Inert UV Newspaper Printing

webline
I S S U E 1 0 • Autumn 2007
CROSS INDUSTRY NEWS
INFORMATION FROM PRINTCITY
PUBLISHING
COMMERCIAL & WEB
ACTIVITY GROUP
Inert UV Newspaper Printing
This edition of Webline is printed
Inert UV by Herold Druck in Vienna
to coincide with the IfraExpo
exhibition and conference. One year
ago this process was unknown but is
now a subject of intense interest. The
PrintCity VAPoNTM project group has
been closely following this
development and in this issue we
present a case study of Herold Druck
and an overview of the Eltex INNOCURE
Inert UV system. In addition we have
completely updated and expanded last
year’s comparative economic analysis
on the basis of experience from
Herold, along with other new data.
The second series of VAPoN News test
printing has just been completed by
PrintCity VAPoN project members and
associates, Ifra and two newspaper
printers. The purpose of this test is to
compare coldset, heatset and Inert UV
production on three paper grades under
controlled conditions.
Herold Druck in Austria has printed the
coldset and Inert UV versions whilst
Passauer Neue Press Druck in Germany
printed the heatset versions. Printing
Case study —
Herold Druck und Verlag
page 2
Newspaper convergence
page 4
Revised VAPoN Economics
page 6
New VAPoN News Test Printing
page 12
Product News:
• Mailroom productivity
page 12
• Colour Digital Newspapers
page 13
Best Practice
page 14
conforms to the Ifra Semi Commercial
Printing Standard and was controlled
under the supervision of project
members.
The printed results will be analysed
by Dr Tim Claypole of the Swansea
University, UK, and will be published
in the near future.
To complete the newspaper theme,
Manfred Werfel, Ifra’s Research
Director and Deputy CEO presents a
vision of convergence in the newspaper
industry.
Gerry Schmidt
Chairman Publishing, Commercial
Web Systems Activity Group
Thomas Unterberger, Chief Technical Officer,
Herold Druck und Verlag AG, Vienna/Austria
PrintCity VAPoN™ case study
Herold Druck und Verlag AG, Vienna/Austria
Interview with Thomas Unterberger,
Chief Technical Officer
COMPANY PROFILE
Herold Druck was founded 115 years
ago to print newspapers for the
Catholic Church. The company was
purchased by P&V Holding AG in
1990. They publish Wiener Zeitung —
the world’s oldest daily newspaper —
along with Die Presse, and Heute the
largest free newspaper in Austria.
Herold Druck prints around 5 million
newspapers per week including
commercial production of other
newspapers and catalogues.
INVESTMENT DECISION
Paid newspaper sales in Austria have
declined over the last two years but this
loss is more than compensated by six
free newspapers distributed daily in
major cities mainly to younger readers.
A recent addition to the media
landscape is Österreich, a paid
newspaper that is printed every day
with both coldset and heatset sections.
The Austrian media market is hyper
competitive — one indication is that the
country’s press capacity per head of
population is double that of Germany.
As a result there is a high level of rapid
innovation both in marketing and the
take-up of new technologies (such as
CTP and now with Inert UV).
The investment decision was to add a
fourth tower to the MAN Roland
COLORMAN installed in 2002; and
install a dryer on it to allow printing on
coated paper. The physical constraints
of the building dimensions and
foundations meant that a heatset dryer
was not really feasible. Fortunately at
this time the prototype of the Eltex
INNOCURE Inert UV system was
being tested and its compact size and
low weight made it relatively simple
to install, along with higher production
speeds than Conventional UV.
The new COLORMAN tower has its
two satellite units separated by a
structure that houses two UV curing
systems (one for each side of the web)
with the gallery levels and interfaces
adapted to the existing press. In
addition to the press, a plate baking line
was ordered because UV printing
reduces plate life to around 30 000
copies; and the mailroom was expanded
with a Muller Martini rotary trimmer
that operates at full press speed.
BUSINESS DRIVERS
OPERATING EXPERIENCE
In 2005, Herold Druck identified three
main issues for its development:
The first saleable UV printed copies
were produced in February 2007 at
the full press speed of 11,25 m/s —
up until now the fastest UV web offset
production speed was 7 m/s. To date,
the longest run has been 80 000 copies
MEDIA ENVIRONMENT
1. Expand printing volume and capacity
up to 64 pages for its daily newspapers.
2. The ability to print differentiated
2
newspaper products with coated inserts
and gloss cover pages in one run
simultaneously with coldset pages.
3. Use the increased product flexibility
to utilise the non-productive day shift to
print commercial promotional products
for group companies that are currently
out-sourced to commercial heatset.
but long production runs start autumn
2007 which will give a better indication
of sustained production speed.
