watch the step to uwwo !
TRANSCRIPT
C R O S S I N D U S T R Y N E W S – I S S U E 1 3 • W I N T E R 2 0 1 0 / S P R I N G 2 0 1 1
Cont
ents
P 2 nUltra Web Wide Offset P 4 nHeatset press technologies P 6 nValue Added Magazine Production P 7 nHD paper
P 8 nPath to higher performance P 10 nBlanket choiceP 12 n Innovative newspapers P 14 nCarbon & Energy Efficiency
PrintCity - Connection of Competence Commercial, Publishing & Web Systems
A new Webline Special Report “Watch the Step to Wider Roll Widths” makes
a systemic overview of Ultra Wide Web Offset (UWWO) printing that is breaking
new ground in terms of productivity by allowing offset printers to compete
successfully in areas previously dominated by gravure.
The first UWWO presses were delivered in 2007, and by 2010 there are around
50 lines installed worldwide — over 90% of these presses, with a web width
of over 2000 mm, have been developed and manufactured by manroland.
Heatset offset’s share (by paper tonnage) of the publishing market against
gravure grew from 55% in 1998 to nearly 70% by 2008. This change in
process share is attributable to a combination of changes in principal market
segments and technical-economic developments. Many gravure printers are
also using heatset web offset — seven of the top 10 European publication
printers use both processes.
Weiss-Druck in Monschau, Germany, recently ordered the first 96-page
LITHOMAN S in long grain with a web width of 2860 mm. This will enable
them to achieve new levels of productivity with up to 4,32 million pages per
hour to print volumes that until now were reserved for gravure printing.
“With this investment, our company continues its strategy of early investments
in innovative technologies. The close cooperation with manroland primarily
benefits our customers, as the 96-page LITHOMAN S allows us to keep offering
them the highest degree of quality, flexibility and effectiveness,” says managing
director Georg Weiss.
Watch the step to UWWO !
A major heatset offset growth driver against gravure
has been its faster technical economic development,
including:
• Advances in prepress technology benefit offset
significantly more than gravure. Offset has
comparatively very short lead times and low
investment costs.
• Intense competition between several large
manufacturers of offset press and prepress systems
has stimulated technology development, whereas
publication gravure has only a single press
manufacturer and limited prepress competition.
• Over 300 new heatset 48-72 page presses installed
in the last decade has made it difficult for gravure
printers with older and narrow presses to compete.
• Both heatset and gravure can print at up to 17 m/s.
• The former qualitative difference between web
offset and gravure printing is diminishing and
is no longer the significant sales argument that
it once was.
• Both processes have made considerable improve-
ments to their environmental performance, but in
different ways because the processes are different.
The on-going dream of many printers is the
combination of the best of both worlds — the
simplicity and stability of gravure printing
combined with the ease of imaging from offset
— but this remains a dream.
2
hich Ultra Wide Webprocess?W
The selection of the most appropriate process for a given
print job will continue to depend upon the combination
of several attributes such as run length, pagination, paper,
format, delivery time, and the total production cost. These
criteria will tend to continue to favour heatset printing.
1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 20100
1 000
2 000
3 000
4 000
5 000
6 000
7 000
8 000
9 000
10 000Millions tons
Internetbubble burst
Bankcrisis
Recoverybegins
Processcrossover
New heatset formats (A4)
HeatsetOffset
Publicationgravure
24 pp 48 pp 72 pp 80 pp 96 pp64 pp
Evolution of paper consumed by process in Western Europe
This chart shows the relativeevolution of papers printed by
process and the dates when newgeneration heatset web offset
formats became available. During thelast decade, the tonnage printed byweb offset printed has increased by42%, while publication gravure has
only grown 8%. The banking crisis ofSeptember 2008 initiated a fall in
paper demand that continuedthrough 2009 but which began to
recover in 2010. Note that papertonnage as a measurement
understates the area of paper printedbecause the reduction in average
basis weight is not visible.Source EMGE
Watch the Step to Wider Roll WidthsWebline Special Report N° 5 “Watch theStep to Wider Roll Widths” is a 36-pagereport on Ultra Wide Web Offset available from the industry’s leading web offset suppliers — manroland, MEGTEC, Müller Martini, Procemex, Sun Chemical, Trelleborg, UPM, Böttcher,Fuji, and Lüscher or order copies fromwww.printcity.de/shop. Source PrintCity Alliance
by 80% in comparison to steel, while providing higher
temperature stability and an adjustable high bending
stiffness. UWWO rubber roller coverings are less
tolerant to inadequate quality — particularly if running
a high proportion of partial webs. It is, therefore,
essential to use roller coverings with excellent shrink
resistance and dimensional stability.
Heatset system: Dryers with integrated Regenerative
Thermal Oxidation (RTO) have completely redefined
heatset dryer performance for low energy
consumption, environmental compliance, high
product quality and minimal lifetime operating costs.
The 95% efficiency heat exchanger makes it the
most fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly
technology available, and the most suitable for high
speed UWWO production.
Folders: Experience from UWWO installations shows
that the key investment decision centres on the selec-
tion of folder type and web width because this deter-
mines the range of products that can be run. In
many cases, printers take a customised approach
to the folder and its superstructure to create a
competitive advantage in a specific product area.
Press delivery: Efficient systems are the essential inter-
face between the press and finishing inline or offline.
Reliable and careful transport of printed products
is a high priority, particularly where space is limited
and for linking between buildings or floors. The opti-
misation of intermediate signature storage (bundle,
log or roll) can improve binding productivity by
25-30%. Inline finished products can be glued or
stitched in the folder, trimmed on three sides in a
rotary trimmer, then fully automatically packed and
palletised according to distribution instructions.
