This blog post was submitted by Color 2016 sponsor, GTI. Soft proofing allows the user to view an accurate representation of what a final print will look like on their monitor. This visual representation (soft proof) replaces a traditional hard copy proof and serves as a contract between supplier and buyer. A contract soft proofing system will enhance a digital workflow by providing proofs that are accurate, repeatable, and supported by industry standards. A contract soft proofing system requires software, a light booth, and monitor. The soft proofing software provides tools for sharing digital proofs. The reviewer will have the capability to view, zoom, and navigate high resolution files without having to download the entire file. The software enables multiple users to simultaneously review the same file and offers markup and annotation tools to communicate edits, digital sign-off to indicate approval or rejection, and automated email notifications sent between stakeholders. To ensure accuracy when selecting soft proofing software look for a program that will assign color profiles to the digital files and prompt the viewer to calibrate their display using an external color sensor and pre-set color viewing parameters. Remote Director’s soft proofing software offers this capability. A soft proofing workflow also requires a light booth with dimming capabilities to be used near the monitor. This will allow the illuminance level of the monitor and viewing area to match. A GTI iQ viewing system is equipped to automatically match the luminance level of the monitor. In a soft proofing workflow the monitor is acting like an output device. To ensure accuracy the monitor needs to be a high quality, color calibrated monitor such as those offered by BenQ, Eizo, and NEC. GTI Graphic Technology, Inc. and Remote Director LLC have combined to offer a series of complete soft proofing solutions that include a two year subscription for two concurrent seats to Remote Director Software, a USB instrument to calibrate the monitor, and a GTI iQ enabled ISO 3664:2009 compliant viewing system. GTI light booths are available in desktop and floor stand models. Soft proofing allows for many people in many locations to review a single proof at the same time, as opposed to creating and sending multiple copies of the proof to many people. This allows project stakeholders to automatically consolidate all feedback and approvals in a single file instead of manually gathering and sorting through comments provided by reviewers. Soft proofing also shortens the production cycle by eliminating the need to print and deliver hard copy proofs. By eliminating the cost of the printer, paper, ink, and shipping/delivery soft proofing will also save significant money. Soft proofing will benefit all stakeholders not only by reducing cost and tightening...

The following post was submitted by 2016 Continuous Improvment Conference sponsor, Heidelberg.   Striving for the most efficient workflow to drive productivity and profitability is one of the underlying goals of many of today’s printing companies. Often, the focus is on being more productive with less by increasing production speeds and reducing makereadies while also reducing touch points throughout the workflow. There are many tools and techniques that can be used to drive these goals, from procedural/operational changes to new equipment/software acquisitions. The decision on what works best will depend on each individual production facility, the customer base, the verticals addressed and the business philosophy of the company. However, common principles can be applied to every company and optimized to the facility. Business growth can be equally as important as equipment optimization, depending on the particular company. Too many times the focus is on efficiency in the press room, while neglecting to increase sales, concentrate on the product mix, and optimize business practices prior to production. Focusing only on equipment will certainly improve efficiency, but without a corresponding change in business practices, full benefits will not be achieved. Prior to any optimization process it is essential to understand your current state, as this provides the benchmark for any improvements that are gained. It is also important to prioritize the areas of focus. Ask yourself the following question: “Can you analyze your current performance?” In many cases, there is no hard data to back up opinions of how your current equipment is performing and where the opportunities exist to gain additional time. There is often the option to evaluate the equipment itself through existing management systems or third-party data-collection solutions. There are four main areas that should be considered when optimizing equipment. Neglecting any of them can have a significant effect on the achievable impact:  1.     Materials and information arriving at the equipment: Often ignored, this needs to be both accurate and timely; problems in either case will lead to lost production and reduced efficiency. To ensure maximum efficiency, significant time savings and a reduction in errors, jobs entered into a management information system (MIS), need to be passed, along with the prepress data, through to the press. Delivery and scheduling press materials is another area to optimize, so operators are not waiting or transporting materials when they should be carrying out the makeready. In one facility, a reduction from 40 minutes to 10 minutes was achieved on a wide-format printer by primarily considering transportation issues.  2.     Equipment set-up and makeready: This applies to all manufacturing processes including offset, digital, and flexographic printing, as well as postpress activities. First, you need to understand your starting point through benchmarking....

