PRINTING United Alliance has recognized ‘Plate to Unit’ from Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG with its Pinnacle Award for Technology for 2023.
A highly qualified panel of judges across the printing industry evaluated the annual contest’s 160+ entries in more than 58 categories spanning analog, digital, output, and non-output technologies.
“The Pinnacle Technology Award honors technologies that are ‘truly innovative and likely to have a significant impact’ among commercial hardware, software, consumables, and industrial and screen equipment,” said Dawn Nye, Program Manager for Pinnacle Awards, PRINTING United Alliance.
For Heidelberg, the award underlines the company’s role as a technology leader in process automation. Addressing the pressure of increasing costs and the shortage of skilled labor in the printing industry, Plate to Unit is a fully automatic printing plate logistics solution for the Speedmaster XL 106 designed to reduce operator workload and ensure higher process reliability. Printing plates are automatically placed in and removed from the correct plate-changing shaft without operator intervention. In addition to boosting productivity, the automation increases the reliability of plate changes and reduces the risk of scratches on the plate, which can cause paper waste.
“Plate to Unit is an important milestone in HEIDELBERG’s Push-to-Stop concept on the way to a more autonomous printing plant,” said Clarence Penge, Executive Vice President for Product Management, Heidelberg USA. “Being honored with the Pinnacle Award for Technology shows the industry recognizes our leadership in process automation across the entire production supply chain.”