Process control automation: The large paper surface
per revolution and high speed running makes closed
loop process control systems essential to minimise
changeover time and waste, and to maintain good
colour in register. High-speed camera monitoring is
an additional control tool used by many web printers
to help increase press runability and efficiency.
“Watch the Step to Wider Roll Widths” is a 36-page
report available in English and German language
versions from companies participating in the
project or from printcity.de.
n www.printcity.de
LEAN MANUFACTURING – FASTER & CHEAPER
The trend to larger web widths is primarily driven
by competition to reduce total production costs. In
this sense, UWWO can often provide leaner pro-
duction solutions. A press is more than the sum of
its parts and a holistic approach is essential when
investing on this scale. Some of the key issues include:
System approach: Automated logistics and materials
handling needs to be scaled to handle the high hourly
press output and the physical size and volume of
consumables (paper, ink, plates, rollers, blankets).
Plate systems: Large format offset presses use both
Thermal CTP and UV-imaged conventional plates
processed by CTP and both provide a comparable
level of printing quality. Each system has different
attributes and their total cost impact should be calcu-
lated on the specific needs of each print plant.
Consideration needs to be made on how they will be
handled within the plant because of their dimensions.
Paper & logistics: Most offset paper mills have pro-
duction limitations in the finishing process and, unless
the mill is already dimensioned for higher widths,
weights and diameters, a large capital investment
will be required. It is essential that printers and
publishers ascertain if large offset rolls are
available to them in their geographic area. The roll
core is the essential link in the production chain
between the paper mill and the press and they should
be treated as a machine part rather than as
packaging material.
Roll handling: Systems will need to be dimensioned
to safely handle larger and heavier rolls. Pasters
need a robust construction to handle the substan-
tial increased roll weight inertia at an E-stop, and
require more powerful acceleration motors.
Printing units: The selection of either sleeve or flat blan-
kets is a fundamental printing unit design step. Sleeves
are used on 96-page presses because of their ratio
of cylinder width-to-circumference. Flat blankets are
preferred for other configurations because they are
cheaper to purchase, change, store and handle.
Lightweight carbon fibre cores reduce ink roller weight
3
The 11 companies participating in this unique cross- industry project represent the “who’s who” of the weboffset printing supply chain. By sharing their expertise they are able to examine more thoroughly systemissues to gain a better understanding of them and provide more effective solutions.
4
The many newspapers that have installed autoprint systems have enjoyed significant benefits in daily
production, and this success has encouraged manroland to introduce autoprint for its commercial presses.
Heatset web offset printing is characterised by its industrial production with customers requiring a low
cost per copy for short and long runs, stable quality, production reliability, efficient planning and resource
conservation during production. The development of autoprint focuses on a concept that is safeguarded
for the future, allows efficient production planning, extreme run length versatility, simple operation, and
production that minimises environmental impact.
Manual tasks are now reduced to a minimum and the press operator’s role changes to that of a process
monitor. This vision stands on a realistic foundation and already integrates the technology for completely
automatic job changeover and start-up of a new job. Major autoprint features includes:
CHANGEOVER WITH APL
The AutomaticPlateLoading (APL) system sets
the standard for the LITHOMAN series with web
widths up to 2250 mm. APL automatically
controls plate loading and tensioning as well as
unloading of used plates from the control
console with the web in the press. The system
speeds up plate changing to just two minutes
and needs only one operator.
Inline Density Control is more then 10 times fasterthan other density control systems, it has nomoving parts, and captures the entire control stripby one shot per colour. Source manroland.
NThe manroland autoprint vision is a fully automated press
that will establish the benchmark for total production
efficiency through automatic control of all major processes
at job changeover and during production. START-UP WITH QUICKSTART
manroland’s patented QuickStart pre-inking system
produces saleable copies after only a few cylinder
revolutions. Pre-inking takes place automatically as
the press accelerates to make sure that the right
amount of ink is at the right place when impres-
sion goes on. Faster saleable copies means lower
start-up waste.
STABLE PRODUCTION
Inline systems ensure constant print quality from
the control of ink density, cut-off and colour register.
CutCon plus ensures stable cut-off register during
start-up, blanket washing and roll changing to ensures
product quality and minimise waste rates. The
system becomes effective as the press accelerates
from around 8 000 cylinder revolutions/hour up
to maximum production speed. Cut-off register is
rapidly readjusted during acceleration after blanket
washing and register mark detection, and it
compensates for web tension variations during roll
changes. The result is dramatically fewer complaints
about register variations.
InlineDensity Control measures ink density much faster
than conventional systems. The ink flow is optimally
controlled to ensure there is always the right
volume of ink in the circuit. The modular system
constantly measures the full web width – whether
it is 965 mm or 2250 mm wide. The density of all
inks is recorded after only three cylinder revolutions
with an average of only five measurements needed
to establish an accurate mean value. Checking
quality with InlineDensity Control helps to verify print
quality for customers. InlineRegistration Control uses
an electronically controlled CCD camera to measures
very small and inconspicuous marks to ensure exact
colour register. n www.manroland.com
ew era in heatset production efficiency
The flexibility and productionefficiency of autoprint from short tolong runs has impressed commercialheatset printing customers. Photo manroland
CutCon plus can reduce waste by up to450 signatures per hour — or 3-4 million signaturesper year in continuous operation — to provide asignificant annual cost saving and a shortamortisation time of 1-2 years.Source manroland.
CONTROL WITH AUTOJOBCHANGE
This function carries out many press changeover
functions automatically and in a standardised
manner without any operator intervention. These
include blanket washing, plate changing with APL
(AutomaticPlate Loading) and pre-inking with
QuickStart. The AutoJob Change system provides
seamless changeover to make short runs on high
volume presses even more efficient.
3
2
A reliable analysis on the origin of this type of problemcomes from optimised monitoring by multiple cameraslocated in the right positions. PROCEMEX-PRINT systems, the leader in paper and
web printing monitoring, recommends a minimum
3-4 cameras configuration for a web offset press.