One of the objectives for the UV tower
is to bring in-house production of the
group’s advertising supplements that
are currently out-sourced to commercial
heatset. The major constraints of
external production include lead times
of up to 10 days and that expensive
hand inserting is often required.
Herold’s new production system now
provides significant cost savings
because supplements can either be
printed run-of-paper, or assembled by
their automated publishing system.
One example is free daily newspapers
that the local government authority’s
distribution network require to be
stitched (to making street cleaning
easier) and therefore cannot carry loose
inserts. Herold’s solution was to convert
the insert as a cover printed UV on
coated paper that is run with the coldset
section and stitched in-line.
TECHNOLOGY EXPERIENCE
Coldset newspaper production is from
17:00 to 03:00 and this allows UV
production during the day. This means
two thorough ink wash-ups are
required each day because of the cross
contamination risk between the two
different ink chemistries. Each inking
unit has inter-changeable ducts, an ink
feed for each ink type, plus an
agitator. Change over takes about
70 minutes from conventional to UV
and 80-90 minutes in the other
direction. A low pressure UV ink
pumping and piping system supplies
inks from drums over a distance of
75 m. This tower is also equipped
with a hybrid dampening solution
supply for both ink types.
Experience has found that the most
satisfactory UV colour sequence is to
print black last (CMY-K) which is the
same as coldset. Printing results
improved when the UV inks are around
26°C, rather than 20°C normally run
for coldset. The surface temperature of
the paper increases by only 12°C after
passing through the curing unit which
has very low heat radiation — this
means low temperature stress to the
paper. The main operator input is to set
the energy for the curing system —
around 60% of installed energy draw is
used at the moment. One challenge is
to calculate the actual UV ink
consumption, particularly as ink
coverage varies between 0,8 to 2 gsm.
“We are very satisfied with the
investment, and we are now
considering a second press line with
two Inert UV curing units,” concludes
Thomas Unterberger.
INSTALLED VAPON TECHNOLOGY
ELTEX INNOCURE INERT UV
The big advantage of Inert UV curing is
that its compact size allows retrofitting
to existing presses that do not have
adequate space or foundations to install
a hot air dryer. In addition, no air
pollution control (oxidizer) or chill rolls
are normally required. On the other
hand, the costs of consumables — ink,
rollers, blankets and washing solutions
are higher than those for heatset and
coldset. UV lamps are normally
replaced after about 1 500 hours of use.
The low temperature system maintains
paper humidity without signs of fluting
or shrinking. The VOC-free technology
can be used up to full press speed.
The Eltex INNOCURE inert UV unit. Photo Eltex.
UV inks use an acrylate chemistry
(rather than solvents) and photoinitiators to start UV radiation curing.
Conventional UV curing efficiency is
inhibited by the oxygen boundary
layer close to the paper surface.
Inert UV uses a gas (like nitrogen)
to reduce oxygen inhibition.
The Eltex INNOCURE innovation
applies electronic current technology
to increase the efficiency of inerting.
The result is about a 40% reduction of
UV lamp energy consumption that
allows Herold’s high speed
installation to run with only two
UV lamps per side. A further
advantage is that Inert UV does not
create corrosive ozone that is a
by-product of Conventional UV.
INNOCURE is a complete industrial
sub system that can either be mounted
between satellite units (as at Herold), or
on top of a blanket-to-blanket tower.
The system includes a nitrogen tank, a
cooling water and circulating system,
special UV power supply (ballast) and
control system.
UNIWEB SUNRAY UV INKS
Sun Chemical’s UniWeb Sunray inks
are used by Herold Druck to print at
more than twice the previous web speed
of Conventional UV inks on newspaper
presses.
Herold Druck is the first publisher in
Austria to use UV inks in 4-colour
newspaper and magazine printing.
Thomas Unterberger, chief technical
officer for Herold Druck, said: "The
most important opinions are those of
our customers – and they are delighted
with the results of this printing at very
high speeds, producing high-quality
newspapers and magazines. The inks
are critical to success and we are
extremely pleased with the results."
Sun Chemical corporate vice-president
Charles Murray said: "As the pioneer of
UV in the 1960s, we naturally had the
heritage and the competence to design
UniWeb Sunray inks specifically for
newspaper applications to meet their
consistency, quality and speed demands.“
3
Who will print the newspaper of tomorrow?
For more than 150 years it has been a
given that newspaper printing was
subject to nothing but the principles
of fastest-possible and least-expensive
production. The newsprint used was
the cheapest to be had – though still
today its costs represent 40 - 60% of
the overall production costs despite
using up to 100% of recycled stock.
The printing ink used was always the
least expensive, sometimes also made
with waste products such as used oil.
