Sheetfed Offset Printing Presses: Moving Toward Perfection

The desire to automate and refine processes in sheetfed offset printing is driven by several factors, including the absence of qualified labor, reduction of touches, and efforts to minimize waste. In the past several years, press manufacturers have added and refined tools to make the sheetfed offset process much more efficient, and to achieve higher-quality, more repeatable results. In so doing, these manufacturers are bringing the process ever closer to its full potential.

Increasing Productive Print Times

Asked what is driving automation the most in the sheetfed offset space, Kevin Neureuter, director of sales for the U.S. and Canada at Manroland, says he believes it’s labor issues. “Our industry, as well as others, are struggling with labor.” Not only can automated systems make the presses operable by less experienced workers, he points out, logistics systems to move the stacks to and from the press can remove the burden of physical strain.

For on-press activities such as plate loading, automation has delivered significant savings in makeready, with Neureuter stating it can be reduced from around 14 minutes to as little as three. This allows for a gain in productive time on-press. He says print service providers (PSPs) are also seeing strong returns from in-line color pilots and related color monitoring systems. These systems, he says, can bring enhanced quality, fewer rejections, and thus more profitability.

Neureuter says Manroland presses manufactured for the U.S. market are sold with many available automation systems as “standard” features. A lot of the variability in choices among automation is in logistics systems, the need for which is often variable based on a PSP’s standard run lengths and available production space. The automation systems getting the most use today, he notes, are in-line color monitoring systems, synchronous plate loading, and logistics. The recent interest in logistics systems are partially due to the ongoing effort to minimize reliance on labor.

Automated systems to address press logistics can maximize uptime on-press and eliminate some physical tasks.

ROI on automation systems is difficult to determine, according to Neureuter. Factors contributing (or not) to ROI include the age and features of the press being replaced, the degree to which the new systems are used, and the nature of the work performed by an individual PSP. Also, the systems must be used. He says it is not uncommon for printers to have “the ability to automatically line up jobs, but they’re still not using [the tools].”

The Broader Focus of Automation

Doug Schardt, director of product management at Komori America, sees three key motivating forces moving PSPs toward automation: taking touches out of the process, a stronger ability to manage the process, and a reduced reliance on labor. On this final factor, he says, “it’s easier to automate than to train.” Schardt notes that overall, equipment manufacturers are “looking at automating the workflow of the plant, not just of the press.” Consequently, legacy equipment can be a factor that complicates this broader quest.

Schardt says Komori — which also owns finishing equipment manufacturer MBO — works to figure out how all process systems can benefit each other. By combining individual processes, he says, everything becomes more efficient.

Modern automation systems greatly increase the possibility of
a single operator on a press line, provided the systems are utilized.

In the quest to maximize efficiency on sheetfed offset presses, PSPs are interested most in plate changers, blanket washers, and camera monitoring systems, all of which he describes as “de-facto choices” among press purchasers. These features are attractive because press speeds are going up and the skill level of operators is going down. “These systems help keep quality in check,” Schardt says, adding that PSPs should rely on them, not on the operator, to determine acceptable quality.

Automation systems have become critical, according to Schardt, because most companies now have at least a baseline of automation systems in place. Thus, to not have them, he says, becomes a competitiveness issue. He points out that determining ROI on automation systems is dependent on the degree to which they are used. With many automation systems “standard” on presses today, he finds that all users utilize some of them, while only some use all of them.

Schardt says the use of automation must be infused into a company’s manufacturing culture, and focused on helping a print provider meet its automation goals, be it quality, waste reduction, change of allocation, or something else. Part of infusing automation into the culture, he adds, involves making the systems more difficult, or less attractive, to circumvent.

Adding Complexity, Reducing Skill

Shorter run lengths, and the need for faster throughput, are two key factors driving PSPs toward pressroom automation, Eric Frank, senior VP of marketing and product management at Koenig & Bauer (U.S./CA), says. The addition of systems to, for instance, pre-set a press before the job arrives or wash some units while others are running a job, has added complexity and increased efficiency, even as the skill level of many operators may be less than it once was, he notes.

Frank says many of the benefits realized through automation are gained by taking processes that used to require the press to be idle, and instead doing them during production, thus making production faster. These include presetting of rollers, registration systems that allocate for paper stretch, and automated blanket tensioning. The strongest benefit PSPs are seeing from using these systems is consistent color throughout the job, according to Frank. Further, alerts issued when something changes during the run minimizes waste. He adds that these features also “promote net throughput.”