This will have:
• 1-2 cameras at the paster to monitor the web
being unwound from the roll.
• 1 colour camera before the dryer to monitor the
printed web, and also the end of the washing cycle
and the restart of printing.
• 1 camera in the folder superstructure after the
slitter will indicate the position of the web break in
the press line — did it break in the dryer or in the
folder area?
While each camera has its own specific tasks, it is
only when they all work together that they give
the most information to determine what really
happened in the machine that caused a web break.
To make the cameras work together they are
synchronised to the same piece of the paper web
to allow them to track back to any web breaks from
the superstructure to the printing units or the paster.
The examples show a web break caused by the paper
and a web break caused by the black printing unit.
On both web breaks the first indication was when
a break happened in the folder area (tension loss
on one ribbon). Viewing the pictures from the
superstructure camera back to the unwind showed
the real reason for the web break.
n www.procemex.com
5
dentifying the cause(s) of web breaksI
Web breaks can occur during
the washing sequence, but
there can be several reasons
for this. For example, was the
web break caused from excess
water in the cylinder gaps, or
ink /water drops, or because
of paper damage?
1. Ribbon break.
2. Detectable edge damage on B-side.
3. Edge damage before the dryer.
4. Edge crack at the paster unwind.
5. Cut in machine direction.
6. Holes caused by the catching unit (blue).
7. No indication at the paster so damagecaused by printing unit, the break occurredin the black printing unit.
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5 6
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6
Described as their ‘most ambitious project to date’
the team at Wallpaper brought together and briefed
some of the world’s leading designers, craftsmen
and manufacturers to produce one off furniture, food,
fashion and more. The Handmade edition chroni-
cles their production and presentation at this year’s
Salone del Mobile in Italy. In addition, Wallpaper offered
its readers the opportunity to create their own cover.
A RENAISSANCE IN QUALITY PRINTING
“This is about the recipe for remarkable things –
art, craft, skill, vision and the determination to do
better,” says editor in chief Tony Chambers, who
views the project from a special perspective as
former art editor on the Sunday Times magazine,
art director at GQ and creative director of Wallpaper.
“As I’m primarily an art director who’s masquerading
as an editor, I am passionate about printing and paper,
the tactility, the quality of a printed product. All
sensible magazines and newspapers are embracing
the digital world but they should not neglect print.
I think there is going to be a renaissance in quality
printing on quality paper and Handmade is a cele-
bration of what print can be. Paper has already
reached its perfect form. As a communication tool,
ink on paper is not going to be superseded.”
“The perception is that Wallpaper is niche and arty
but we sell 110 000 copies on the news stands.
Handmade embraces paper and technology, the
heritage of paper and, in designing your own cover,
state of the art digital printing.”
After eight months planning and a budget only
slightly higher than usual, Chambers reflects on the
moment Handmade stepped from idea into reality.
“We had a meeting with about 25 people across
the IPC building, as it involved so many departments:
subscriptions, digital, financial, distribution, legal, print
production. At the start I was a little nervous as
they all looked at us as if we were mad. But by the
end of the meeting, after the concept was clari-
fied, there was a real air of excitement (and relief)
as everyone in that room realised how great
Handmade could be — tough, but achievable.”
UPM HAD WHAT WAS NEEDED
Wallpaper art director Meirion Pritchard had the tough
task of planning a magazine that required features
to fall into set 16-page sections because of the change
of paper — eight different grades were used.
“This issue was about collaboration and we wanted
to extend that to the production of the magazine.
UPM had what we needed and a relationship with
IPC,” he explains. “We needed not only beautiful
papers, but enough to print 200 000 copies and
a lot to be done by web. We needed paper, skill
and speed.” He is certain readers will appreciate
the feel and qualities of the Handmade edition, though
the effect of the paper itself is largely subliminal.
Editorial director Richard Cook, agrees: “It’s not a
conscious thing. You don’t think ‘this paper is great’,
but magazines are tactile, thumbed through,
interacted with, unlike anything you can do on
a computer, even an iPad. There is a physical
relationship with a magazine.
“The whole ethos of this issue is about handmade
qualities, buying something that’s lasting and has real
provenance. It’s really important that people feel some-
thing when they read Handmade – that what they
have is a thing of beauty, of integrity, something worth
having, so it’s not just information. Part of that is
what it’s printed on, the paper is part of the DNA.”
Wallpaper is a truly international brand also staging
events, presenting design awards and publishing
the hugely successful city guides. It has a circula-
tion of 110 000 and is available in 93 countries, with
more than 25 000 subscribers. It was the first British
magazine with its own iPhone app and the first IPC
Media group title to launch on the iPad, and
Handmade was the first edition available on Apple’s
latest technology. The magazine is published by IPC
Media that owns 85 brands and who’s magazines
reach almost 66% of women and 44% of men in
the UK, a total of 27 million adults.
n www.upm-kymmene.com
he Handmade editionof Wallpaper
Three of the custom covers that were created by readers for the ‘Handmade’ edition and digitallyprinted (see gallery of covers at http://www.wallpaper.com/custom-covers/gallery).Source UPM Griffin
TThe magazine Wallpaper has always pushed the boundaries
since its launch in 1996 to become recognised as a design and
style leader in international creativity. The title established a
new landmark in August 2010 with a unique Handmade edition
incorporating custom covers and eight different papers.
Value Added Magazine Production
7
ooperative product developmentbenefits all parties C
UPM constantly develops
its range of products
and their characteristics
to better respond
to customers’ needs.
A broad selection
of products guarantees
that the right paper
can be found for every
purpose and for all
printing methods.
This wide product selection is the result of feedback
from customer and intensive product development.
