said, intends to grow with it. New projects run the gamut of operations needs, he noted, mentioning a new inserter in development, but giving no details.
Al Lindsay, Southern Region sales manager of Sitma U.S.A. Inc., outlined his company's decision in 1994 to broaden its focus on commercial printing to tap the newspaper industry's need for collating and packaging systems. The driving force: the industry's ever-expanding number of inserts. Sitma's products can be tailored on a paper-by-paper basis, he said, and offer a wide range of applications.
To cap the session, Mike Stern, production manager of Syracuse Newspapers Inc., let his computer do the talking--literally--in his presentation on his company's outsourcing its Sunday-insert business. Existing equipment, he--we mean, it--said, while more than up to daily tasks, couldn't handle Sunday growth. So Syracuse turned to National Inserting Systems in Allentown, Pa., to handle it for them.
This difficult assignment includes 80 zones and late deadlines. The newspaper retained year-round inserts, such as Parade and the TV book, inserted in the main section. Comics (used as wrapper) and all preprints go directly to Allentown. Assembly begins at 8 p.m. each Thursday and finishes by 10 a.m. Friday. Inserts are trucked to Syracuse for 2 p.m. arrival.
Stern noted some key factors: Truck expense is big (they require eight-to-15 tractor trailers) and weather can really foul things up. Nonetheless, execs are pleased with the arrangement.
Terry Poltrack is vice president of editorial services at NAA and editor of Presstime magazine. E-mail, poltt@naa.org; phone, (703) 902-1682; fax, (703) 902-1690.