Get machines upgraded
with optional add-on accessories
Efficiently, productively and affordably
As major technological changes have been ushered in across the Indian printing and graphic art industry over the past few years, the market is becoming fiercely competitive. In this respect, Vijay Pandya, MD, Q.I. Press Controls India puts a suggestive note on improving efficiency and cost-effectiveness in production process through upgrading machines with optional add-on equipments cost-effectively.
With the fact that high-quality is essential and considered to be self-evident and where the decision to place a print order based on price, modern printing companies these days have to and are constantly on the lookout for innovative solutions that will enable them to increase the efficiency and cost effectiveness of their production process while still guaranteeing a high quality.
Changing offset market
Normally, an average new press would be running not more than 80-85 percent of its rated output. In the present scenario, it seems to be a better option to upgrade the present press with better automation and controls which can achieve 25-30 percent additional print capability as well as help in better print quality than buying a new machine.
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The whole offset printing market of India has been changing over the last two years, heading for quality improvement with commercial and coldset book printing. Definite shift from spot colour into full colour printing, facilitated by printing these spot colours in a CMYK colour composition, small dispositive texts make the quality job more difficult on coldset presses with no automated register controls.
The awareness about waste reduction has grown among print managers, whether existing installations should perform more effective or they become more profitable. In addition, advertising competition is one of the very often heard arguments too. Reaching all these market demands are becoming difficult for print companies due to rising costs of the inputs to the print process viz. paper, ink, plate, blanket, manpower, energy, press hours, etc. So, this has eventually led coldset printers, particularly those engaged in printing newspapers and books to compromise on reducing paper size and grammage, increasing print area or changing cut off size, using different quality of paper, increasing running use of blanket and plates, ink consumption, source of energy, using different chemicals and solutions, etc.
Resolving issues
Though effective by certain extent, all variations can crop out different issues which need to be addressed wisely, skilfully and productively. The issues could be ranged as: difficulty in web handling – web tension, web guiding, web breaks, paper dusts, registration controls, colour density controls, cut-off controls, post-press handling and frequent cleaning of blankets.
Today the needs of the printing company can be defined in terms of requirements which include: waste reduction, optimum utilisation of manpower, efficiency of process, equipments and overhead costs, and quality improvement through colour stability and consistent reproduction. For achieving these objectives in totality, the printing companies have to nothing but look for any process or automation which can help them save the inputs mentioned above as well as take care of consequential issues. The investments which can help them save the aforementioned inputs, even marginally, are much more logical than investing in brand new press equipments. Printers continuously have to try to wrench every penny out of their presses by efficient start-up and print run.
Essential accessories
In order to achieve the objective mentioned, some of the accessory equipments can be very helpful. Some equipments are not very costly but can improve printing efficiently and output quality of the press significantly. These equipments may include: in-feed device, web cleaner, web guiding system, web arrester, remote inking system, automatic colour registration control system, automatic cut-off control system, linear compensating device, damping device, automatic reel changer, etc.
Many of these accessories are already supplied by press manufacturers as standard or optional add-ons. However, sometimes buyers do not go for these considering additional cost of investment. But in the long run, to get best out of the press equipment, these accessories are very essential. Sometimes manufacturers also, in their attempt to reduce the price of their machines to get business, exclude these accessories from scope of supply. But from technical point of view, buyers would be better off while proving the performance of the press with these accessories on their respective presses.
Availability and affordability
Since developments and manufacturing of essential accessories have been taking place at local levels, these are becoming more and more affordable and acceptable part of efficient functioning of printing press. That’s why these accessories are much more value addition to press performance and output than adding a new machine in the portfolio. Major reasons could be the factors like new press cost, infrastructure required for press, manpower required for operation, maintenance requirement and additional inputs like energy, consumables, etc.
Normally, an average new press would be running not more than 80-85 percent of its rated output. In the present scenario, it seems to be a better option to upgrade the present press with better automation and controls which can achieve 25-30 percent additional print capability as well as help in better print quality than buying a new machine.
