Heidelberg Customers Look to Leverage Investments in 2009

KENNESAW, Ga.—Heidelberg USA regards the high attendance at its sixth annual “Brats and Dots” open house as an indication that printers are continuing to evaluate new equipment and looking to invest in solutions that will help them secure their businesses for the future, despite the flagging economy.

Held last month at Heidelberg’s Print Media Demonstration Center (PMDC) in Kennesaw, Ga., the event drew more than 200 area printers, who came to see first-hand the largest array of Heidelberg prepress, press, postpress, Prinect workflow, consumable and service solutions on display anywhere in North America.

“Given the challenging economic times we face, it’s vitally important for printers to stay abreast of technologies and solutions that will help them achieve greater productivity in their own shops while delivering maximum value to their customers,” said James Dunn, president of Heidelberg USA. “It’s an encouraging sign for us and for the print media industry as a whole that printers are setting their sights on a plan of wise capital investment that will enable them to sustain and grow their businesses into the future.”

Heidelberg says that Brats and Dots attendees displayed interest in its Prinect portfolio—a suite of modular, scalable workflow solutions designed to help printers drive efficiencies across the shop. In the Prinect demonstration area of the PMDC, Heidelberg customers and prospects could experience the benefits of an integrated workflow and determine which solutions best fit their business needs.

“Now more than ever printers are looking for ways to better manage, control, and reduce costs,” said Ray Weidele, plant manager for Geographics. “Events like Brats and Dots allow us to see the latest offering from Heidelberg, like their Prinect Workflow, which provides information to see a job from every financial angle, something that is essential in these unsure economic times.”

In addition to the annual Brats and Dots event, Heidelberg conducts training classes and special events at its PMDC throughout the year to connect interested printers with industry experts and to help them stay abreast of the latest technologies. Associations, peer groups, training organizations and other industry alliances have year-round access to the center, which also performs custom demos and product testing. For more information about upcoming events at the Print Media Demonstration Center, visit www.us.heidelberg.com