Printing Facility

Ultimate Printing Guide

Google
 
The Complete Process is what counts – Integrated Packaging Production Live in the Print Media Center PDF Print E-mail
User Rating: / 0
PoorBest 
Tuesday, 21 July 2009

(Customer dialog is first priority for Heidelberg – here on the XL 162)

When print jobs are being costed, created, printed, die cut, and glued in the Print Media Center (PMC), guests visiting the center are always “right in the thick of the action”. Since Hall 11 of the Wiesloch-Walldorf site of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) started hosting customer demonstrations in November 2008, around 600 guests from all corners of the globe have already had the chance to experience Heidelberg solutions for packaging and label printing live. With an area of over 4,000 square meters, the PMC is the largest competence center of its kind in the world. It presents a production environment with three complete production lines including integrated workflow, and each demonstration can be tailored to suit the specific needs and interests of the guests.

“We are well aware of the pressure the packaging industry is under. In a globally competitive environment, production has to increase at a rate of 3 to 5 percent annually,” explains Dr. Jürgen Rautert, Management Board Member responsible for Products and Markets at Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG: “We maintain close contacts with companies of all sizes in the packaging sector and develop our portfolio on an ongoing basis in line with the requirements we work out together.” The strategy pursued by Heidelberg is clear-cut – solutions for the much less cyclical packaging market are to account for 25 percent of the company’s total sales in the future.

packaging-printing-system02

(The Dymatrix die cutter is fully integrated in the workflow – presetting come in – shop floor data are reported back to the central workflow)

 

Success factors for packaging printing
What benefits does integrated packaging production offer customers? How can practical demonstrations in the PMC help to convince prospective customers that solutions from Heidelberg are the right choice for their future investments?

Transparent production
The job status and resources used for the job can be called up at any time during production. The machines – CtP platesetters, presses, die cutters, and folder gluers – are connected via a Prinect workflow and supply operating data in real-time. This means production times and downtime can be recorded automatically for each job. These results are used for precise actual costing and are also fed into the “pool of experience” accumulated for the system. As a result, subsequent costings are increasingly accurate. An inside-out knowledge of production data is essential for anyone wishing to optimize processes and boost efficiency – and Prinect delivers all the key information required. In the Print Media Center, guests gain a real insight into all the benefits of process transparency – and can even do so using their own printing and packaging jobs.

Increased reliability and data quality
In an integrated production process, the job and production data need only be entered once per job at a central point in the job preparation stage. Each phase of production – from prepress and press to die cutting and folding carton gluing – automatically accesses this original data and adds further data generated during the process. This data is immediately available for subsequent phases of production. In order to achieve cost-effective packaging production, it is absolutely essential that all production processes are reliable. This prevents operating errors and avoids inconsistent data in the various process steps. As all the parameters of previous jobs are available for repeat jobs, production can get under way quickly without compromising the quality of the product. For packaging printers, both of these factors are key to maintaining a successful business.

Planning in real-time
“I’ve only just received an express job from one of my regular customers – how can I ensure it can still be produced and delivered on time?” For visitors to the PMC, the answer to this question lies in the electronic planning board. The board displays deviations from the plans directly, meaning immediate action can be taken to ensure all deadlines are met. This also allows urgent customer inquiries to be incorporated into the planning process without compromising other jobs. Electronic production planning relieves the pressure on material planners and also cuts production times by providing flexible planning aids and supplying a range of real-time production information that was not previously available. This means, for example, that several print jobs with the same spot colors can be planned together in order to cut makeready times and optimize production. Machines can also be reserved in advance for specific jobs and the effect this will have on the overall planning is immediately visible at all workstations.

Openness of the system
Depending on the size and requirements of the individual packaging printer, various ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) or management information systems can be integrated into the Prinect workflow via a standard interface. These include LP. Packaging – an SAP solution from Dr. Lauterbach & Partner, Boxsoft from CSG, and Prinance. Data from CAD systems and graphics programs can also be incorporated into the Prinect workflow. The system can be configured on a fully modular basis and adapts itself to the specific conditions of the printshop. Products already installed at the customer’s premises can of course also be incorporated.

