envelope feeder for Heidelberg SM52

[Oleg Savashinsky]

I'm looking for envelope feeder compatible with Heidelberg SM52. I'm interested to know your experience. Thank you...

 

[Al Ferrari]

Suspension Feeder, Manufacturing Envelope Feeders Since 1969

 

[RGPW17100]

fyi any envelope over 24 lb will exceed the 16 pt max spec on a SM52. If you measure a 28lb catalog or booklet envelope at the seams they are over 18 pt. If your transfers are not packed correctly you will damage them. Also the amount of squeeze you need for envelopes are sure to trash your blankets as well.

 

[Oleg Savashinsky]

Thanks for you comments...

You mean it's impossible to print envelopes because of damage of blankets?

 

[Al Ferrari]

Your comments are especially valuable in the context of the SM52. I have no experience with this press.

But it is very common practice in envelope printing to have several different blankets, each reserved for a particular type of envelope. Also, there are compressible type blankets better suited to this work.

Al

 

[Ret Heidelberg Instructor]

Ret Heidelberg Instructor

Ret Heidelberg Instructor

You can look at an envelope feeder from a company called Just Feed if they are still in business. They make a simple one that will work well. Go onto Google and search for Just Feed envelope feeder. You will need extra blankets because you will have to really put on a lot of pressure. Make sure that you set the paper thickness for the 1st 10mm of the envelope taking into account flaps and multiple layers and then adjust the pressure as needed until you print.

 

[rbailleu]

thompson envelope feeder. check you tube. just feed is a little wierd. works for some envelopes like #10 but not all.

 

[Ret Heidelberg Instructor]

Ret Heidelberg Instructor

Ret Heidelberg Instructor

Here is some additional info. If you don't have a lot of #10 envelopes to print you can run them without an envelope feeder but it can be labor intensive and you have to run them flap forward with no air blast at the feeder head. I do know of a way to get them to open at the infeed if you need to print on the flaps. I know someone that can make a modification that works but there would be a cost involved. Good luck! I hope all the info that you receive from everyone will help you.

 

[RGPW17100]

Damage can also be done to the transfer sleeves. They need to be severely underpacked. Another problem with envelopes on the SM52 is water. When you run envelopes on any press water is a problem. The paper area and image area is so small what typically happens is the first 50 or so are way too dark. After 50 the color starts washing out and by the last envelope in the lift your copy looks washed out. An envelope feeder will help with this. We have tried running the short ink train and that was worse. After our 52 was installed we ran 10000 catalogs and that night found all of our transfers were damaged and at the time they were $650 each and we had to replace 5 of them. After that we hired a new press operator who told us to only pack them with .020 packing instead of the .040 that heidelberg told us to pack them with. Because envelope glue joints exceed .016 Heidelberg would not help us on the cost of the transfers so we had to eat that. After that we quit doing any envelopes. Even keeping a spare set of blankets you are looking at least a half hour to change out all 4 of them twice. We find it hard to complete against an envelope shop that will run these on a jet press that is set up for this type of work. Conventional printing is nice but real costly when you have to change out everything to go to an envelope. Also on a #10 you need to feed landscape flap first which means the image has to start more then 3/8 of an inch from the top. Most customers arent going to like this. Standard would be 1/4 inch on left and upper edges. Sorry if I sound negative but we tried to make this work and could not find a profitable way. An SM 52 can run 3 small 4 color runs an hour easily. If you dink around with envelopes you could be looking at 2 hours to run one job and that job might only be a 1000 envelopes.