UPM encourages interactive communication
with its customers and partners to drive product
development that benefits all parties.
A good example of this kind of cooperation are the
patents for paper and ink developed together with
Sun Chemical. Customer feedback stimulated an
interest to studying paper waving that occurs when
the paper fibres cannot be restored to their original
form after drying and re-humidifying. Waving causes
challenges in the quality of the end product, espe-
cially with large ink surface coverage.
QUALITY UP + ENERGY DOWN
The UPM RTD research centre in Lappeenranta
examined the factors causing paper to wave and
how this effect could be avoided. One of the
factors affecting waving is ink and the time it
requires to dry. This led to the ink manufacturer
Sun Chemical participating in the study. The new
paper concept from this joint waving research
project is called HD, or High Definition.
Environmental performance is an essential aspect
of UPM's product development processes. The
characteristics of the HD paper 65 gsm matches
the characteristics of a ‘normal’ paper with a
weight of 75 gsm. This enables reduction in paper
consumption, which decreases the environmental
impact of its transportation — less Greenhouse Gases
— and also lowers transport costs.
The HD concept enables the press dryer tempera-
ture to be reduced from around 140 C° down to
about 100 C° to significantly lower the energy
consumption of the printing process.
HD paper is a good example of how UPM pays
attention to environmental factors throughout the
entire lifecycle of its paper. More than 100 of its
paper products have been granted the EU Eco-label
— which covers the whole lifecycle of paper —
and most UPM papers are also available as PEFC
or FSC certified.
HD PAPER — SUITABLE FOR ALL INKS
The HD concept for heatset printing was
launched with Sun Chemical at drupa 2008. Since
then UPM has continued to improve HD paper
and to make it work with most inks available on
the market. HD paper has been successfully test
printed and several customers have shown
interest in it.
UPM provides a one stop shop for its customers
with the most extensive range of products of its
kind in Europe to provide a paper for any end use.
The UPM Paper Sommelier is a tool to make paper
selection easier. Like a good sommelier in a restau-
rant (who helps choose the perfect wine to match
the food ordered) UPM Paper Sommelier recom-
mends a suitable paper for a particular purpose.
It is now available on UPM's paper website
www.upm.com/en/paper/.
n www.upm-kymmene.com
The HD paper concept demonstrates UPM development of all key performance criteria.Source UPM
Environmental aspects:Lower energy consumption andless emissions in supply chain
Savings potential:Lower production costs,lower distribution costs
Improved print performance:Non-waving appearance, very smooth and pleasant print surface
Touch and feel properties:Improved stiffness in lower substance, easy browsing
HDHigh Definitionpaper concept
TEMPERATURE
The temperature and humidity in the pressroom
has an impact on print production. Optimum
productivity and quality requires surface and air
temperatures to be regularly monitored and
controlled. Larger presses in particular need to be
run at their recommended temperatures for best
performance — the Sun Chemical Technical Team
is available for advice to achieve this. Ink storage
temperature can also make a big difference to
performance on press. If the temperature is too low
there can be problems with ink pumping and risk
of pump damage. If the temperature is too high it
can lead to problems of ink fly and misting, as well
as a negative effect on emulsification.
COLOUR DENSITY TARGETS
A key success factor is plates with the correct
prepress curves for each press. Printers should know
the correct density for each paper class, and should
stay as close to the target as possible to avoid over
inking that is the root cause for many problems
including drying, set-off, print-through, scuff and
bindery marking.
Even when running closed loop colour control,
a densitometer should be available to verify the
correct density for all colours. Good print quality
is strongly dependent on achieving the correct
balance for density, tone value increase, trapping
and grey balance. These four factors are interlinked
and printing outside optimum conditions for one
will often lead to an imbalance with the others
and overall print quality suffers as a result. The
These presses are installed with the expectation of
high speed production and high quality printing.
However, achieving these expectations requires that
presses operate in a controlled operating environ-
ment in terms of machine set-up, operating
temperatures, with good quality consumables to
support the inks used for printing. This is true for
both heatset and coldset printing.
Sun Chemical’s extensive experience in pressrooms
is that more than 80% of under performance arise
from press problems that originate from the basic
press set up, and the absence of clearly defined
targets for colour and density.
CHEMISTRY
The first step is to have a good quality dampening
solution with full control of the water supply, includ-
ing regular measurement for conductivity, pH and
temperature. The water supply basic test should
include pH, conductivity and water hardness.
8
he Path to Higher Performance TToday’s printing environment features wider and faster web offset printing machines
from triple-width newspaper presses to 96-page heatset presses with widths up to
2800 mm and printing speeds up to 18 m/s. In addition, hybrid commercial newspaper
presses have installed hot air, or UV dryers to print on both newsprint and coated
papers to increase their product range and capacity utilization.
Press Chemistry[pH] [Conductivity] [Dampening solution pre-mix] [Water supply] [Keep Clean]
Temperature[Paper] [Ink] [In-feed] [Ink ducts] [Dampening System pans] [Rollers] [Plates] [Blankets] [Dryer] [Delivery]
Density[K, C, M, Y] [Trapping] [Tone Value Increase] [Colour DE] [Stay within TARGET]
RollersRegularly clean and conditionthe rollers and regularlycheck settings
Checklist
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Thermographic image of heat build up in print unit cylinders.Source manroland
9
prepress adjustment of plate output curves will
ensure that the correct dot gain is obtained when
printing to recommended densities for the paper
type on press. Beware, running densities too
high will increase the risk of high dot gain with a
resultant visible decrease in print sharpness.
Neutral grey balance is dependent on all three
primary colours being run at standard densities
with equal tone value increase — so printing just
one colour outside of specification can upset this
balance — this is particularly important on images
such as flesh tones and light grey tones.