Outstanding availability
A consistently stable and reliable production process is worth its weight in gold – and not just in packaging printing. Heidelberg Service ensures the availability of the various units, thus safeguarding productivity and keeping unscheduled stoppages to a minimum. Here are two examples:
With Heidelberg Remote Service, a service engineer can access the machine online, make a diagnosis, and resolve the problem within a matter of minutes.
The latest service option eCall also saves a considerable amount of time and money. If the machine registers a fault, it automatically alerts Heidelberg Service to the problem. Provided the user gives his approval, an error ticket is then created. It previously took around 30 minutes from an error message being received to action being taken. eCall cuts this to less than a minute. What’s more, in up to 70 percent of cases, this data enables the problem to be identified and resolved the very first time the service expert and press operator speak on the phone.

Packaging production in the PMC – a step-by-step guide to the stations
As solutions from Heidelberg are suitable for use in both packaging printing and conventional commercial printing, all of the benefits already associated with Heidelberg products in integrated complete solutions for the commercial printing sector are also available to packaging printers. Here’s an overview of just some of the highlights:

CtP
As in real life, visitors to the PMC can discover the benefits of the Suprasetter platesetters in a separate prepress area. It takes the power of a sophisticated 90 HP motor to set the two meter wide imaging drum of the Suprasetter 145/162/190 in motion. Equipped with the fully automatic Auto Cassette Loader, the large-format Suprasetter can image up to 35 plates per hour. Thanks to the integrated production process, all the relevant job information about the number of plates – or square meters – already imaged is available at all times.

Presses
The focus now shifts to the pressroom of the PMC. Combined with the humming sound so typical of Speedmaster presses that are ready to spring into action, the gentle vibration of the air in the room strikes a chord with each and every one of the visitors. The market success of the Speedmaster XL 105 clearly illustrates just how well this press has been received by packaging and commercial printers with even the most discerning quality and productivity requirements. The XL 105 processes a wide range of substrates with a production speed of up to 18,000 sph. With the Hycolor inking and dampening system, motifs with lower ink consumption can be printed just as stably as ones with greater ink coverage. The fully automatic non-stop feeder, short washup times, rapid ink changes, and the continuous supply and removal of material are all crucial features, particularly for packaging printers. Special applications and high-quality surface finishing are possible thanks to the fully integrated UV technology, dual coating presses, Duo press configurations, and the cold foil module FoilStar.

The large-format presses from the Speedmaster XL 145 and XL 162 series are based on the technological platform of the XL 105. As a result, they also deliver the key advantages of fast makeready times, less waste, consistently high print quality, good flexibility with a range of printing stocks, and high press availability. In addition, they offer features important in the packaging print sector, such as a high number of repeats on a single sheet and high throughput for large runs. Large repeats in particular – for packaging in the food, electronics, or toy industry for example – can be produced more efficiently in the new formats. As with the XL 105, outstanding press productivity is ensured right from the feeder stage. The feeder features automatic air/speed compensation, sensor-controlled sheet transport, automatic non-stop technology for pile changes, and various types of logistics tailored to individual customer requirements. These features are enhanced by simultaneous washing of the inking unit, blanket, and impression cylinder, and synchronized plate changes in all printing units in less than two minutes.

Monitoring and managing quality centrally on the fly
Everything’s in color – but will the quality live up to the print buyer’s expectations? At a central point in the PMC pressroom, Heidelberg demonstrates a range of coordinated technologies that create a complete quality assurance concept for packaging production. The spectrophotometric quality measuring and control system Prinect Image Control serves as the central platform in the color workflow for ensuring print quality. The “Mini Spots” developed by Heidelberg are small, intelligent color patches that are positioned in empty spaces on the print sheet for process control purposes. They provide information on the color space and dot gain on the print sheet and thus deliver data that can be used to ensure consistent quality across the entire run. The Prinect Color Assistant enables automatic adoption of color presetting profiles from the prepress stage. This functionality is of particular interest to packaging companies when it comes to frequently-used spot colors. Heidelberg is also working to develop “self-learning preinking” that is ideally suited to the use of spot colors.

