Heidelberg Quickmaster DI 46

[BigSi]

Ok, I know these machine's are old now. (late 1990s I think). But they must be one of the cheapest 4colour offset machines around. You can often pick them up with very low impressions for around the 11k-15k mark. With a small foot print seem great when space is lacking. So tell me why I should not purchase one?. Can't get service anymore?, cant get parts anymore?, can't the plate imaging material anymore? or all of the above? I realise these machine are not the best for large solids or very thick stock but they still seem cheap. There must be a reason? your thoughts much appreciated. Thanks.

 

[rbailleu]

they are okay presses. call Heidelberg about parts. plates are available good for a small shop one or 2 people were you can do something else while it images plates. register is not the best side to side. decent to the gripper

 

[BigSi]

Thanks for that, Roughly how long does it take to image four plates? (say about 50% coverage). I'm a little nervous about service, parts and plates in this part of the world. (New Zealand). How do the cost of the plates compare with conventional? I remember when these came out, they were going to the greatest thing since sliced bread!

 

[Risu]

Burning plates takes something like 7-10 min, one plate or all 4, no matter how many %. One plate 7-10 eur, print length ca 10.000.
Needs technically skilled operator. I have classic and spare qmdi, I´m a quite happy with these.

 

[BigSi]

Thanks for the info. There are a few of these floating around this part of the world. There is one on ebay Australia at the moment. Do you think an experienced 4col speedmaster operator would get the hang of it fairly quickly? If I had room I would prefer to go for an older 4col GTO 52 and pay the extra $30k or so.

 

[Risu]

QMDI is a quite easy to use.
It calculates ink coverage and move ink ducts automaticly + plates are always registered + no developing etc chemicals

But, there is many pneumatic components and electric boards.
If you can repair air leaks and do some technical adjustments, DI is perfect for you.
I removed all automatic cleaners and clean by hand, less maintenance.
Many tricks, it takes time to learn all of them.

I would to buy two cheap DI prefer one expensive. One for spares...

 

[Ret Heidelberg Instructor]

If you can get a Pro Model you would do better. The Pro Model with CP2000 interface was the last of the bunch that Heidelberg made. You get get more out of your plates because of a Smart Spooling feature only on the Pro Model. The feeder is an SM52, it registers better. Early DI's had 486 computers as the operating system based on DOS. Parts and service can be expensive. Plate material is expensive. It can do good work if maintained properly and run by a press press operator (not a photo copier operator). If you have good pre-press personnel and keep your jobs relatively basic you can do quite well. They don't make the GTO any more but there are still plenty around and they are simpler to operate and easier to service.

 

[BigSi]

Thanks for the info. Yes I have a two colour GTO. (so I do know about them) I guess my fear with a "DI" machine is some part giving out (most likely electronic) and a/ not being able to get a replacement or b/ costing a huge amount. I hear what your saying about having another machine for parts. From my experience the same parts tend to wear out and also the room factor, (two complete DI would take up all most as much room as one 4col GTO. The room factor is the main reason why I'm thinking about a DI as opposed to an older 4col GTO. But interesting to hear about the "Pro" model. Thanks Simon

 

[Risu]

You can disassemble DI for parts, you`ll learn at the same time a lot. Spare parts takes 1m3 from storage.
There is plenty of parts in ebay etc if you don´t want to search spare machine.

You can save plates in classic model as well.

I prefer DI vs GTO.

 

[Ercupa]

i have some tech documentation you can contact me
[email protected]

 

[Morgan Manning]

I've done pre-installations and installations on over 60 QMDI's when I worked at Heidelberg. Yes, it can be a good press if you do maintenance like any Heidelberg.
Things to know:

• Replacement lasers are pricey - #1 reason that their resale is crap right now. Look into it, ask for them to show test grids and a 50% tint across the page.
• It's a 18.125 x 13 press, with 3 inking rollers, you will ghost. You can rotate the job slightly and make a jig for cutting but understand, you will ghost.
• What rip is on the front end? Harlequin? What version? Will it support transparency features on the pdf's you want to send?
• You're going to need to run it in a 70-80f and 40-60% humidity condition if possible. Waterless ink, even with cooled inking rollers, has a small window of usability.
• If all these things check out for you - then I think it's the right press for some small shops

Yes, there was a line at Drupa 1995 a mile long and 400 orders in when it debuted - but it's now 2015 and it's long in the teeth. if it were me, I'd save my money and get a SM52, which can do anything you want. I'm no expert, just been onsite at installs, recalibrations, etc and seen a lot of events with QMDI's. Also understand I was a press manager on a GTO-DI, part of the purchase, ran the press, so I completely understand what you are getting into. It may be a small price to some, but a big purchase for a small shop.

 

[Ercupa]

will be a good idea that you have all tech docu.
[email protected]