There was no drying during the
printing process in order to save costs
and to simplify the printing process;
readers would therefore sometimes
complain that reading the paper
made their fingers dirty and caused
spots on the table cloth. The “Adlon”
in Berlin is the last hotel in Germany
that – upon request – will still iron
the newspaper before delivering it to
guests – in other words a belated
drying process by hand.
The historic struggle for freedom of the
press focussed on the tenet that usage of
the ‘press’ – which meant the printing
press – should be free from state
interference. This was contemporary to
the struggles for human and civil rights
because it was generally understood that
you had to own a press in order to
effectively distribute information and to
express one’s opinion in a socially
relevant manner. All newspaper
publishers had – as a matter of course –
a printing press, not because they
wanted to print, but because they
wanted to distribute a newspaper.
Newspaper printing could not be made
by regular printing companies because
of the very specific requirements for
newspaper production – volume, lead
time, regularity, and cost. This could
only be met by using expensive special
machinery that only newspaper
publishers could afford to buy —
compared to other printing presses –
and could not be used for almost any
other purpose.
The production process of newspaper
making was supposed to always be
simple and straight forward in order
to avoid unnecessary costs given the
always costly night time working.
The level of education and training
of workers was generally kept to a
minimum.
The production of the printed paper in
most cases was and continues to be a
significant cost factor in a publisher’s
business. You do not make money by
printing newspapers, but you needed
the print and the technical production
to be a newspaper publisher in the first
place. The high production costs were
perceived as both negatives and
positives in the publisher’s perspective negatives because they reduced his
margins, but also positives because
they represented a high entry barrier for
potential competitors in the market.
What’s more, a hundred years ago the
paper format kept getting larger and at
the same time the space between the
columns was reduced to deliver the
largest-possible quantity of information
to the maximum number of readers.
These measures did not really enhance
readability nor did they facilitate the
‘consumption’ of newspapers, but the
readers tolerated them since no
competition existed to the newspaper as
the first mass medium in history; this
state of affairs was to remain an accepted
standard for a great many years.
4
WHY DO PUBLISHERS PRINT?
All these business conditions remained
in place for decades. Neither the two
world wars nor the emergence of radio
and television changed the situation.
But suddenly a few years ago the basic
conditions of the publishing business
started to change with the advent of the
internet and it remains to be seen to
what extent this development will
change the publishing business.
The large and awkward-to-handle
newspaper formats are being questioned
more and more. A number of
newspapers are being reduced to tabloid
or rather to Berliner format (almost
identical to DIN A3), something that
not only adolescent and female readers
appreciate. In the 1990’s conversion to
full-colour newspaper production
started and has become the standard
today; on this basis newspapers are
starting to compete with magazines.
Such modernised small-size newspapers
are often referred to as the new ‘Daily
Magazine’ format. In Austria one media
rebel took some additional steps
forward and combined a daily
newspaper with magazines and an
extensive Internet presence including
web TV into a new media package at a
discount price.
Such rethinking is a global trend.
Newspapers in Portugal, India, and in
many Arab countries use heatset
production. This process allows
significantly higher and magazine-like
quality and allows premium-quality
paper to be used. The phenomenon of
readers’ dirty hands disappears since the
ink is dried as part of the printing
process and not by hotel workers with
an iron. The newspaper product
increases in value and is better able to
compete in the media market place.
Productivity and cost-reduction cease to
be the only guidelines. Flexibility and
quality gain in importance instead. This
shift makes publishers increasingly
ready and willing to pay a
correspondingly higher price.
Another trend reinforces this
development. An ever-increasing
number of publishers for the first time
are asking the fundamental question:
why does a newspaper publisher have
to do his own printing in the first place?
Developments in technology have
indeed made it possible to raise this
formerly unthinkable question.
Editorial and pre-production have now
become completely digitalised and can
be done any time, any place in the
world. A Danish newspaper outsourcing
its advertising production to India is
just one example. So for the first time,
the production of a newspaper is
completely separate from its editorial
and publishing activities. In the last
decade many countries have
accumulated excess capacities in
newspaper production with costs that
publishers are no longer willing to
absorb. In addition, new technology
requirements of newspaper production
further complicate the process and can
represent further cost factors.
MAKING MONEY WITH NEWSPAPER
PRINTING
The question arises as to whether there
are new and better business models for
newspaper printing? Potential solutions
tend towards separating the publishing
business from the printing business.
This can be achieved in various ways
such as by making the printing plant a
profit centre where several publishing
houses found a joint-venture
production, or by placing their printing
orders with a printing specialist if there
is a suitable partner available.
