Cutting Down Makeready Time - Taking Time to Save Time

Press technology has really moved on. It's going to be a revelation for some of the companies that come to Ipex. The reason is that, while the dateline is 2020, there are press halls up and down the country where the printing technology in use is very much wedded to the last century - entirely understandable when the recession has caused many companies to batten down the hatches and shelve plans for reinvestment.

Those that are now in a position to re-evaluate their technological options will find that sleek, slick, highly automated presses where it literally is possible to ‘push a button and it all happens' are now a reality, and these machines absolutely eat work. Some of them even play a tune or put on a light show while they're at it. PrintWeek spoke to users of the latest generation of ultra-fast makeready machines to find out what life in a high-tech press hall is really like.

The KBA user
Cambrian Printers had been an all-Heidelberg house until it opted for KBA's latest-generation Rapida 106 with DriveTronic SPC (simultaneous plate changing). The new 10-colour press at the Aberystwyth firm has been up and running for just over a year and operations director Doug Gray took a forensic approach before deciding to invest. "We did a lot of research, because it was a big step for the business to change press suppliers," he says.

"Having decided upon the Rapida, it replaced four older presses when it was installed, so it really was squeaky bum time when it went in. We bought it for short-run work - 3,500 to 4,000 is our average run length - and we have challenged digital printers with this because the press definitely pushes the boundaries backwards in terms of economic run lengths. The simultaneous plate change and automatic blanket wash cloth is the most satisfying thing. It takes 50 seconds to put the plates on and do a blanket wash."

The Komori user
Remous in Somerset installed its five-colour Komori Lithrone LS29H, complete with KHS-AI self-learning control interface, in March. To say it was a leap forward from the existing 10-year-old B2 press is an understatement. "We were bending plates and setting up ink keys before, and it all took time," explains director Alan Bunter. "Now at the end of a run we press the automatic makeready button, the press de-inks on the last 50 sheets, washes the blankets with automatic blanket wash cloth, inks up to the new profile - which is pulled in automatically from prepress - changes the plates and does another 50 sheets to get the colour up for the next job. Colour management is all done on one screen. You set it up and off it goes, and the best thing about it is it plays the theme tune to Raiders of the Lost Ark, ET, or a poor version of Rocky while it's doing it! Komori says you should be ready to run in 50 sheets and most of the time you can."

The Heidelberg user
Swindon's ESP Colour put in a Heidelberg Speedmaster XL 75, in a five-colour plus coater configuration, at the beginning of 2009. It's a noteworthy installation for a number of reasons, not least because the 75 replaced a B1 machine. "The new generation B2 is more productive than older B1 presses," asserts managing director Anthony Thirlby, who explains the firm's way of working: "We have a completely automated front end, right from enquiries and estimating through to platemaking. Everything works to an automation formula right from the outset. We have one person per shift working in pre-press, and they make more than 2,000 plates a week.

The Manroland user
St Ives installed a Roland 700 with DirectDrive at its Crayford plant in 2008. With the subsequent closure of that facility the 12-colour press - the only DirectDrive machine in the UK at present - has been relocated to the group's Bradford site, which is part of the St Ives Direct operation. It's been up and running there since the beginning of this year. The press is fitted with automatic plate loading and the full suite of Manroland's QuickChange modules for fast makereadies.

The Mitsubishi user
Nottingham's Central Colour bases its business model around a single B1 press and its strategy involves re-investing in a new machine every three years. As such, it was already familiar with the benefits of modern press control systems when it bought Europe's first Mitsubishi Diamond V3000 at Drupa in 2008, opting for a six-colour with coater configuration.