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Original Heidelberg Press Costa Rica Trip 2009 57
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Original Heidelberg
‘The Prince of Presses’
By Fred Williams
Editor-Publisher, Sort & Press
Summer season 1981
Even in this “offset age,” the Heidelberg platen presses prove their worth—day in, day out. Nevertheless the most versatile presses on the industry they can print, imprint, number, perforate, punch, slit, emboss, die-reduce, score and hot foil stamp.
They can print on a wide variety of paper stocks from onion paper to carton. Some models can print on leather, cloth & plastic.
Developed and constructed by German craftsmen, the Heidelberg press features heavy-duty building with huge base and platen of specially cast alloy and shaft of stell, toggle lever drive with impression handle, push-and-pull mechanism for feeding quite thin paper, excellent register at all speed variations, cylinder inking method and rollers running in precision ball bearings.
But the most radical feature of the Original Heidelberg press is its sweeping windmill feeder. This double blade, with grippers on each ends, moves in quarter turns from feeding, to print, to delivery positions.
Vacuum suckers lift unprinted sheets from the pile holding them till seized by grippers in either finish of the windmill blade, which revolves, carrying the sheet to the edge of the platen. Although the grippers nevertheless hold the sheet, the press closes, generating the impression. Right after platen opens the windmill revolves an additional quarter-turn, delivering printed sheet.
The press, regarded by pressmen as “The Prince of Presses,” is made in West Germany by Schnellpressenfabrik AG Heidelberg (Heibelberg Speedy Press Performs, Inc.) & now is made in ten.1/4×15” and 13 3/8×18 1/8” sizes.
The Heidelberg got its commence more than 130 years ago when German master machinist Andreas Hamm established a factory in the university town of Heidelberg in Baden-Wurttemberg in 1850 to create presses, folding machines and gas engines.
Shortly before the turn of the century he started concentrating on the designing of higher-speed Letterpress machines.
In 1912 perform and testing started on the Heidelberg Original press. Speed, precise register and the windmill gripper had been incorporated into this ingenious mechanism. The press produced its debut in 1913.
Early Heidelberg presses had a revolving ink disk system, but in 1919 it was discarded in favor of the presently utilized cylindric inking method.
The toggle action for control of the platen movement was not featured on the press till 1924. This very same year an assembly line was instituted to step up production of the press. Speed of the press art the time was in excess of three,000 i.p.h.
In 1933 the 13×18” Heidelberg press, with impressional strength of 60 tons, was introduced. 3 years later the organization started producing cylinder presses. Soon the speed of the platen press was raised to 5,000 (10,000 using the double feeder attachment) i.p.h.
Production of all presses was resumed in 1949 right after being curtailed during Globe War II. New dramatic tactics have been utilised to regain lost markets.
Particular vans have been outfitted, every single containing a Heidelberg. Driven straight to printers’ doors, extension cables would be connected to neighborhood powser outlets and the press would be demonstrated as it turned out the printers’ own jobs. Sales soared and within a few years the distinctive Heidelberg press was busily operating in all components of the world.
In 1957 another factory was opened at Wieslock, West Germany and the quantity of staff rose to about six,000. In 1967 Heidelberg announced that it had constructed over 175,000 of the platen presses. One particular press was built every single 14 minutes.
Nevertheless, each day’s output was shipped out at once—the factory has in no way been capable to hold any in stock!
In 1958 a new line of cutting and creasing platen presses have been introduced. Four years later, because of American demands, a press for letterset and offset duplicating was brought out.
In spite of the tremendous acceptance of offset presses, prerssmen are not probably to neglect the Heidelberg press. Lengthy will they admire the ease at which it can be set-up and its quickly getaway on any job, its tremendous impressional strength, its hair-line register and smooth difficulty-cost-free operation.
www.apa-letterpress.com/T & P ARTICLES/Press & Presswork/heidelberg wind.html
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Kenfix Firm, 3706 Florida Avenue, Tampa, Florida, partial view of precision machine shops of Kenfix Company
Image by Boston Public Library
File name: 06_ten_009209
Title: Kenfix Company, 3706 Florida Avenue, Tampa, Florida, partial view of precision machine shops of Kenfix Business
Date issued: 1930 – 1945 (approximate)
Physical description: 1 print (postcard) : linen texture, colour 3 1/2 x 5 1/2 in.
Genre: Postcards
Subject: Industrial facilities
Notes: Title from item.
Collection: The Tichnor Brothers Collection
Place: Boston Public Library, Print Department
Rights: No recognized restrictions