Requirements regarding printing and
distribution systems change as soon as
newspaper production is made by a
commercial printer who has to make
WORLD PRINT MARKET 2006, 600 BILLIONS US $
Labels
4%
Packaging
Finance, law prints
30%
3%
Business prints
Posters
2%
2%
Direct Mail
Other
2%
16%
Phone directories
2%
Books
Insert, advertising
6%
2%
Magazines
10%
Newspapers
8%
Supplements
5%
Catalogues
5%
A 2006 study by the British Pira Institute shows the segmentation
of the world-wide printing market.
money with the printing of the
newspaper. It is important for the
printer to use the production plant not
only for one purpose – namely
newspaper production – but to use it for
other markets. Newspaper printing
represents 8% of the worldwide printing
market. Higher value paper can be used
as soon as the newspaper production
plant is expanded with dryers, more
flexible folding machines, staplers, and
online trimmers. This will free up the
production plant during the day for
manufacturing other products such as
magazines, advertising brochures and
publication supplements, catalogues,
telephone directories and advertising
mailings. Thus the printer aims for a
much higher share of the printing
market — when combined these other
products make up 38% of the printing
market which surpasses even the share
of the booming printed-packaging
market.
At present we experience the
development of this new trend. Printing
plants have already been installed that can
neither be called newspaper printers
(coldset) nor magazine printers (heatset).
They rather combine properties of hitherto
separate printing worlds and generate a
new category and quality level for which
by the way no specifications or standards
exist yet. To develop them is the task of
an Ifra working group that already has put
together the draft version of a new
printing process standard.
We are also seeing the development of a
new business model in newspaper
production. In principle newspaper
publishers today are taking the same step
that magazine publishers already took
many years ago. They focus on their core
publishing business and outsource the
production to external specialists. This
frees up capital formerly invested in
production plants that now can be used
for the future re-orientation of their
publishing business.
Continued …
5
NEW economic modeling of VAPoN
… continued
NEWSPAPER PRINTING
IN THE ONLINE AGE
The developments described above
causes renewed interest in the potential
of newspaper printing in the online age.
Publishers, editors-in-chief and duty
editors are mesmerised by publishing
house supplements printed ‘brilliantly’
on newspaper printing machines and
have started to develop new product
fantasies.
It is also interesting to note that for once
the driving force was not technology
since the first Ifra Report on this subject
was already published exactly 20 years
ago. Technically the combination of
coldset and heatset processes has been
possible for a long time. It is a new
phenomenon, however, that publishers
are redirecting their focus to a significant
degree and starting to prefer new
business models of newspaper printing.
The modified demand changes the way
that suppliers of technology proceed.
Who will print the newspaper of
tomorrow? The publisher will
subcontract with a commercial printer
who will produce the newspaper
for him on a standard DIN format,
customised wholly or partially in a
heatset process on glossy paper, stapled,
trimmed and combined with other
publications such as magazines,
tabloid supplements and special
edition brochures. Newspaper printing
machines will no longer be specialised
printing machines but aim at covering
a third of the total printing market.
The more than 400 year-old success
story of the newspaper is therefore
going to continue.
In last year’s Webline Special Report
N° 4, the PrintCity project group made
a comparative economic assessment.
Since then, there have been some
changes in data that have warranted a
revised and expanded modeling of all
the data, particularly production
experience from the first newspaper to
print with Inert UV; and the addition of
separate press classes for high speed
and low single width-single
development presses.
1: CAPITAL COSTS
The comparative analysis was made by
Eurografica who have developed
comprehensive printing economic
modelling for over 15 years. To ensure
that the results are both complete and
comparative, the project team and other
experts defined and cross-checked all
data and assumptions.
The capital costs of drying and curing
systems include installation and all
equipment required for each ink-drying
process including extraction, oxidation,
chill rolls, inert gas, piping,
superstructure, etc.
The total installed investment costs
include the printing tower and paster
with capacity for coated roll weights.
The capital costs of drying and curing
systems includes installation and all
equipment required for each ink-drying
process (see table).
Observations
Heatset’s installed investment cost is
over double that of all other systems.
EB (Electron Beam) is the next most
expensive. Inert UV and Conventional
UV are similar in cost for double-width
presses with Conventional UV having
the lowest cost for single width presses.
The modelling shows the interrelated
cost implications for investment,
operating and total printed product.
These three areas may have different
importance to different printing
companies.
The web widths and cut-offs of the four
presses modelled allow them to produce
the same size Half Berliner Format
(235 x 315 mm). The cost scenario is
the addition of a 4-high 8-couple tower
as an extension to an existing press.
1 200 000 EUR
Total capital costs
1 000 000 EUR
800 000 EUR
600 000 EUR
400 000 EUR
200 000 EUR
0 EUR
t
Manfred Werfel,
Ifra Research Director Deputy CEO
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Total installed costs of drying and curing systems for different newspaper press sizes. Source PrintCity VAPoN.
