Sheetfed Presses--Big Performance, Small Packages

Being able to run a 20˝ (or smaller) sheetfed offset press without a broad operator learning curve tops commercial printer demands of press manufacturers.

BY ERIK CAGLE

Commercial Printers have felt the pinch recently, with the amount of skilled press operators seemingly dwindling each year. Rather than choosing from a long list of prospects to operate their presses, many employers are faced with few options.

As a result of the tight employment market, printers seek equipment that doesn't require lengthy operator training sessions—one of several issues facing not only those who buy small-format (20˝ and under) presses, but also those who manufacture them.

While there have been many inroads made in manufacturing presses that are easy to operate, Scott MacKenzie, director of machine marketing for A.B.Dick, feels this trend needs to continue.

"The ease of operation of the product has to evolve futher in this portion of the market," MacKenzie remarks. "The reason is that operators are hard to find, especially in this high-employment period, and when you do find someone, it can be difficult to keep them. The automation—increasing productivity and ease of operation—has to be a part of the future development of this marketplace. Today, printers we serve are being asked and challenged to provide higher quality and more color work."

MacKenzie sees strong demand for two-color products. A.B.Dick currently offers the 9985 and 9995 models, and has another press, the PowerPro 34, currently in beta testing. The PowerPro was introduced at GRAPH EXPO last October and he anticipates it being in production for delivery in early April.

According to John Santie, product manager of sheetfed presses for Mitsubishi Lithographic Presses (MLP U.S.A.), CTP interfacing is having a strong effect on small-format sheetfeds, as well as on the press market at large. He believes printing companies are interested in incorporating CIP3 data for use in setting the ink keys on the press.

"Our customers want to be able to do the job in the prepress area, make plates and then send it out to the press," Santie says. "Every prospective customer to whom we give a technical presentation or demonstration is interested in being able to make this connection."

CTP Connectivity
Mitsubishi offers clients connectivity to any CTP system they purchase through its Intelligent Press Control (IPC) and PPC Server. CIP3 information is brought to the press and ink fountains are set. In the future, when CIP3 data contains more information for the press (sheet size, impression pressure, etc.) the IPC is ready to accept that information.

Shorter run lengths, the increase in digital, computer-to-plate workflows and the demand for faster turnaround times are among the leading variables for smaller format press requirements, according to Mark Kilgore, vice president of sales and marketing at Komori America. In response to these factors, Komori manufactures the 14x20˝ Lithrone, available in two to six colors and offered with an in-line coating tower.

"There should be absolutely no need for the printer to sacrifice quality for smaller format production," Kilgore notes. "The Lithrone 20 has the strength of the true Lithrone inker, as well as Komorimatic dampening, and provides simple operation through the Komori Print Quality Control Console. Small-format presses continue to have distinct quality and productivity advantages in certain applications."

The trend toward shorter runs continues to fuel the small-format market. Don Trytten, vice president of xpedx/Import Group, believes an "explosion of color" and quality requirements, that make 14x20˝ presses resemble 40˝ models, are also key factors that his firm must consider.

"In our 12x18˝ or 11x17˝ machines, we've seen more and more requests for multicolor configurations and a certain amount of automation," he says. "We now have a four-color, 14x20˝ press with semi-automatic plateloading, console and ink volume setter—all in that small format. We also furnish four-color, 12x18˝ machines with automation to further fulfill the requirements of our two-color, 12x18˝ customers."

Fred Kirpec, general manager of Sakurai USA, believes trends in automation, faster makereadies and versatility of presses are fueling the requirements of companies that manufacture small-format sheetfed presses. Sakurai has developed automation of every area of its sheetfed presses: An automatic perfector includes push-button changeover. The in-feed system has been enhanced with controls that allow the makeready of the feed-board to be set up quickly. Tools are not required for the set up of the feeder or the feed-board.

"We also have automatic plate changers, which is a key feature for makereadies," Kirpec notes. "Users can mount one plate in under a minute. Those automated features come standard on the press; options include ink roller washup."

Kirpec sees a stronger future market due to shorter run lengths, as many printers will require heavier presses as opposed to duplicators for high-quality work. Sakurai offers two models of its 258 EP2Z perfectors.

The increase in the demand for high-coverage color and the networking movement are major considerations for press manufacturers, according to F. Hans Grandin, vice president of sheetfed sales and marketing at MAN Roland.

Color and Networking
On the color end, Grandin says print customers who formerly required 2/2-spot-plus-black applications, now require process color, frequently on both sides of the sheet. With delivery times dwindling, printers seek high-speed perfecting presses as the solution. In terms of networking, in order to accomplish greater efficiency and improved productivity, Grandin believes "computer-to" workflows have quickly become the norm—and only printing systems designed for true networking capability will meet requirements of printers in the new millennium.

MAN Roland offers a 20x29˝ Roland 200 that utilizes its Job Card system to transfer production data to the press, in addition to offering a connection to prepress and other MAN Roland presses.