INK/WATER BALANCE
This is achieved by controlling the damping solu-
tion and water to each feed roller from the damp-
ening to the inking system, keeping the plate clean,
while not over emulsifying the ink. This is a critical
part of the printing process but there is a tendency
to run more ink and water than is necessary. Ideally
there should be enough dampening to keep the plate
clean and to resist any piling, but not to too much
so that the ink starts to emulsify that can lead to
colour variation, feedback, ink drips, etc. A good
quality dampening solution, correct dosing and
temperatures in the roller train will help achieve a
good balance. n www.sunchemical.com
1. This graph shows theamount of ink on the paperto achieve any givendensity. It shows that withvery little ink the result isabout 0,2, which is aboutthe density of the paper. An extremely thick filmmakes the graph becomesflat – a film weight about 1 mm thick will be exactlythe same as if it were 1 cm,or even 1 m thick.
2. This graph shows thatmoving from a density of 1 to 1,1 requires a certainamount of extra ink.However, the increaseneeded is much larger whenmoving from a density of 1,3 to 1,4. This means thatmuch more ink is needed to make the same increasein density of just 0,1 units.
3. In effect density versus film weight represents a diminishing return. An ink film reflects and alsoabsorbs the incoming light,but the actual densityincreases in smaller andsmaller amounts as the film of ink increases. Thismeans overinking is morecommon when colour is checked only visually.
4. All the adverse effects —such as rub off, set-off,print-through, etc. — arelinear. So as densityincreases, the differenceseen is small but theamount of extra ink neededis great and the effect forthe adverse propertiesbecomes much moresignificant. “LESS is MORE”reduces cost and improvesperformance.
Source Sun Chemical
1
2
Amount of ink
Optical density
1.4
1.3
1.1
1.0
Amount of ink
Optical density
3
Amount of ink
Optical density
4
Amount of ink
Rub
Condition monitoring to measure and control pressand chemistry temperatures and other variables.Source WOCG Tool Box
Although Metal Back Blankets have been available
for over 10 years they are still significant improve-
ments being made to their performance. Initially
Trelleborg provided two metal back versions to the
newspaper market, Vulcan Metal News and Vulcan
Metal News 10 and until recently these two versions
well suited the different press settings needed.
PAPER FEED
The paper feed characteristics play an extremely
important role in web tension control. Positive feed
blankets tend to “give more paper” and the
tension after the printing unit decreases compared
to the infeed because the web tends to follow the
leading blanket cylinder. Negative feed blankets have
a higher paper tension than the infeed and the web
will go to the next printing unit perfectly tight.
The choice of the feeding characteristics of the
blankets is given by the press settings. Press
settings differ from installation to installation even
if is the same press manufacturer. Because of this,
Trelleborg today manages more than 100 different
Metal Back Blanket drawings which means 100
different blankets designs.
ACTIVE UNDERPACKING
Metal back technology goes beyond feeding
characteristics. A significant improvement on print
quality was obtained by the introduction of Vulcan
Metal News Active because this blanket has active
underpacking with better dot reproduction and a
higher smash resistance.
A more recent requirement was the need for a Metal
Back Blanket with neutral paper feed. Vulcan Metal
New Progress was developed for this application
with the close partnership of the final user. In addi-
tion, this blanket is also extremely easy to mount.
There could be some press setting requirements
now, especially on satellite configurations, where
different versions of Metal Back Blankets are
mounted on the same press to run the motors
of the satellites more efficiently and reduce their
power consumption.
These are some of the reasons why a Metal Back
Blanket cannot be considered a product off the
shelf. It is therefore important to always ask for
technical support from the blanket manufacturer
to set up the blankets in the best possible way.
n www.trelleborg.com
10
he right choice of blanket contributes to press energy savingT
Metal Back Blankets are not just an off the shelf
product to transfer ink from the plate to the paper.
The metal back technology also contributes
to minimise power consumption of the press units
and heat generation during printing.
1. Vulcan Metal News – positive feedingcharacteristics.
2. Vulcan Metal News 10 – negative feedingcharacteristics. Photos Trelleborg
1
2
The leading and trailing edges of Metal BackedBlankets are bent on a dedicated machine similarto a plate bender. Source Trelleborg
PAPER FEED
11
Printing samples from the newspaper “El Mundo.” Photo Trelleborg
Vulcan blanket with standard underpacking. Photo Trelleborg
1. Vulcan Metal News Active.
2. Vulcan blanket with active underpacking. Photos Trelleborg
1
2
1
2
1. Example of Metal Back Blanket design for a manroland COLORMAN XXL – satellite configuration.
2. Example of Metal Back Blanket design for a manroland REGIOMAN – blanket-to-blanket configuration.Photos Trelleborg
CONFIGURATION EXAMPLES ACTIVE UNDERPACKING
UNDERPACKING EXAMPLES
Plate cylinderundercut 0,24 mm
Bearer diameter
Plate cylinderdiameter
Blanket cylinderdiameter
Impression cylinderdiameter
Bearer diameterTheoretic
bearer diameter
Impression cylinder overcut 0,05 mm
Blanket cylinder undercut 1,80 mm
Plate cylinder undercut 0,24 mm Gap between impr. cyl. and blanket cyl. 1,75 mm
Bearer diameterr Bearer ddiameter bearer diaTheoret
ametertic
uundercut 0,2Plate cy
24 mmylinder
overcuImpres
ut 0,05 mmssion cylinder
,
Plate cylinnder underccut 0,24 mmm1,80 Blan
mmnket cylinderr undercut
Gapp between i . cyl. anmpr d blanket cyyl. 1,75 mm
Plate cylinderdiameter
Blanket cylinderdiameter
Blanket cylinderdiameter
Plate cylinderdiameter
Blanket to plategap setting 2,05 mm
Plate thickness 0,28 mm Blanket to blanketgap setting 3,60 mm
Metal bl. thickness 1,75 mm
Underpacking 0,18 mmPlate thhickness 0,28 mm
gap settingBlanket to
g 2,05 mmplate
gaB
ap setting 3lanket to bla
3,60 mmanket
M
Underpack
Metal bl. thic
king 0,18 mm
kness 1,75
m
mm
gap settingg 2,05 mm gaap setting 33,60 mm p g ,
12
in practiceVAPoNInnovative newspaper products add value to the
publisher, advertisers and readers. PrintCity has defined
Value Added Printing of Newspapers — VAPoN™ — as
a newspaper product that is VISIBLY DIFFERENT
to standard coldset; that is RECOGNISED by readers and
advertisers; capable of attracting HIGHER REVENUES
to the newspaper; and/or adds to its DIFFERENTIATION
and CIRCULATION.