6
Heatset
Inert UV
Conventional UV
Integrated hot air
dryer-oxidiser
UV lamp system for both sides of web,
with closed air cooling and exhaust fan
UV lamp system for both sides of web
Chimney
Closed air cooling installation
Ozone extraction hoods, piping and fan
Support structure
Nitrogen-tank and circulation system
Closed air cooling installation
Chill rolls & cold water supply
Extraction pipes and fans
Electrical Installation
Web guide
Electrical Installation
Installation cost on top of tower
Silicone applicator
Ink agitators on all ducts
Ink agitators on all ducts
Electrical & gas Installation
Low pressure ink supply system
Low pressure ink supply system
95° air bar turning system
Plate baking machine
Plate baking machine
The principal installed equipment for each drying or curing system.
2: OPERATING COSTS
Operating hours are based on 3 shifts
with a yearly total capacity of 5307
hours. Hourly rates include: Labour (1
printer and 1 assistant) at German rates.
Indirect production costs include
different consumables for each process
such as blankets and rollers; German
costs for gas, water and electricity;
service and maintenance; and an
allowance for administration and sales.
Capital costs include depreciation and
interest. The costs of factory space (for
the drying system) are not included as
this is highly variable and has no
impact on process comparison.
UV roller coverings and blankets:
These tend to be more expensive and
have a shorter life than conventional
materials. Selection of these materials is
critical and inks should be tested to
ensure the best solution. Different
rubber compounds are used (a) for
100% UV production or (b) alternating
production between UV and
conventional inks. A major issue is to
ensure that the right washing solutions
are used to avoid risk of damage to the
surfaces.
UV lamp life: Lamps normally require
replacement after 1 500 hours of use.
Hourly rates
Consumables
There are significant differences
between heatset and UV consumables
that are generally more expensive:
UV ink systems: These are based on
acrylate chemistry. Unfortunately,
acrylates are a high cost ingredient in
limited supply, which helps explain
why they are 300-500% more expensive
than oil-based inks and are unlikely to
reduce in cost. UV inks require photoinitiators to promote bonding but EB
does not require them but must use an
inerting gas to produce an oxygen-free
curing environment.
Two rates have been calculated for
dryer "ON" and "OFF". The 2 cases
("ON" and "OFF") for each dryer are
necessary, because investing in a drying
system will increase the hourly rate for
coldset products ("OFF"). Both cases
are based on higher capital costs caused
by the drying system. The dryer "ON"
rate is higher because of the energy and
consumables required. The coldset
tower without dryer (1st Colorman
press in the first chart on page 8) is the
100% base hourly rate against which
other process variations are compared.
The heatset dryer has an integrated
oxidizer that significantly reduces gas
costs by using the energy from
evaporated ink solvents.
Observations:
These charts show that the hourly rates
for the double-width press (2:2) with
dryer “ON” are very similar for heatset
and EB and the two UV installations
are around 8% higher. For single-width
presses heatset is 10% higher than UV.
The significant difference is in the
lower hourly production output for
Conventional UV on high speed presses
that are limited to 7 m/s. However, this
difference is not relevant for slow speed
single width machines operating below
this speed — this is the type of press
where most Conventional UV units are
currently installed.
7
HOURLY RATES AND OUTPUT
The hourly rates and its average production output speed (copies per hour) are compared
in these charts for different processes for four classes of presses.
Calc. net-output in copies/h
Hourly rate %
180%
90 000 copies/h
146%
160%
1: Double-width high speed (2:2):
All systems show similar hourly rates.
Hourly output for all presses is identical
except for Conventional UV that is
limited to a production speed of 7 m/s.
151%
140%
122%
120%
153%
147%
115%
80 000 copies/h
126%
115%
60 000 copies/h
100%
100%
50 000 copies/h
80%
40 000 copies/h
60%
30 000 copies/h
40%
20 000 copies/h
20%
10 000 copies/h
0%
0 copies/h
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UV
Calc. net-output in copies/h
160%
2: Single width double
circumference high speed (1:2):
Heatset has a marginally higher hourly
rate than either of the UV systems.
Hourly production speed is the same for
all systems except the Conventional UV
143%
EB
2:2
OF
70 000 copies/h
134%
113%
60 000 copies/h
110%
50 000 copies/h
100%
100%
40 000 copies/h
80%
30 000 copies/h
60%
20 000 copies/h
40%
10 000 copies/h
20%
0%
0 copies/h
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Hourly rate %
70 000 copies/h
139%
124%
120%
VO
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UV
140%
140%
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Calc. net-output in copies/h
160%
60 000 copies/h
119%
114%
50 000 copies/h
100%
100%
40 000 copies/h
80%
30 000 copies/h
60%
20 000 copies/h
40%
10 000 copies/h
20%
0 copies/h
0%
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na
1:1
Calc. net-output in copies/h
4: Single width singlecircumference — slow speed (1:1S):
Heatset has a higher hourly rate, but in
all cases hourly production output is the
same.
