Sheetfed Solutions
September 2000
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Consumer behavior continues to shape package printers' need for sheetfed offset presses.
By Chris Bauer
WHEN IT COMES to corrugated package printing, sheetfed offset suppliers suggest printers remember the old saying, "The customer is always right." Customers want shorter runs of high quality work and cost-effective results. This is why suppliers say sheetfed offset is the perfect solution.
"For the folding carton and the packaging industry, sheetfed offset is really the production unit of choice," offers Achim Schmidt, packaging manager for Heidelberg. Schmidt believes sheetfed offset presses are the answer for shorter runs, more flexible and versatile press operation, and higher quality work which cannot be achieved with any other printing process in a cost-justifiable manner.
"You can always go gravure, which is very competitive when it comes to quality, but the cost of cylinders is high," Schmidt maintains. Rudy Valenta, manager of corporate sales for MAN Roland, adds that flexo plates are also expensive, with litho plates proving less costly. The quality of offset is better than flexo, he says, while admitting gravure quality is good but has a high cylinder price tag. "The best option is sheetfed litho," Valenta concludes.
At Drupa, Heidelberg introduced a new press for the packaging industry. The Speedmaster CD 74 has a 23 1/2x 29" sheet size, and is designed for just-in-time jobs with short run lengths. The Speedmaster CD 74's CP2000 Center activates an array of automation to speed makereadies. Its double-diameter impression cylinders and AirTransfer sheetflow reduces waste.
Meanwhile, at Graph Expo 2000, MAN Roland will introduce to the North American market the MAN Roland 200E, a 13,000 sph, 20" x 29" sheetfed press that offers fast makeready and quick changeovers, reduced waste, and simplified operation. It is designed for printers entering the four-color market or expanding production capability. The 200E can handle up to .032" board or foil.
According to Schmidt, press manufacturers are launching smaller presses because printers feel it is not cost-justifiable to run short-run jobs on large presses, or even 40"presses. But Bob McKinney, director of marketing for KBA, sees things a bit differently. He reports selling a tremendous amount of 64" presses to the packaging market, and does not foresee that demand going away.
"There was a trend a few years ago to downsize to 40" presses," McKinney recalls, noting automation on larger presses was then unavailable. "But today, larger presses run the same speed as the 40" presses—the makeready time is the same, the manning is the same, but at the end of the eight-hour shift you have double the output, with a machine that is not nearly double the cost."
By Chris Bauer
WHEN IT COMES to corrugated package printing, sheetfed offset suppliers suggest printers remember the old saying, "The customer is always right." Customers want shorter runs of high quality work and cost-effective results. This is why suppliers say sheetfed offset is the perfect solution.
"For the folding carton and the packaging industry, sheetfed offset is really the production unit of choice," offers Achim Schmidt, packaging manager for Heidelberg. Schmidt believes sheetfed offset presses are the answer for shorter runs, more flexible and versatile press operation, and higher quality work which cannot be achieved with any other printing process in a cost-justifiable manner.
"You can always go gravure, which is very competitive when it comes to quality, but the cost of cylinders is high," Schmidt maintains. Rudy Valenta, manager of corporate sales for MAN Roland, adds that flexo plates are also expensive, with litho plates proving less costly. The quality of offset is better than flexo, he says, while admitting gravure quality is good but has a high cylinder price tag. "The best option is sheetfed litho," Valenta concludes.
At Drupa, Heidelberg introduced a new press for the packaging industry. The Speedmaster CD 74 has a 23 1/2x 29" sheet size, and is designed for just-in-time jobs with short run lengths. The Speedmaster CD 74's CP2000 Center activates an array of automation to speed makereadies. Its double-diameter impression cylinders and AirTransfer sheetflow reduces waste.
Meanwhile, at Graph Expo 2000, MAN Roland will introduce to the North American market the MAN Roland 200E, a 13,000 sph, 20" x 29" sheetfed press that offers fast makeready and quick changeovers, reduced waste, and simplified operation. It is designed for printers entering the four-color market or expanding production capability. The 200E can handle up to .032" board or foil.
According to Schmidt, press manufacturers are launching smaller presses because printers feel it is not cost-justifiable to run short-run jobs on large presses, or even 40"presses. But Bob McKinney, director of marketing for KBA, sees things a bit differently. He reports selling a tremendous amount of 64" presses to the packaging market, and does not foresee that demand going away.
"There was a trend a few years ago to downsize to 40" presses," McKinney recalls, noting automation on larger presses was then unavailable. "But today, larger presses run the same speed as the 40" presses—the makeready time is the same, the manning is the same, but at the end of the eight-hour shift you have double the output, with a machine that is not nearly double the cost."
Companies Mentioned:
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