PrintCity has assembled innovative examples fromnewspapers from around the world that demonstratehow VAPoN works in practice to deliver printedproducts that add value to publishers, advertisers andreaders. These include using:1. New materials to create new print products:
The tremendous development of inks, paper types
and grades provide opportunities for differentiation
without capital investment.
2. Graphic design, alternative formats and folds:
Significant differentiation from combining innova-
tive design and unusual formats and folds that require
little capital investment.
Transparent in UK
The Daily Telegraph was the first UK daily to use transparent paper. Photo manroland
Relaunch explained
The relaunch of O Estado in São Paulo featured a wrap-around cover explaining the changes to the newspaper. Photo manroland
Another source of newspaper productinnovation examples can be found in"EXTRA" a special edition of the WAN-IFRAMagazine, the industry journal of theWorld Association of Newspapers and NewsPublishers. Its case studies focus oncompanies that are already seeing asignificant return on their investmentfrom new products, or those destined forsuccess. Some examples include:
www.wan-ifra.org/magazine
PRODUCT INNOVATIONS
THE WINNER TAKES IT ALL 04
VARIATIONS ON THE THEME
OF CITIZEN JOURNALISM 06
WEB MOVING INTO TRADITIONAL AREAS 08
SUNDAY SELECT REVISITS INSERTING 10
KAANGO, SYNDICATION
APPLIED TO CLASSIFIED ADS 12
SPRINGER WORKS FOR THE LONG TERM 13
ORBYT: TESTING THE THEORY 14
JUNE 2010
English edition D20835E
.wawww
an-ifra.org/magazine
JUNE 2010
English edition D20835
e
05E
WAN-IFRA EXTRA
on ProductInnovation
3. Hybrid press technologies: Allows printing of
coated and uncoated paper on the same press to
extend publishing portfolios, return outsourced
printing in-house, and to create a commercial
printing business.
4. Variable printing and interaction technologies:
Add-on ink-jet printing heads to personalise print
products, gaming applications multimedia codes for
mobile phones; and digital printing of personalized,
or micro-zoned newspapers. n
13
See through cover
An effective transparent cover advert fromMetro Canada, printed at Transmag. Photo manroland
Airbus impact
This advert on the arrival of the Airbus A380 in Germany featured an outstanding graphic design effect, published in Süddeutsche Zeitung. Photo manroland
Smell factor
An advert smelling of petrol (benzin) published in the Süddeutsche Zeitung. Photo manroland
Coffee success
Kaffeegenuss a special publication on coffee and cafés by Augsburg’s Presse-Druck- undVerlags-GmbH. Sheetfed cover with a coldset 8-page booklet inside. Photo manroland
Combination effect
The new San Francisco Chronicle wraps twosections with LWC covers — the title and a green-printed sports section. Photo manroland
Cascading cover
The manroland Messenger combines a mini bookletwith a mini plow fold, resulting in a cascading titlepage, printed at Pressedruck in Augsburg. The MiniPlowfold is a manroland upgrade for new and existingpresses to produce a wide range of innovative formats. Photo manroland
Gannett Co. in the United States used a well
established idea with its Sunday Select
package, an editorial supplement that carries
targeted advertising and is delivered to homes
of non-subscribers who ‘opt-in’ to receive it.
The product was launched in 2007 and is now
used by all of the company’s newspapers, in
addition to those of MediaNews Group, Cox,
Tribune Co. and McClatchy. It took 11 months for
this twist on preprints — a long lived treasure
for US publishers — to become profitable.
Initially, Gannett needed seven ads to break
even; today it is receiving, on average, 24.
Gogol Medien in Germany, integrates user
generated content into regional newspapers
with its myheimat portal. A Bavarian publisher
generated 1 million € of additional revenue
after producing a user generated publication
featuring myheimat’s resources.
Also in Germany, Axel Springer is banking
on its BILD brand, Europe's largest daily, to
drive its online and mobile innovations,
including new payment options, advertising,
and applications.
In August 2010, Axel Springer published a
fully 3-dimensional edition of their flagship
BILD-Zeitung.
14
Climate change is global in nature and only coor-
dinated international action can resolve it. Under
the 1997 Kyoto treaty 37 industrialised countries
agreed to reduce their collective GHG emissions.
Major emission producers who had not implemented
Kyoto – USA, China, India and Brazil – are now parti -
cipating in negotiations to replace the treaty, which
expires in 2012. Progress is slow and currently
hampered by a ‘north/south’ divide of responsibility
between developed countries and newly industria -
lising economies. The related financial responsi-
bilities are seemingly difficult to address in the short
term by national political institutions.
In contrast, significant segments of business and
industry would welcome a global treaty that gives
them a clear legislative business environment
within which they can make long term investment
decisions with some security and, also, ensures
that the global competitive playing field
is relatively level.