EB
F
ON
Hourly rate %
123%
120%
2:2
137%
140%
o
2C
3: Single width singlecircumference — medium speed
(1:1): Similar to high speed performance
with heatset having a higher hourly rate
than UV; and low Conventional UV
output..
C
v
on
tio
en
O
UV
Hourly rate %
35 000 copies/h
158%
160%
137%
140%
30 000 copies/h
137%
116%
120%
100%
100%
25 000 copies/h
20 000 copies/h
80%
15 000 copies/h
60%
10 000 copies/h
40%
5 000 copies/h
20%
0 copies/h
0%
t
ON
et
ats
se
d
ee
w
Slo
1:1
8
70 000 copies/h
Sp
ld
Co
t
tse
S
1:1
low
V
tU
1:1
w
Slo
ON
tse
ea
e
dH
ee
Sp
F
OF
et
ea
dH
ee
Sp
dH
1:1
w
Slo
S
e
pe
d
ee
1:1
w
Slo
Sp
ats
He
F
OF
UV
Press/Process
Paper
Press/Process Paper
2:2 Coldset
2:2 Heatset
2:2 Conventional UV
2:2 Inert UV
2:2 EB
45gsm
gsm
45
NPNP
100%
110%
163%
154%
155%
45gsm
gsmULWC
ULWC
45
—
150%
—
—
—
52 gsm
gsmINP
INP
116%
127%
180%
171%
172%
52
gsmVAC
VAC
52 gsm
139%
—
—
—
—
54
gsmSC-B
SC-B
54 gsm
—
128%
178%
168%
169%
54
gsmLWC
LWC
54 gsm
—
145%
196%
186%
187%
1:2 Coldset
1:2 Heatset
1:2 Conventional UV
1:2 Inert UV
100%
109%
162%
152%
—
149%
—
—
117%
126%
180%
169%
138%
—
—
—
—
127%
178%
166%
—
144%
196%
185%
1:1 Coldset
1:1 Heatset
1:1 Conventional UV
1:1 Inert UV
100%
109%
163%
157%
—
151%
—
—
117%
127%
180%
175%
141%
—
—
—
—
128%
178%
172%
—
146%
197%
191%
1:1-S Coldset
1:1-S Heatset
1:1-S Conventional UV
100%
115%
147%
—
154%
—
116%
131%
164%
138%
—
—
—
132%
162%
—
149%
180%
3: TOTAL PRODUCTION COST
The total cost to produce a representative
print job reflects the differences in make
ready, operating speed and changeover
times on different inks and paper grades.
This is the key calculation to compare
all cost elements. The sample print job is
a 16-page (235 x 315 mm) product,
100 000 copies, printed on each press
type with different drying systems on
six types of paper using appropriate inks.
This ‘typical’ job is used as an average
for annual production to calculate how
many of these jobs can be produced
per year.
Ink coverage
Representative SID values have been
calculated by Sun Chemical for the
purpose of economic modelling:
Coldset on newsprint 0,95–1,0 gsm;
heatset on newsprint 1,0-1,1 gsm; and
radiation curing inks 1,2 gsm.
Printing speed
Coldset, heatset, Inert UV and EB run
at maximum press speed; Conventional
UV is currently restricted to a
maximum of 7 m/s.
Ink changeover
Although the hourly rate is not
influenced by this factor, it does have
an impact on production costs and the
total number of jobs that can be
produced per year. Ink changeover is
particularly time consuming when
moving from conventional to UV inks
and vice versa, but less so from
Total cost of printing — 70% Coldset/30% with dryer.
This chart shows the costs of printing on different
papers when using drying and curing systems. The
100% base reference is printing coldset on Newsprint.
VAC is a matt coated paper that can be printed coldset.
Source PrintCity VAPoN.
coldset to heatset. The scenario used
is one ink change in each direction,
five days a week. Changeable ink
fountains and automated washing
systems are used for the high speed
presses (2:2 and 1:2), the other
presses are cleaned manually.
Value Added Printing of Newspapers
Operating scenarios
The variable operating conditions are
100% coldset production, 70/30%
(coldset/with dryer), 50/50%
(coldset/with dryer) and 100% with
dryer. Coldset on newsprint is the 100%
base cost against which other process
variations are compared.
9
TOTAL PRODUCTION COST
These charts show the different
production cost by press type for three
paper grades: 45 gsm Newsprint, 52
gsm Improved Newsprint and 54 gsm
LWC. The press utilisation is 70%
coldset and 30% with a dryer.