"Our new Advanced PECOM-ServerNet provides today's printers with the needed integration of the press equipment, as well as the capacity for growth that will be required tomorrow," Grandin says. "[Because of] our sales arrangements with Agfa for prepress equipment and Agfa's connection with Polaroid Imaging Graphics for proofing systems, we can offer the customer an open-architecture, best-in-class systems approach to production."

Leo F. Caproni III, general manager of Shinohara, believes print-on-demand (POD) equipment, as well as higher quality products from manufacturers of duplicator press equipment, are making the small-format sheetfed offset market more competitive—since customers now have a broader range of choices. While these factors face all traditional press manufacturers, the printing press remains unequalled for high quality, lithographic reproduction.

Dot Reproduction
"The best dot reproduction is achieved by putting real ink on paper; high quality, four-color or more printing cannot be achieved with POD or duplicator types of equipment," Caproni states.

Shinohara offers an array of one- through six-color, 14x20˝ small-format printing presses, equipped with automation that literally makes them "on-demand" printing presses, he contends. Its multicolor models are upgradeable for CIP3 applications and for closed-loop color control.

"The new CIP3 technology, which delivers prepress job data files directly to the press to set the ink keys, is one of our hottest new products," Caproni adds. "Add closed-loop, ink-key control to the CIP3-equipped machine, and practically any operator can produce consistent, high-quality work after just a few days of on-site training."

Caproni says Shinohara envisions the small-format press as a fully automated machine where, within the next few years, the operator will only need to load unprinted paper and unload the printed job. The machine setup, makeready and printing cycle will be fully automated, and makeready time will be less than five minutes per job, allowing the customer to print more on-demand jobs per day. Improved profit margins and the best-possible printed dot will be the result.

Multicolor Work
Multicolor work requirements for customers is a need echoed by Mike Dighton, vice president of marketing and services for Hamada of America. He feels small-format press manufacturers must respond to this demand, especially with graphic design (desktop publishing) and desktop scanning being done at more reasonable costs. As a result, the printer can offer customers cheaper color and shorter press runs.

Hamada has responded with its B452A press, which debuted in 1998 and comes standard with semi-automatic plate hanging, blanket washers, pneumatic impression and on/off rollers. Other standard features include stream feeder, swing gripper, cocking head stops and running register. Remote ink-key control is optional.

Walter Gierlach, vice president of Swaneck Graphic Equipment, Toko/Proprint National Distributors, cites two variables that are pacing the market for smaller presses. First, the Internet and on-line bidding for print jobs will become more prevalent, thus creating a more highly competitive environment. The second is turnaround time requirements.

The concern is when to forsake a traditional offset press and, instead, run the job on a color copier, digital duplicator or digital press, Gierlach says. "This puts offset in the position to turn toward automating the press just to stay ahead of digital."

Swaneck's two-color TOKO-R2S machine has gone leverless and will become a completely automated press by 2001, according to Gierlach, and a four-color version is targeted for 2001-02. Another offering, the Proprint Series, allows printers to replace a worn out small offset press with a unit priced in the same range as a rebuilt/remanufactured product. The Proprint models are available in both direct-feed and register-board versions.

In the Future
In the future, Gierlach believes ink-control devices that maintain the optimum color will be emphasized, along with automation, such as automatic plate loading, which will help meet turnaround times.

Bernd Blumberg, marketing director of Printmaster systems for Heidelberg USA, recognizes four key factors facing printers: competing technologies (such as non-impact printing), desktop publishing challenges, the color revolution and the desire for more automation. He notes results from a survey of printing franchises, which still derive 30 percent of their revenues from traditional offset printing, as a testament to offset's continuing viability as a market niche.

"The Printmaster QM46 is excellent at printing heavy solids," Blumberg maintains. "Desktop publishing allows everyone to produce sophisticated print jobs, and we can reproduce that caliber of work with a Printmaster. We also addressed automation on the press; because of a lack of operator skills, it is important to have presses that think for the operator."

Heidelberg also offers a variety of training classes that address spot- and four-color printing. According to Blumberg, further educating users and automating equipment are ongoing goals of the company.

Versatility, speed and ease of setup are three factors facing printers that must be weighed by manufacturers of small-offset units, reports Kathy Herz, advertising and media coordinator for Halm Industries.

The Super Jet Plus, capable of running up to 18x151⁄4˝, covers each area of concern. Unit speed is 70,000 iph for non-perfecting jobs and 35,000 iph for perfecting jobs. Among the features is the disconnect fountain on head number two, which allows the user to run the second head as a single-color unit. The feature provides shorter setup times on commonly used colors without the need to run a lubricant on the first head.

According to Ken Hilderhoff, vice president of sales and marketing for Diamond Press, customers are on the lookout for improved color reproduction, increased print speeds and automation.

"The future will force these small-format presses to operate with compatible software and interfaces with prepress systems," he points out. "The digital future is now. Eventually, the smaller shops will upgrade, as these devices become cheaper and much easier to operate."