Climatic and other environmental issues
already have an accelerating impact
across the industry-wide process and
value chain systems of publishers,
advertisers, packagers, printers, and their
suppliers. The European industry has
been proactive in its response, with
industry associations like CEPI, Intergraf,
PostEurope, and PPA developing
carbon footprint metho dologies and
calculators. The optimum response
to the carbon and energy challenge is in collabo-
rative work across the industry value chain. One
example is the Strategic Workshop of European
Graphic Industry Value Chain on Carbon Footprint
Standardisation in 2010, hosted by CEPI, FAEP, FIPP,
Intergraf, PrintCity, VDMA and WAN-IFRA, with
representatives from other graphic industry asso-
ciations, which defined a common vision:
1. Carbon Footprinting is a tool to help reduce
carbon emissions and is becoming a fundamental
regulatory requirement. It is one part of sustain-
ability, not the whole, and needs to be viewed within
the overall environmental context.
2. Carbon Footprinting is also an evaluation tool to
help increase energy efficiency.
3. International harmonisation of carbon footprint
definitions, methodology, and data is needed.
4. There is a need to resolve uncertainty on some
key issues: energy, biogenic, and end-of-life cycle.
arbon & energyreductionC
The primary cause of global warming leading to climate change
is greenhouse gases (GHG) produced by a wide range of human
activities. The 'greenhouse effect' is not new – in 1863 Irish-
born scientist John Tyndall was writing about GHGs, and in the
1890s the Swedish scientist Svante Arrehenius made the first
known attempt to calculate the impact of increased carbon
dioxide in the earth's atmosphere.
Carbon & EnergyReduction
This is an extract from thenew PrintCity special reporton the environment ‘Carbon& Energy Reduction For The
Graphics Industry ValueChain’ that will be publishedin the New Year of 2011. The
purpose of this guide is tofacilitate the collaborative
environmental performance ofprinters, publishers, brand
owners, and their suppliers.
C R O S S I N D U S T R Y S P E C I A L R E P O R T
GB
Carbon & Energy
Reduction
for the Graph ic Industry Va lue Cha in
There is an ongoing debate about how to achieve
international harmonisation – either an industry
specific implementation procedure for ISO 14067
(due for publication in 2012) or a more pragmatic
modular approach combining existing work from
industry sectors. The important point is that the
industry proactively tackles this issue and positions
itself in the climate change issue as an international
industry leader.
CARBON & ENERGY REDUCTION — WORK IN PROGRESS
European carbon emissions continue to decrease and
could over achieve the Kyoto target by 5,1% but if
only if all so called additional measures are imple-
mented. A further positive point is that pulp, paper
and printing is responsible for only 0.6% of total GHG
emissions in Europe, and these have dropped by 3%
from 1990 to 2008, while production has increased
by around 12%. In 2008, the EC defined its 20/20/20
mandatory reduction targets by 2020 (20% reduc-
tion of GHGs / 20% increase in energy efficiency /
20% increase of renewable energy sources).
WHY IS ENERGY POLICYIMPORTANT?
There are three realities concerning energy that
impact on all users:
1. Supply is limited and it will be expensive
= lower consumption.
2. The cheapest kW of energy is the one not used
= improved energy efficiency.
3. Significant reduction of fossil fuelled energy
= cleaner generation.
THE CARBON RESPONSES
The objective of Carbon Footprinting is to meas-
ure the emissions of a business, production site,
product, or service. The primary reason to do this
is to drive steps to reduce GHG emissions and
fossil energy use. A secondary reason is to act as
a base for carbon compensation and communica-
tion. Current sector or national Carbon Footprinting
approaches are confusing and there are a number
of Carbon Footprinting issues that need to be
resolved. More clarity is also required for carbon
sequestration, neutral/offsets, and trading.
15
CARBON IMPACT ON PRINT & ELECTRONIC MEDIA
In a sustainable future, paper and electronic media
each have a relevant place. Misplaced perceptions
that electronic media are more environmentally
friendly than print (the energy demand of electronic
media and its Carbon Footprint is several times
greater than of ink-on-paper – over 4% vs. around
1%) confuse the issue. The real question is how the
two platforms can work together to reduce the
overall environmental burden.
The pulp and paper industry is one of the world’s
largest users of renewable, low-carbon energy.
Around 60% of the energy used to make paper in
Europe and the US comes from carbon neutral
renewable resources and is produced on site at mills.
In comparison, most IT data systems rely on conven-
tional distributed power generation using fossil fuels.
Recycling can have a significant impact in the reduc-
tion of GHGs and energy use. The paper industry
is the recycling leader in Europe with over 50% of
its raw materials for production coming from
recovered products.
CARBON FOOTPRINT VALUE CHAIN — MAKING IT ‘LEANER AND GREENER’
Printing process optimisation should begin with
control of the workflow and process, the use of
quality standards and profiles to minimise paper
waste, overinking and excessive drying energy.
Optimised maintenance is also crucial to minimise
consumption of energy and materials.
New technologies can provide significant reductions
in energy consumption and emissions. However, the
industry has relatively long reinvestment cycles, which
means there will be periodic large step change
improvements. Any assessment of capital equipment
must take into account the operating environment
and lifetime of its use. There are many opportuni-
ties to improve energy efficiency provided that the
entire production system, its ancillaries, operating
environment, and procedures are considered as an
integrated system.
Indirect measures may involve such actions as
positively influencing employees’ behaviour, e.g.
switching off light/equipment whenever not needed,
implementing improved processes with suppliers
or customers, e.g. optimised logistics.
n www.printcity.de
Content
Purchase
PublishersDecidersBrandowners
Build
ing
et a
l
Machinery
Plates
Consum
ables
Paper
Ink
& Ch
emic
als
Energy
Transport
Design Premedia Prepress Press Postpress Logistics DistributionPrint product
Printers’ suppliers
2: Print product CO2-e/unit of value chain Reduce / Reuse / Recycle
1: Print site production CO2-e/year Reduce / Reuse / Recycle
Printers & Converters
Industrial & Consumer Waste
Print deciders Transporters & Distributors Consumer
Mapping of value/process streams identifies the multiple sources of CO2e and energy consumption. The mosteffective optimisation approach is to work across the entire value stream to measure, identify and prioritiseareas where improvements can be made. Source PrintCity
• Climate change is a dynamic international issue driven by geopolitics, NGOs, legislation,
customers, and users. It remains a key global political issue because climate deterioration
continues.
