SunDance, an award-winning print, packaging, and direct mail manufacturer based in Orlando, Florida, is expanding its production capabilities with the installation of a HEIDELBERG Versafire LV and a POLAR N 137 PLUS early this year. The additions are intended to increase capacity, improve reliability, and streamline workflows as volumes continue to rise across the company’s business units.

Originally rooted in fine art publishing and commercial printing, SunDance has spent the past five years broadening its capabilities to include folding carton, wide-format, mailing, finishing, and flexible packaging. According to Managing Partner and President JohnHenry Ruggieri, this expansion has been driven by disciplined investment in equipment, automation, and lean manufacturing. He said steady year-over-year growth and the onboarding of new national accounts have increased demand on both digital print and finishing operations, making higher speeds, uptime, and material versatility essential.

To address these needs, SunDance turned to its long-time technology partner Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG. The new POLAR cutter and Versafire LV will complement two existing POLAR 137 cutters and a Versafire CP already in operation. Ruggieri noted that POLAR’s long-term accuracy and durability, combined with the Versafire platform’s color consistency and workflow integration, directly support SunDance’s objectives to reduce operator touchpoints, minimize waste, and improve overall efficiency.

The five-color Versafire LV will expand SunDance’s digital capabilities by supporting coated and uncoated stocks, cover weights, light boards, synthetics, labels, and specialty materials. With options for digital white, clear, and neon toners, the press enables extended gamut output and specialty effects suited to folding carton prototypes, short-run packaging components, security features, marketing collateral, and enhanced direct mail. The system also helps bridge the gap between digital and offset production, allowing more jobs to be produced digitally without compromising quality.

Workflow integration is central to the investment. The Versafire LV will run with the Prinect Digital Frontend, connecting SunDance’s Speedmaster CD 102 and Versafire presses within a unified production environment. This integration supports streamlined job routing, scheduling, color management, reporting, and automation, improving data visibility and customer responsiveness.

With nearly two decades of operation, SunDance relies on a broad HEIDELBERG ecosystem, including Suprasetter CtP, Prinect Production Manager, Saphira consumables, Easymatrix die cutting, and Diana folder-gluing, to support its culture of craftsmanship and color accuracy. The latest investments reinforce SunDance’s long-term strategy to scale capacity while maintaining the consistency, quality, and agility expected by national brands across multiple market segments.