All About Newspapers

Talking about the productivity of web offset presses, to produce maximum prints in shortest time for sure is the mojor criteria today. Everybody in business is concerned about return on capital investment which can also be termed as productivity of the capital invested. Man, machine and materials (3-M) are the key factors for productivity. The man behind the machine has to be well qualified and experienced to handle the equipment. Using unqualified and untrained personnel behind the machine can result in to losses in terms of man and machine safety, production time and material. Raw material should be ensured to be of right quality to reduce wastage and down time. Lastly, the press must be equipped and functionally suitable for desired production output having shortest make ready/setup time. There are many ways to reduce setup time like remote ink control, auto resister control, auto plate loaders and automatic reel changing and so on. The objective of selecting and controlling the right 3-Ms is to increase productivity and to reduce waste in terms of paper, ink, electricity, time, labour and space which need to be saved.

Why save paper first? Any expert printer knows that the major chunk, up to 70 to 75 percent, of the production cost is shared by paper. If one has to stop the press every time for reel changing the resultant paper waste contributes to more than 10 to 15 percent of the total paper cost. This comprises of white paper on core and in press, start-up and end print waste due to ink and water balance and mis-registration. Other waste costs like ink, consumables, electricity will contribute to the tune of two percent of the production cost. One has to consider the major factor i.e. paper to begin with.

One can start with reducing the down time used for reel changing. Every time one stops for reel change you loose expensive productive time as well the paper wastage. Paper waste may be due to change in ink-water balance when you slowdown and restart till you reach 40-50 percent of your designed speed. It is not only the ink-water balance waste but also the mis-register copies waste due to web tension variation at the start and stop of the press. Continuous press running definitely reduces the paper waste and increases the productivity. Plus you achieve uniform print quality and folding accuracy. Obviously, the folding accuracy enhances the finishing operation quality. Thus, it results in reduction of waste in finishing operations too.

Serving world wide print industry for more than five decades in newspaper, commercial and semi-commercial, catalogue and label printing, MEGTEC Systems is a company who can facilitate printers’ endeavours for enhancing productivity while reducing waste. Their printing and web management solutions include paper roll handling systems, auto-splicers, infeed, out-feed, turner bars, air floatation dryers, chill roll stands and silicone applicators. “To cater environment norms, we are in the business of oxidizers, solvent recovery, distillation and solvent extraction, energy & heat recovery and optimization. Advance materials processing is another focus area which includes Li-Fe battery manufacturing lines, solar films manufacturing lines, etc,” conveyed Madhav S Athalye, general manager, MEGTEC Systems India Pvt Ltd adding, “Studying Indian printing industry, we decided to launch flying splicers for which the industry was craving for many years since the time offset printing industry took foothold in India. Pune being auto engineering hub, we could rely on suppliers of high precision and accurately machined components for such sophisticated auto-splicers, hence MEGTEC set up its operations in Pune.”

Till date, MEGTEC Systems India Pvt Ltd has sold more than 40 units of AR35-I all over India and neighbouring countries. Satisfied customers are newspapers and book printers. Commercial printers are also approached for AR35-I auto-splicers. Its highlighted features include: uniform and precise web tension throughout the run and even during splicing cycle; able to be used without any infeed device up to 300 Newton web tension; compact design for the space optimization; robust and long useful life by use of solid steel frame construction; plug n play type, mechanical drive or any electrical signal input from the press is not required; and installation flexibility, put it in inline, right angle to press or in the basement.

Marking a success story in Pune…

AR35-I splicer

With MEGTEC AR35-I splicer, Pune-based Runa Graphics benefitted in two ways: increase in production and reduction in waste. The overall wastage reduced considerably from 12 to 6 percent.

Engaged in book printing since 1989, Runa Graphics bought their first single colour web offset press in 2004. After effective start-up, they invested in 4hi tower to print 4-colour in 2008. This press was with manual unwinder. Later on they added MEGTEC AR35-I splicer in July 2009 for reducing waste of paper, consumables, labour & time. When the company analyzed the data for wastages pre and post addition of splicer, they realized that the difference was huge. Production in terms of paper used in tons per year increased by two fold. In 2010, Runa Graphics decided to add one more press to further enhance production capacity. And with this new press, they ordered another AR35-I splicer right from the beginning, based on their experience of the first splicer and the benefits it provided them.