Saving on Waste |
 |
 |
| Managing Director Stephan Hoermann (left) and Gerd Kaske have costs and quality well in hand with the Prinect Prepress Interface. |
 Details |
Paper is expensive. That is why every print shop wants to keep waste costs to a minimum - which is where the Prinect Prepress Interface from the Prinect workflow of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG comes in.
The Prinect Prepress Interface allows ink zones to be correctly preset to ensure minimum waste right through to the OK sheet. Thanks to this solution, the Mintzel-Münch media house in Hof and the Lang print shop in Bad Neustadt an der Saale are able to capture every color nuance at the first attempt. This enables them to produce more cost-effectively and deliver excellent quality for their customers.
At the prepress stage, the devil is in the detail, particularly when it is a question of exact ink zone presetting. There are many possible reasons for color deviations during printing - these include a different type of paper, a new format or an incorrectly calibrated screen. At the Mintzel-Münch media house in Hof in Upper Franconia, different imaging techniques led to different color results. The Mintzel print shop, as it was then, which introduced CtP over three years ago, took over the Münch print shop in Selb, around 30 kilometer away, in October 2004. Here they were still using film imaging. "Our data was incompatible. During reprinting, the dot gain was noticeable. The colors didn't match," says Mintzel-Münch Managing Director Stephan Hoermann.
This was a serious problem, as Mintzel-Münch's products include high-gloss brochures and price lists for the crème de la crème of the German porcelain industry. In the images of this select tableware, every color nuance must be correct. Mintzel-Münch therefore introduced a standardized color management system with the help of Prinect Color Management. "Now the print results once again match our customers' requirements at the first attempt without us having to manually correct color values," says Arno Narr, Operations Manager at Mintzel-Münch, who is delighted with the new system.
Prinect Prepress Interface
Now, for new jobs, the printers enter the production parameters of a print form into the computer, e.g. the paper grade, ink type and L*a*b* values. The Prinect Prepress Interface acts as a translator and transmitter of this information from the prepress to the production stage. To do this it uses the manufacturer-independent CIP4-PPF standard that guarantees smooth communication from other prepress systems as well. Using the digital data, it calculates the correct ink zone presetting and passes this information, along with the profile selection, to the presses. The Prinect Prepress Interface also allows the position marks for the Prinect Auto Register and postpress to be transferred, e.g. for folding and cutting systems.
Tradition and Innovation
Originally founded in Leipzig in 1625 and based in Hof since 1642, Mintzel-Münch is the oldest print shop in Germany. Since 1865, the media house has operated from an imposing three-story brick building in the center of Hof. Tradition and innovation go hand in hand. "We're 380 years young and still a family business," is Managing Director Stephan Hoermann's corporate philosophy. He also publishes the "Hofer Anzeiger" (the "Hof Advertiser"), books of local interest and reference books. Mintzel-Münch is the first printshop in the region to use Prinect Color Management. It is also committed to continuous knowledge advancement for its 50 employees. "By building up know-how, particularly in color management, we can effectively meet the growing demands of our customers, e.g. for high-quality catalogs," says Hoermann. Mintzel-Münch uses a Heidelberg Speedmaster CD 102-4, a Speedmaster SM 102-5 with perfecting device and a Speedmaster SM 52-2 in three-shift operation for customers from all over Germany. These include textile companies, mail-order companies, ministries and large companies such as Deutsche Post AG. It prints almost anything, from business cards and brochures to folders and posters in A1 format. Run sizes range from 50 to several million, as in the case of pamphlets. With sales of five million Euro a year and consumption of 1,250 printing plates a month, Mintzel-Münch is one of the largest players in the region.
Economic Advantages
As Gerd Kaske explains, the upsurge in consolidation in the industry has increased cost pressure. This makes it all the more important for Mintzel-Münch to operate profitably: "Quality and price must be right." In 2002, therefore, the media house established an end-to-end color workflow from prepress to press with Heidelberg equipment. The smooth interplay between the Topsetter P 102 platesetter, the Signa Station impositioning station, Prinect Meta Dimension for RIP and proofing, Prepress Interface and presses really pays off. The company can now print significantly faster and more reliably. "Proof and sheet match each other like identical twins. Thanks to continuous measurement of the print results during production, we are able to rectify any color deviations much quicker. This means much less waste and fewer wasted plates," explains Operations Manager Arno Narr. Managing Director Stephan Hoermann estimates the savings, especially those brought about by the Prepress Interface, at 15 percent on make-ready times and 20 percent on paper consumption. He reckons on a payback period of four years for the total investment including the platesetter. For the Prepress Interface alone, he says, it is a few months.
| |
 |
| Printer Marco Reisner benefits from less work when setting up the press. |
| Details |
Quick job change
Shorter make-ready times were also crucial in the Lang print shop's decision to acquire the Prepress Interface. Based in a lane near the marketplace in the heart of Bad Neustadt, the Lang printshop sees its flexible and fast job processing as one of its key competitive advantages. With job sizes of between 500 and 20,000 sheets, frequent job changes are the norm. The printshop serves around 60 regional, mostly small to midsize core customers from various sectors. The print spectrum ranges from letterhead paper and calendars to brochures and annual reports. The six employees work in single-shift operation on a Heidelberg Speedmaster SM 52-2 and a Printmaster PM 52-4. Owner Rainer Lang arranges for colleagues to handle larger formats or long runs and supplies them with films or print-ready PDF files.
Rainer Lang, who took over the print shop from his parents in 1984, has been working with color management since the end of the 1990s: "For small print shops it is important to stay technologically on the ball." To handle the increasing number of color jobs, Lang acquired the Printmaster PM 52-4 and Prinect Prepress Interface in January 2005. Both are linked to each other using the Prinect Online Kit.
Reliable Production
In the prepress stage, Lang works with film imaging. He uses a RIP from EFI that generates the proofs and CIP-3 data. This data then goes online to the Prepress Interface that then uses it to calculate the ink presettings for the Printmaster. Heidelberg has installed an end-to-end digital color workflow and set up the profiles for the press. The whole print production meets the requirements of the process standard for offset printing. Thanks to the standardization of key production parameters like screening systems, paper and plates, Lang is able to achieve the required reliability in production. The fact that every step is checked and documented makes the print quality exactly reproducible at any time.
The ease-of-use means the printers have very quickly made friends with the Prepress Interface. "Prepress Interface combined with the Prinect Online Kit has made our job a lot easier," says printer Marco Reisner. Particularly impressive is the job management. Up to 5,000 jobs can be stored in the internal memory with all the relevant press settings and these can be called up quickly if required. While one job is underway, Reisner is already preparing the next one. To do this, he calls up the ink presetting data from the prepress. "By accessing the stored profiles for different materials e.g. uncoated paper, we can now ink up much faster, particularly when we've got a rush job on. Exactly the amount of ink required for the print sheet is ready and waiting in the ink zones," Reisner explains. The fact that the work is now easier means less waste and considerable time savings - around 15 minutes less make-ready time per job. With frequent job changes, this adds up to several hours a month. Lang is delighted. The Prinect Prepress Interface and the Printmaster mean he is well equipped for the future. Price, quality and service are all as they should be. This strengthens customer loyalty - and ensures there are no obstacles to expanding the customer base.
Do you have further questions?
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen Vertrieb
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Details |
Druckerei Rainer Lang
Storchengasse 12-14
D-97616 Bad Neustadt
Tel.: +49 (0)9771 62 33 0
Fax: +49 (0)9771 62 33 32
E-Mail: digital@langdruck.de
|
|
|
|
|
|