In the press, Prinect Inpress Control makes it possible to carry out continuous color control without having to interrupt production. Prinect Inspection Control uses two high-resolution RGB cameras to examine each individual print sheet for errors. The sheet inspection system compares each printed sheet with either the print data PDF or an approved sheet. This provides an especially high level of reliability for manufacturers of pharmaceutical packaging, for example, allowing them to undertake automatic checks on the fly to ensure dosage information is error-free before the run is finished or, indeed, delivered. What’s more, integrated packaging production not only makes excellent, reproducible quality more cost-effective, but also enables seamless documentation throughout the entire run.

packaging-printing-system03

(Intellistart provide 70% fewer steps to set up the press for the subsequent job)

Added value – unusual surface finishing effects ensure an edge over the competition
In more and more jobs today, even the very best print quality just isn’t enough without the addition of certain effects. Unusual surface finishing options can set a product apart from the crowd and generate additional benefits for packaging printers and their customers. Special surface finishing creates a unique selling point that helps printers hold their own in the price wars, and also benefits print buyers by ensuring their products really stand out at the point of sale. Heidelberg provides the technologies, application know-how, and expertise in the construction of special presses needed to help them achieve this. All these qualities are brought to bear in surface finishing solutions that enable commercial and packaging printers to create unusual products that set them apart from the competition.
In the PMC, a Heidelberg Speedmaster XL 105 Duo – an offset press with integrated flexographic unit – is used to demonstrate how first-class productivity can be combined with unusual print results. Whether offset follows flexographic printing or vice versa, the consistent development of the coating unit into a flexographic unit makes it possible to achieve a saturated white, for example, that can be printed again in the same pass. Iriodine, silver, and gold coatings that are applied using the Duo press produce a particularly gloss effect on dark areas, for instance. FoilStar technology is also a favorite among visitors to the PMC, who are full of praise for the stunning effects achieved on labels and packaging created using cold foil with UV coating, and cold foil and conventional inks. FoilStar is added to a conventional printing unit and can be switched off as required. In just a few easy steps, the printing unit is once again ready to begin “normal” offset printing.

Postpress
Go with the workflow… Mirroring the ideal material flow, the presentations in the PMC move from the press stage directly into postpress. The die cutters from Heidelberg – such as the Dymatrix 106 CSB Pro – are equipped with a moving upper platen to achieve gentle, horizontal sheet transport with only a small number of nicks. This helps to ensure the high quality of the packaging produced, and success on the market. In addition, the patented register system delivers high-precision die cutting, stripping, and blanking at each station. The ergonomic overall concept and touchscreen operation based on established Heidelberg standards are just two of the many benefits of these machines that will be familiar to Heidelberg users.

Thanks to its modular design, the Diana X 115 folder gluer can develop and “grow” to keep pace with increasing demands. On one hand, this means existing investments remain viable while, on the other, the machines can be configured to meet specific requirements. This in turn makes it possible to create products that stand out from the crowd and help to generate success on the market. With the optional Diana Feeder and Diana Packer, the machines are capable of producing up to 200,000 folding cartons per hour. Faulty cartons are detected and ejected automatically, ensuring the quality of the run remains as high as possible.

Source: Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG





Google!Facebook!Slashdot!Netscape!Technorati!Spurl!Furl!Fark!Yahoo!Smarking!Ma.gnolia!Add this social bookmarking functionality to your website! title=
 
< Prev   Next >

Statistics

Members: 43
News: 426
Web Links: 24
Visitors: 486410

Who's Online

We have 16 guests online

Login Form






Lost Password?
No account yet? Register

Syndicate

Archive

Banners

 

Bookmark Us

 
 
Tanscomputer
             
 

© 2007 Printing Update

Remember Our WebSite : PrintingUpdate.com

Ultimate Printing Guide - Printing Facility