2:2 EB
2:2 Inert UV
54 gsm LWC
52 gsm INP
45 gsm NP
2:2 Conventional UV
2:2 Heatset
2:2 Coldset
Double-width total cost
of production
0%
50%
100%
150%
200%
250%
1:2 Inert UV
1:2 Conventional UV
54 gsm LWC
52 gsm INP
45 gsm NP
1:2 Heatset
Single-width
double-circumference
total cost of production
1:2 Coldset
0%
50%
100%
150%
200%
250%
1:1 Inert UV
1:1 Conventional UV
54 gsm LWC
52 gsm INP
45 gsm NP
1:1 Heatset
Single-width
single-circumference
total cost of production
1:1 Coldset
0%
50%
100%
150%
200%
250%
1:1-S Conventional UV
54 gsm LWC
52 gsm INP
45 gsm NP
1:1-S Heatset
Slow speed
single-width
single-circumference
total cost of production
10
1:1-S Coldset
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 120% 140% 160% 180% 200%
VAPoNnews
™
C
A cross industry project from the PrintCity alliance
OBSERVATIONS:
SUMMARY
The additional cost to print heatset on
newsprint — compared to coldset —
is 9-15% depending on press size and
speed. Inert UV and EB are 52-57%
more expensive whilst Conventional
UV is 63% higher, except for slow
speed single-width where it is 47%.
This comparative economic analysis
provides a sound methodology with
which to approach investment
decisions.
Three factors increase total printing
costs with radiation curing:
TM
is a newspaper
product with a clearly
visible difference
to standard coldset,
that is recognised
by readers and
advertisers, and
capable of attracting
higher revenues
to the newspaper
and/or adding to its
differentiation.
Value Added Printing
of Newspapers
This new test
printing
series allows
the comparison of
3 printing processes
on 2 paper grades.
PrintCity VAPoNTM
• There is no single process solution for
all newspaper applications, or for
individual production plants.
Photo © Ifra / all rights reserved
project members are
In association
with
VAPoN™ is a PrintCity trademark
• For the majority of printers total cost
of printing is probably the key decision
factor, in which case heatset offers the
best solution.
• For retrofitting, many decisions will
be guided by available space and
building foundations.
1- Higher ink prices;
2- Longer time to clean the press when
changing ink types;
• Inert UV offers better performance
than Conventional UV for installations
where space is limited, except for slow
speed single width presses.
3- Limited Conventional UV
production speed (in comparison
to coldset, heatset and Inert UV)
except for slow speed single-width
presses.
• For the occasional user, the lowest
capital cost solution may initially be the
most appropriate.
It is highly recommended that printers
firstly analyse their current and future
job profiles before specifying a press
configuration or drying process.
Members of the PrintCity VAPoN
project are very happy to discuss the
needs of printers & publishers and to
help them choose the best economic,
technical and operational solutions for
value added newspaper printing.
Contact details for all VAPoN project
team members can be found at
www.printcity.de under 'Members'.
N
Pr ew
in Te
tin st
g
The cost impact of utilisation of the
dryer or curing system is minimal —
there is only1-2% difference in production costs between using the dryer
30%, 50% and 100% of press time.
VAPoN
The second series of VAPoN News
test printing has just been completed
by PrintCity VAPoN project
members and associates, Ifra and two
newspaper printers.
The relationship between paper, ink
type and drying system determine
the type of papers that can be
printed, printing quality and total
operating costs. The purpose of this
second test series is to compare
coldset, heatset and Inert UV
production on three paper grades —
UPM Brite, UPM Eco H, UPM
Cote H — under controlled conditions.
Herold Druck in Austria has printed
the coldset and Inert UV versions
whilst Passauer Neue Presse Druck
in Germany printed the heatset
versions — both using double-width
MAN Roland COLORMAN presses.
All printing parameters conform to
the recent Ifra Semi Commercial
Printing Standard. Printing was
controlled under the supervision of
Ifra staff and densitometers were
used to ensure that ink film weights
conform to the appropriate
specification.
VAPoN PrintCity project members
are MacDermid, MAN Roland,
MEGTEC, Océ, Sun Chemical
and UPM.
11
Product News
More mailroom productivity
MORE MAILROOM PRODUCTIVITY
Gämmerler — one of the leading
suppliers of web postpress equipment
— has taken a fully integrated subsystem approach to satisfy the need
for high quality strapped bundles. The
ZL 810 stacker provides exceptionally
high bundle quality from its patented
LiftPack technology and special
separating devices for the shingled
stream, whilst the rotating pusher
facilitates a minimum one second layer
cycle time. However, maintaining this
high bundle quality during strapping is
normally difficult. For this reason,
Gämmerler and SMB (a strapping
specialist) have jointly developed
the new N4ES strapping machine.
This ensures that the high bundle
quality from the stacker is maintained
by the integrated short transfer into
the strapping machine with additional
guides and an adapted positioning unit.
