Heidelberg's Prinect Inspection Control Earns 2010 PIA InterTech Award

Fast, Efficient, Accurate and Integrated
Conventional manual quality control methods can no longer keep up with the production speeds of the latest-generation presses. Offline systems are available; however, these systems introduce another step in the production workflow process that can be avoided when an internally integrated in-line solution like Prinect Inspection Control is deployed. On the most demanding print runs, operators need an automatic early warning system that not only alerts them to print errors and other problems, and but can also inspect and document the entire run.

Haraf points to the confidence Nosco’s operators now enjoy, thanks to their newfound ability to “contain” print defects and remove them from the press run without risking that a bad product has escaped detection. This is especially important when the printed copy contains foreign alphanumeric characters, he said, “because it is more difficult for operators to recognize defects. With foreign copy, especially for Asian markets, undetected defects potentially change the meaning of print copy and pose a unique quality risk.”

Two Lenses Better Than One
Completely integrated in the coating unit of the press, the inspection system incorporates two very high resolution cameras mounted in close proximity to the printing nip, where they have the advantage of being able to find defects introduced in the coating and can monitor every sheet all the way to its trailing edge, all at the top speed of the Speedmaster CD 102, or up to 18,000 sheets per hour for Speedmaster XL 105.

There are two variants of Inspection Control: