Heidelberg Brings Polar Finishing Automation In-House

Earlier this year, industrial printing press manufacturer Heidelberger Druckmaschinen acquired the brand rights, technology and intellectual property of Polar, a German producer of cutting and finishing systems for packaging and labels, including tax stamps.

Under the deal, Heidelberg – which is the leading provider of sheetfed offset presses, the technology most often used for highquality and security print applications – has fully integrated Polar into its organisation.

While Heidelberg has taken over global sales and service for Polar’s automated cutting, jogging and finishing systems, Polar itself is focusing exclusively on development and manufacturing. The move formalises a partnership that has existed for decades, but that crucially strengthens Heidelberg’s position as a full end-to-end systems integrator, spanning print, inspection, finishing and workflow automation.

Cutting is critical to tax stamps

Rather than just a mechanical step in the tax stamp production process, the cutting of stamps is actually a critical part of their security value. The stamps must be cut with extreme precision, in very small formats, and under tightly controlled conditions. Poor cutting accuracy can lead to misaligned security features, inconsistent stamp dimensions, difficulties in automated application on high-speed production lines, increased wastage of secure material, and greater exposure to theft or diversion at the finishing stage.