Heidelberg’s Clarence Penge on Sheetfed Offset Press Automation Advancements

(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. This article continues our series of interviews with representatives from the leading sheetfed press manufacturers.)

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," he says. "That alone is very appealing.” The benefits, Penge adds, include better process control, easier operation, similar output regardless of operator, and better margin control.

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. Penge 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 points out.

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 are built to order, with the goal of adding value, not cost. “That’s why we have a customizable approach,” Penge notes.

Asked which automation features customers see as priorities, Penge mentions automated plate changes and Heidelberg’s Prinect Inpress Control, which addresses process factors such as registration and color adjustment. It also includes integrated spectrophotometry.

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

For modernized sheetfed printing, he says multiple aspects must be addressed, including material coming off the press, movement of stacks, equipment connectivity, and remote monitoring. One innovation he highlights is automated waste-sheet extraction, which pulls sheets that do not meet expected parameters (e.g. Delta E), preventing them from moving into folding and/or cutting.

The value of innovation 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.