T
he idea was to emulate, as closely as possible, a German high-spec
print shop in South Africa. With the commitment of both parties,
Printech has successfully installed a Heidelberg Speedmaster XL 105 –
8P, perfecting at 15 000sph, a Heidelberg Speedmaster XL 105 – 5 + LX,
producing at 18 000sph and we refurbished a Heidelberg SM 102 – 8 P. With
this production capacity and technological investment, Shumani can proudly
compete with the best print shops in the world. Shumani has a number of
other Heidelberg presses and a finishing division capable of producing finished
products at a speed which comfortably matches these advanced printing
presses. All of the above are housed in the newly extended, state-of-the-art,
specifically-designed plant at Parow Industia in Cape Town.
The prepress is linked directly to the presses, enabling the presses to be
self-setting in preparation for the next job. This ensures minimum set-up and
makeready times. Furthermore the presses feature Inpress Control and Image
Control, ensuring quick makereadies, colour management on-the-fly, reading
each sheet and the speed the machine is producing at. This feature
is constantly checking colour variation, dot gain and colour curves among
many other factors. With this colour management feature, it effectively puts
Shumani Mills Printers into a different league when compared to competitors.
It simply makes it possible to sell every single sheet produced with
confidence. The speed of these presses allows for far greater productivity.
Said Graham Townsend, managing director at Printech, ‘The process of
rebuilding and installing these machines takes approximately six months from
the time of departure in Europe to installation here in South Africa. These
XL machines are the flagship presses of the Heidelberg range and are very
intricate. It is essential to be very thorough and mindful when rebuilding such
a press. We have installed a number of Heidelberg Speedmaster XL presses
(six in total) and on every occasion, we have taken two existing presses out
and replaced them with one Heidelberg Speedmaster XL press. The installed
XL presses are currently producing more than the two machines we took out
combined from the customer.
‘We are convinced that the Heidelberg XL presses are the future, if a print
shop wishes to remain competitive. We have purchased another Heidelberg
XL 105-6+LX which will arrive towards the latter part of the year.’
The Inpress Control features numerous time-saving functions designed to
increase productivity and reduce turnaround times.
• Inpress Control automatically measures and controls colour and register
on-the-fly at the speed the press is running.
• The press features an integrated measuring unit which measures process
and spot colours and register and compares it to the print control strip.
• Any corrections which may be required are automatically forwarded to the
Prinect Press Centre for immediate adjustment.
• The press does not need to be stopped for makeready or monitoring of the
production run.
The benefits of these systems and processes is that productivity is maximised,
waste is reduced, makeready times are significantly shortened and inking-up
is much faster, all of which contribute to faster press throughput and shorter
turnaround times.
Printech, together with Shumani has converted the presses to alcohol-free
printing. This is the way of the future as governments are setting new
guidelines to lower VOCs. Printech represents European leader, Prisco,
which produces a range of products including Prisco alcohol-free printing.
In addition to lower environmental impact, eliminating alcohol offers three
key operating benefits:
• Improved quality
• Lower costs
• A safer pressroom
Said Ron Woulidge, ‘Using these systems we will achieve lower ink usage and
water settings and still be able to lay down a more concentrated ink film that
isn’t diluted by alcohol. This will allow for sharper dots and brighter colour
reproduction, while we will still enjoy shorter sheetfed drying times. There
is no doubt that alcohol-free printing is the way of the future and Shumani is
committed to “Green Printing”.’
Graham concluded, ‘This installation and the technological superiority of
these presses set Shumani Mills Printers apart from its competitors and
makes it a globally competitive printer. This installation of previously-owned
state-of-the-art printing equipment gives Shumani a distinct advantage over
its competitors. Printech is proud to be part of this project and visitors to the
plant will see Shumani as true German print shop, if they didn’t know that
they are in South Africa.’
The Heidelberg Speedmaster 102 – 8P
Heidelberg Speedmaster XL 105 – 5 + LX
68
I
The GAPP
magazine
www.
thegapp
.co.za
Vol 4 Issue 4 • EUROPEAN PRODUCTIVITY AT THE FOOT OF TABLE MOUNTAIN
