Lenoir Community College Adds Heidelberg Press

Lenoir Community College is designing a brighter future for its students with a piece of new equipment: a two-color Heidelberg Printmaster QM 46. The press will be installed in its Kinston, N.C., student training lab. The college’s graphic arts and imaging technology degree is highly coveted in a region that employs many in the printing industry.

The college reports it has a near 100 percent rate in placing graduates in well-paying jobs in the local printing community upon graduation. According to department chairman Dwight Downie, firms in the area typically trust the Heidelberg brand and use Heidelberg small-format equipment, making it more likely than not that graduates will be required to operate a Heidelberg Printmaster QM 46 when and where they land a job.

“It makes sense to offer our students training on the equipment they’ll be asked to use when they join the workforce,” Downie says. “Eventually, we’d like to replace all of our small duplicators with Heidelberg QM 46 presses.”

The QM 46 brings a new level of technological sophistication to Lenoir’s classroom printing lab, Downie says. He cites its semi-automated features like AutoPlate plate-hanging, electronic sheet monitoring and an alcohol-free continuous dampening system. For now, he adds, the focus is on providing upcoming graduates with as much training time on the new press as possible.

Of the 4500 students currently enrolled at Lenoir Community College, approximately 62 are full-time Graphic Arts and Imaging Technology majors. Founded in 1978, the program also functions as the college printing facility where student technical assistants help out as part of a work-study program.