Sheetfed Offset--Running With The Big Dogs

The stakes are high and the iron-producing players are few in the world of 40˝ and larger sheetfed presses. Today, manufacturers are looking at what printers want in a press tomorrow.

BY ERIK CAGLE

The crystal ball is working overtime at manufacturing facilities around the world.

While you make your way at DRUPA 2000 through the hundreds of thousands of people cramming the aisles of the 18 buildings at Messe Dusseldorf, the R&D people, the tech heads and marketing gurus are looking past the present. They're thinking DRUPA 2004. Phrases float through their brains: increased automation, but what's left on the press?...what is the future for CIP3 and standardization? . . . on-press direct imaging is here, what's next?

For now, press manufacturers are keeping their ears to the ground. Robert McKinney, marketing director for KBA North America, Sheetfed Press Div., hears the constant call for greater press productivity, which comes back to quicker makeready times.

Primary Focus
"Everything we have done has been geared towards the reduction of makeready times through automation," McKinney says. "Every place that it's possible to automate the makeready function and CIP3 integration—all washup systems, automatic plate hanging systems—that has been our key emphasis."

In terms of large-format (40˝ and bigger) sheetfed offset units, the Koenig & Bauer Group (KBA) will be displaying its KBA-Rapida 105 (29x41˝) and KBA-Rapida 162 (44x64˝) at DRUPA. McKinney believes the 50˝, 56˝ and 64˝ formats are popular today due to automation that wasn't available on those press sizes five years ago.

"If you compare them to a 40˝ machine, you've got the same running speed and quality. Unlike years ago, you've basically got the same makeready times and same manning requirements as the 40˝ presses. But at 15,000 sheets per hour, you're essentially producing double the output you would with a 40˝ press," McKinney says. "That's one reason why printers are starting to lean toward large-format presses."

Direct imaging on-press is one of the few remaining areas on which manufacturers can concentrate their efforts, according to McKinney. "We're reaching the point of diminishing returns as far as how much more automation manufacturers can design on a press that's going to have a reasonable ROI to the end user for the added expenditure."

Versatility is a key factor in the eyes of MAN Roland's Sheetfed Press Div., according to Jon Surch, director of sheetfed product marketing. Units that have the capability of printing jobs ranging from commercial work to e-flute carton stock are highly desirable. MAN Roland offers its 900 Series press in the 56˝ format (13,000 sph) and the 700 Series in the 40˝ format. The 900 was introduced as a packaging press, but has also enjoyed considerable success with commercial sheetfed work, churning out product that is close to twice the size of the 700 format. Both models are being shown at DRUPA this month.

For DRUPA 2004, Surch expects to see even larger presses on display. The 900 series is a 56˝ press, but he anticipates at least a 63˝ offering at the next DRUPA. Customer input is currently being sought by MAN Roland to ascertain market demand for such a press.

Mitsubishi Lithographic Presses (MLP U.S.A.) recently upgraded its large-format sheetfed press offerings for the carton and label industry. The 5F and 6F are now offered at rated running speeds of 15,000 sph and 14,000 sph, respectively, according to John Santie, product manager. The range of stock on these presses has been increased to accommodate sheet thicknesses from 0.0016˝ to 0.040˝.

It's hard to pin down any one feature customers most desire in their large-format machines, according to Santie. "Some customers look to upgrade to an automated press, while others want faster running speeds," he says. "Some desire more printing units and some are looking to upgrade to a larger press."

Driving the System
Kent Martin, vice president of direct sales for Komori America, believes one characteristic driving large-format press demand is rugged, quality machinery capable of tight register and a high-quality dot—presses capable of 300-line screen work. Another area is automation driving the system, led by the console-driven makeready. (Komori's console-driven makeready was the subject of a supplement that appeared in the March issue of Printing Impressions).

"Because of the complete automation available on our sheetfed presses, we can literally do a one-button, automated makeready on our 40˝ presses where the press operators do not interface with the machine," he says. "CTP fidelity is recognized best by letting the Komori Quality Control System and spectrophotometric, closed-loop color control system operate the press for you. That gives the highest quality makeready in the fastest period of time."

Komori will demonstrate its six-color, 40˝ Lithrone 40 press with coater at DRUPA, showcasing the one-button makeready.

"With Komori, users have the ability to control more than one press on a K-LAN (Komori Local Area Network)," Martin says. "Our concept is Pressroom 2000: with direct downloading of prepress information through the K-LAN system, users can select whichever press is available to run the next job without having to plan far in advance. They have ultimate scheduling flexibility and also have one station that is monitoring the press operation, rather than having a pressman at a console at all times. That's the next step in computer-controlled manufacturing in the pressroom."

John Dowey, vice president of sheetfed marketing for Heidelberg USA, feels integration, rather than more speed or larger sheet sizes, is the key to driving printer profitability in the future. Heidelberg has made steps toward narrowing the gaps between prepress and press, as well as prepress and finishing.

Heidelberg launched PresetLink with its CP2000, which debuted in 1998. The PresetLink, when combined with CPC PrepressInterface, allows the user to take digital prepress data and deliver it directly to the press to preset ink keys.

Another step in integrating prepress and press, according to Dowey, is integrating prepress to color control. "We've devised a way to take a digital image of what the job is supposed to look like and loaded it into our closed-loop color control system, called CPC24 ImageControl," Dowey notes. "ImageControl scans across the sheet and measures—in 160,000 places on a sheet—the spectrophotometric color values. With PresetLink for ImageControl, we can take data from electronic prepress and put into the ImageControl system exactly what the L*a*b* values are supposed to be in that job, in every pixel.

"ImageControl gives the press a set of eyes and now, with PresetLink in ImageControl, we're providing the quality control console with a picture of what the job is supposed to look like," he adds. "It has the potential to eliminate the need for color bars, because you're measuring a printed image—measuring what you sell, not what you cut off and throw away."

Heidelberg will be demonstrating the integrated workflow in a special "Integration Center" demonstration where a job will be laid out, proofed and printed to color standards, all in just a few minutes. From a production standpoint, Heidelberg will be showcasing two eight-color Speedmaster perfectors at DRUPA, and will also display its new 12-color, six-over-six Speedmaster perfector at the Dusseldorf Heidelberg agency's showroom. The first unit is operating at Japs-Olson, Minneapolis.

Martin Petersen, marketing manager for Akiyama Corp. of America, recently attended the NAPL Top Management Conference, during which the group listed the most critical elements facing printers. Topping the list was on-time delivery, thus the ever-popular concentration on faster press makereadies.

"By having (CIP3) standards, it will allow the printer to use the information in makeready—in my case, the press—and be able to preload that information onto the equipment," Petersen states.

The J Print series, shown at DRUPA in a five-over-five, 40˝ format, prints five colors on both sides of the sheet at the same time—one pass through the press. It eliminates procedures such as a second makeready and second approval.

Petersen doesn't anticipate changes in large-format machines, but believes the 14x20˝ models could be the most affected. "Offset will be essentially replaced in that size with digital presses by 2005. From 28˝ and up, we'll still have offset, but there will be more automation and direct imaging on the press—imaging on the cylinder itself."