The following post was submitted by 2016 Continuous Improvment Conference sponsor, Heidelberg.   Striving for the most efficient workflow to drive productivity and profitability is one of the underlying goals of many of today’s printing companies. Often, the focus is on being more productive with less by increasing production speeds and reducing makereadies while also reducing touch points throughout the workflow. There are many tools and techniques that can be used to drive these goals, from procedural/operational changes to new equipment/software acquisitions. The decision on what works best will depend on each individual production facility, the customer base, the verticals addressed and the business philosophy of the company. However, common principles can be applied to every company and optimized to the facility. Business growth can be equally as important as equipment optimization, depending on the particular company. Too many times the focus is on efficiency in the press room, while neglecting to increase sales, concentrate on the product mix, and optimize business practices prior to production. Focusing only on equipment will certainly improve efficiency, but without a corresponding change in business practices, full benefits will not be achieved. Prior to any optimization process it is essential to understand your current state, as this provides the benchmark for any improvements that are gained. It is also important to prioritize the areas of focus. Ask yourself the following question: “Can you analyze your current performance?” In many cases, there is no hard data to back up opinions of how your current equipment is performing and where the opportunities exist to gain additional time. There is often the option to evaluate the equipment itself through existing management systems or third-party data-collection solutions. There are four main areas that should be considered when optimizing equipment. Neglecting any of them can have a significant effect on the achievable impact:  1.     Materials and information arriving at the equipment: Often ignored, this needs to be both accurate and timely; problems in either case will lead to lost production and reduced efficiency. To ensure maximum efficiency, significant time savings and a reduction in errors, jobs entered into a management information system (MIS), need to be passed, along with the prepress data, through to the press. Delivery and scheduling press materials is another area to optimize, so operators are not waiting or transporting materials when they should be carrying out the makeready. In one facility, a reduction from 40 minutes to 10 minutes was achieved on a wide-format printer by primarily considering transportation issues.  2.     Equipment set-up and makeready: This applies to all manufacturing processes including offset, digital, and flexographic printing, as well as postpress activities. First, you need to understand your starting point through benchmarking....

The following blog post was submitted by 2016 Continuous Improvement Conference sponosor, Heidelberg. What is OEE?  When optimizing your production, Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) provides a valuable independent measure of how well a piece of equipment performs over time. It also helps gauge the impact of changes to workflow and production methods. There are several ways to define this, but for the purposes of this blog, I have used the definition we use (at Heidelberg) of OEE as: OEE = Speed Index × Quality Index × Time Index Where: Quality Index = Total of all good products                              Total of all printed products  Speed Index = Average equipment speed                            Maximum equipment speed  Speed Index = Total production time                       Total available time A typical OEE chart from the printing industry is shown in Figure 1 below. This figure illustrates the relationship between OEE and run length, with different equipment/facility combinations shown on the chart. Since there is typically a larger percentage of time spent on makeready, OEE will change as the run length reduces. There are many other factors that can move this value such as equipment type, configuration, controls, job make-up, and production efficiency. Understanding where the equipment is currently, versus where it can be, is critical to improving overall productivity. (The actual result will vary dependent on the industry.) There are many steps that can be completed to achieve optimal equipment performance. Many of these changes are cultural and need to be embraced by management and recognized by all employees in the company.   Training. Some operators do not fully utilize all of the available controls on the equipment, and many have never had formal training. Data has shown that operators need active training with hands-on situations, including the opportunity to get involved with training others. Additionally, a well-managed and repeatable color workflow will minimize any color changes that need to be adjusted on press. Finally, lean manufacturing tools can garner efficiencies, from 5S to value-stream mapping and Kaizen events. In all of these, the objective is first to evaluate what the current state is and then to evaluate where the biggest impacts can be made. It also helps to obtain “buy in” from staff, who will personally see the benefit from these changes. On one implementation of 5S on a press, an operator objected, stating it was “just to make the press look nice!” Three weeks later, with an average of more than 10 minutes saved per makeready, the same operator was asking if 5S could be rolled out across the facility.   Obtaining the best OEE To fully optimize your equipment and obtain the best OEE, a maintenance program should be the cornerstone of...