Koenig & Bauer, Frank points out, builds every press custom, and about 80% of automation choices are optional. “Everyone has to have their own identity and specification,” he says. That said, there are commonalities in what most customers choose to add.

He says many customers today are exploring in-line gray balance color monitoring and control, pre-settable auto-run for non-stop print production, and logistics and automation systems to get paper and plates in and out of the press efficiently.

Greater speed and efficiency, along with a reduced reliance on labor, are strong benefits of automation in the sheetfed offset printing space.

While calculating the return on automation systems “is dependent on numerous factors within production,” he says most users see a return within 12 to 18 months of purchase. The true automation tipping point, however, comes when PSPs realize they can do more with less, and can experience more flexibility on a single press.

Frank notes an essential key to maximizing the benefits of automation comes from careful training in all areas of a printing operation, including management, production, and sales. This includes changing habits, mindsets, and the culture. For success, he says, “It’s all about the approach — being the bridge between old and new.”

Maximizing the Process

Clarence Penge, executive VP of product management for Heidelberg USA, contends there are multiple reasons automation is growing in the sheetfed offset space. First, he says, it offers standardized manufacturing, which adds efficiency and speed to market. Second, the lack of skilled labor. Third, is simplicity. “In the sheetfed world, if you add automation, you make the process simple. That alone is very appealing," Penge says. He also adds that the benefits include better process control, easier operation, similar output regardless of operator, and better margin control.

Taking full advantage of automation can enable the press to run continuously, stopping only when requested by an operator.

Automation has made sheetfed offset a more competitive printing process when compared to digital printing, which continues to grow in the commercial printing space. Automation opens a door for shorter runs and versioning. He says that maximizing the process requires full workflow integration — a “smart production path” — where software drives output on-press and can filter jobs by variables such as sheet size and color. Fully automated sheetfed printing today is, in a way, close to digital printing: “Everything about a new press is digitized except the transfer of the ink,” he says.

Penge believes much of the return from automation systems come from savings of time and materials — particularly in makeready. It also comes from the ability to do more with less. “Today, one press goes in, and two presses can go out.” He says the automation features on Heidelberg’s sheetfed portfolio are mostly standard, with UV curing factoring as a prominent extra. Higher level presses, he says, are built to order, with the goal of adding value, not cost. “That’s why we have a customizable approach,” Penge notes.

To help users maximize the value of their automation investments, Heidelberg uses the power of customer data. Penge says Heidelberg is able to aggregate data from numerous customers to create realistic data upon which purchase decisions can be made.

Value, he says, is also based on successful integration of the technology into the broader operation. This includes changing mindsets, coaching, and addressing old habits. “You have to train people,” Penge concludes.

Automation Is Not Cheap, But is Worth the Investment

“What’s driving innovation [today],” Kian Hemmen, western regional sales manager, print and finishing solutions at RMGT, points out, “is the labor shortage … getting more done with less experienced operators.” Another driver is improved makeready: He says companies are saving many hundreds of sheets during that activity. “Paper is still expensive,” he adds.

While there is not a great deal that is new in automation (as compared to, say, last year), awareness of these systems is increasing, according to Hemmen. “Many don’t know how far the automation has gone on these presses.” Part of what is needed to increase acceptance of automation is a deeper understanding of the true value of the systems. “They are not cheap,” he notes, “but if you can reduce a two-person press to a one-person press, you can have significant labor savings. It becomes a no-brainer.” Hemmen adds that general perception lags behind reality in terms of how well today’s automation systems work.

For RMGT sheetfed offset presses, Hemmen says that while many systems are pre-installed, other systems can be selected à la carte based on specific company needs. Popular optional choices include in-press color controls, and full-sheet inspection, which can identify imperfections as small as 0.3 millimeters, a level of detail and quality that enables a printer to enter the pharmaceutical printing space.

A well-equipped press can include any of many automation features, including automatic plate loading and automated, measured ink dispensing.

For those PSPs that truly embrace the benefits of automation systems, Hemmen says they can see a return on their investment in as little as nine months. For others, it can take as long as three years, based on utilization.

In the face of the profound effect of inflation on the printing industry, the importance of investing in and using automation within today’s sheetfed offset presses has become quite apparent. “The last five presses we’ve ordered have been equipped with every bell and whistle,” he notes. “Taking printing to the next level requires a whole spectrum of automation.”