• Energy and GHGs are important legislative and commercial factors.
• Energy supply is limited and it will become more expensive.
• Energy optimisation is a key to reducing demand, GHG emissions and related business costs.
• ‘Lean’ and ‘Green’ frequently go hand-in-hand to improve both environmental and business
performance.
• Carbon Footprinting is an evaluation tool to measure the environmental impact of a product or
process primarily to facilitate the reduction of energy use and to lower GHG emissions; and only
secondary to provides a calculation base to offset emissions that cannot be reduced.
• Current sector or national Carbon Footprinting approaches are confusing, costly and complex –
they need to be clear, concise and credible.
• A harmonised international approach to applying Carbon Footprinting across all elements of the
graphics industry value chain is required.
• Carbon Footprinting will be challenging for small companies unless simplified.
• Uncertainty needs to be removed from some Carbon Footprint issues, including definition
of scope or boundaries, methods to calculate energy mix and conversion factors, avoided
emissions, sequestration, and biogenics – many of these are general issues that, nevertheless,
concern the graphics industry.
• Caution – the inappropriate use of Carbon Footprinting as a single parameter to compare goods
or services can lead to unbalanced environmental decisions.
• For those companies seriously interested in reducing their overall energy consumption, it is
recommended to use Tonne of Oil Equivalent (toe) as a parallel metric to CO2e.
• Inflation of ecolabels leads to confusion and their devaluation (over 300 label types from more
than 200 countries).
• Ink-on-paper is not always perceived as being environmentally friendly but it is the only media
with a one-time carbon footprint – all other media require energy every time they are looked at.
The industry has made significant advances in carbon and energy reduction but this is still “work in progress”.
Some initial conclusions…
manroland www.manroland.com
Procemex www.procemex.com
Sun Chemical Corporationwww.sunchemical.com
Trelleborg www.trelleborg.com
UPM-Kymmene Corporation www.upm-kymmene.com
16
Webline is published by PrintCity’sPublishing, Commercial & WebActivity Group to provide informationon market trends and technologiesrelated to web printing.
Gerry Schmidt, Group leader [email protected]
Unique Cross Industry Alliance
PrintCity is recognized as the 'connectionof competence' strategic allianceacross the entire printing, packagingand publishing value chain, promotingthe value of print and packaging.
We deliver value to the customersby leading global knowledge sharingand networking together.
We deliver knowledge through seminars,trade fairs, project studies, publicationsand electronic platforms.
We want to maximise synergiesto grow business effectively and becost efficient.
For more information on our unique alliance please visitwww.printcity.de
The first PrintCity event was made in conjunction
with the Associação Brasileira de Empresas com
Rotativas Offset (ABRO - Association of Web
Offset Printers in Brazil), during their Annual
Conference in São Paulo on August 18, 2010.
The PrintCity web offset printing session ‘Technical
Visions for the Future of Print’ attracted an
audience of over 100 people and included
presentations from Sun Chemical, manroland, UPM
and Cofely. The dedicated session also featured
discussion panels and breakout sessions.
This first Latin American customer event coin-
cided with the announcement of a long term
partnership with ABRO, where PrintCity will help
deliver future joint Brazilian web printing sem-
inars/events and ABRO will make Alliance
reports and materials available in Portuguese.
According to Eduardo Gândara Costa of Abril
(President at ABRO), “We are happy to connect
ABRO’s in depth knowledge in the web offset
market in Brazil with the technical expertise from
The PrintCity Alliance has announced a series of new
activities for the Latin American region. These include
Presentations & Workshops on Web Offset and Sheetfed
Printing & Packaging, under the ‘connection of competence’
knowledge sharing strategy employed by PrintCity members.
rintCity Alliance launches new Latin American eventsP
Pictured at the August 18 ABRO Annual Conferenceare (left to right) Rainer Kuhn (PrintCity Alliance),Michael Eich (Cofely), Tommi Hemmilä (UPM),Cristina Barros (Sun Chemical), Albrecht Röser(manroland), Eduardo Costa (Abril/ABRO) and Dr Bernhard Fritz (Sun Chemical). Photo PrintCity
PrintCity Alliance members. It will bring many
benefits to Brazilian printers. For instance, we
plan to translate many of the leading PrintCity
reports into Portuguese and offer them to
our members.”
A second PrintCity event in São Paulo on August
19 attracted over 100 people also, was focused
on sheetfed printers and packaging printers,
and delivered in partnership with local indus-
try organisations ABIGRAF and SENAI.
Structured PrintCity events provide an ideal
opportunity for information sharing with indus-
try participants through audience interaction.
In this way participants jointly reach conclusions
on how we can improve the industry’s overall
performance and exploit long term opportuni-
ties for customer business growth.
n www.printcity.de
'PrintCity', the PrintCity logo, ‘Webline’ and ‘VAPoN', ’VAMP’, ‘UWWO’ are trademarks of PrintCity GmbH + Co. KG. © PrintCity Commercial Publishing Web Activity Group, 2010. PrintCity GmbH + Co. KG,Olchinger Straße 56, D-82194 Gröbenzell, Germany. [email protected], www.printcity.de. Managing Editor Nigel Wells nigel.wells @printcity.de. Design ID-industry, Paris. Printed on a manroland ROTOMANat Schoder Druck Augsburg, on UPM Finesse 115 gsm.