The following blog post was submitted by 2016 Continuous Improvement Conference sponosor, Heidelberg. What is OEE?  When optimizing your production, Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) provides a valuable independent measure of how well a piece of equipment performs over time. It also helps gauge the impact of changes to workflow and production methods. There are several ways to define this, but for the purposes of this blog, I have used the definition we use (at Heidelberg) of OEE as: OEE = Speed Index × Quality Index × Time Index Where: Quality Index = Total of all good products                              Total of all printed products  Speed Index = Average equipment speed                            Maximum equipment speed  Speed Index = Total production time                       Total available time A typical OEE chart from the printing industry is shown in Figure 1 below. This figure illustrates the relationship between OEE and run length, with different equipment/facility combinations shown on the chart. Since there is typically a larger percentage of time spent on makeready, OEE will change as the run length reduces. There are many other factors that can move this value such as equipment type, configuration, controls, job make-up, and production efficiency. Understanding where the equipment is currently, versus where it can be, is critical to improving overall productivity. (The actual result will vary dependent on the industry.) There are many steps that can be completed to achieve optimal equipment performance. Many of these changes are cultural and need to be embraced by management and recognized by all employees in the company.   Training. Some operators do not fully utilize all of the available controls on the equipment, and many have never had formal training. Data has shown that operators need active training with hands-on situations, including the opportunity to get involved with training others. Additionally, a well-managed and repeatable color workflow will minimize any color changes that need to be adjusted on press. Finally, lean manufacturing tools can garner efficiencies, from 5S to value-stream mapping and Kaizen events. In all of these, the objective is first to evaluate what the current state is and then to evaluate where the biggest impacts can be made. It also helps to obtain “buy in” from staff, who will personally see the benefit from these changes. On one implementation of 5S on a press, an operator objected, stating it was “just to make the press look nice!” Three weeks later, with an average of more than 10 minutes saved per makeready, the same operator was asking if 5S could be rolled out across the facility.   Obtaining the best OEE To fully optimize your equipment and obtain the best OEE, a maintenance program should be the cornerstone of...

The following post was submitted by 2016 President’s Conference sponsor, Heidelberg. Your profit per job should be the driver of which technology and processes you use to produce a job. Think of an ideal production scenario: 1) Your MIS/workflow would determine (based on cost parameters) how a job is scheduled and produced to maximize your return on that entire job. 2) Your color management is so well defined that quality across technologies is a given and will match. 3) Data from your production devices would provide exact and timely feedback for that critical information loop on cost versus estimate. With Heidelberg, that production scenario is a reality today, not a futuristic “wish list”! Heidelberg is committed to improving and expanding its digital solutions as its customers need to run jobs from one to a million sheets. The crossover cost point of digital versus offset technology is much, much lower than people think! Generally, customers compare the cost per copy of a new digital device versus their old offset press, but if you compare the latest Anicolor 75 offset press, it breaks even at 250 sheets versus a 29-in. digital device. In reality, you only need ultra-short run and personalized digital output, a gap which is nicely filled by the latest Linoprint CV (90ppm) & CP (130ppm). At the end of the day, the questions to ask are: –  What volume can you bring in to utilize an asset? –  What’s your cost per sheet based on that volume and the asset price? –   What can you charge for that sheet? Those questions lead to the investment decision, not the technology...