The unit features separately controlled
infeed and delivery belts to ensure that
the complete system has the shortest
bundle cycle times. The production of
odd bundles and top sheets is often a
challenge. For this reason, Gämmerler
stackers can be optionally equipped
with a route distribution programme
and an automatic top sheet machine.
Gämmerler Newspaper Stacker
ZL 810 with SMB Strapping.
Photo Gämmeler.
12
Other high performance equipment
from Gämmerler includes conveyors,
rotary trimming, compensated and log
stacking, and robotic palletizing.
Their single gripper conveying system
TF 660 is designed for the high speed
transfer of newspaper and commercial
products with a controlled and ‘soft’
product run. It can bridge any distance
and height and is particularly easy to
install where space is limited; its
capacity can be increased by running
two copies per gripper.
For more information visit
www.gammerler.com
Océ brings full colour to digital newspapers
Publishers from around the world have
been impressed by the quality of Océ
digital colour printing of international
newspapers such as the Financial
Times. Ian Denhard, the Financial
Times’s head of logistics said: “Through
its world-acclaimed digital offering,
Océ has played an important part in
opening up new markets throughout the
world for the Financial Times, and has
been an integral part of our
development strategy for new printing
locations. Producing digital newspapers
in colour is another quantum leap
forward and, quite frankly, the quality
from Océ’s digital printing is better
than offset!”
Océ is the pioneer and recognised
leader in short-run digital newspaper
printing. They have recently completed
extensive tests and produced full digital
colour copies of the Financial Times,
Guardian, Sydney Morning Herald as
well as Spanish newspaper El Pais and
Germany’s Mitteldeutsche Zeitung.
Each day, Océ press lines print over
5 000 international editions of around
15 different titles at six commercial
print sites – in London, New York,
Los Angeles, Sydney, Singapore and
Zurich. Newspapers are produced on
Océ’s latest digital web technology
(continuous feed) such as the
VarioStream 9000 series.
Océ digital presses also print 20 000
copies daily of the Handelsblatt News
Am Abend newspaper at 26 separate
print sites in 14 locations across
Germany. The final editorial deadline is
at 14:00 and special news copies are
available at 15:30 on Deutsche Bahn
trains and Air Berlin flights.
“Printing in full colour is another
massive leap forward for this unique
way of producing international editions
of titles around the world,” said
Michaela Frisch, international market
segment manager for the newspaper
industry. “We are focusing strongly on
areas of strategic importance to
publishers, where digital production
technology can make a real difference
through adding value to the publishers’
businesses. Apart from the introduction
of colour, Océ have also dramatically
increased the speed of black and white
machines.
market I am very positive about the
future outlook for Océ in the newspaper
industry. We are still only seeing the
beginning of what digital print can do
for newspapers.”
The Dutch-based company is one of the
world's leaders for the reproduction,
presentation, distribution and
management of documents. Their
principal focus is on professional
environments in which high document
volumes are processed. The company
develops its products and services for
the efficient and effective exchange of
information in advanced research
centres and production facilities. In
2006 Océ had revenues of EUR 3.1
billion and has around 24.000
employees worldwide.
For more information visit
www.oce.com
“Taking into consideration the
continuing progress in technology; our
intensive work on business models;
mixed with six years experience in this
The web-fed Océ VarioStream 9240 –
Customers gain the benefit of full colour,
spot color and black all in one digital press.
Photo: Océ.
13
Productivity maintenance
W
eb
O
ff
se
t
N
O
PI
AM
CH
G
R
O
U
P
the best practice guide
ST
E E
B IC
G CT
N A
TI R
O SP
M S
O E
R C
P RO
P
This is an extract from
“Productivity Maintenance” published
The blanket is central to good offset
printing and requires careful selection,
packing, tensioning and washing to
ensure printing quality, durability and
minimum press downtime.
by the Web Offset Champion Group.
Other guides include: “Roll to web processing”, “Web break prevention &
Diagnosis”, “How to avoid surprises
1. Clean and inspect blankets at end
of each run : Adapt washing frequency
to paper grade and quality.
when changing paper grades”, and
“Environmental Considerations”. The
Web Offset Champion Group was
formed in 1998 to “champion” best
practice in the web offset printing
industry as a tool to improve productivity, quality and safety. The Group is
a joint project of international suppliers working with other international
industry specialists, printers and
associations (GATF, Ifra, PrintCity)
throughout the world to identify and
promote best practise. Its members
cover the complete process loop from
pre-press to printing to post-press:
Aylesford Newsprint, Kodak Graphics,
MacDermid Printing Solutions, MAN
Hand wash as soon as possible after
production. Firstly remove paper lint
and coating residue with water, then
remove remaining ink with a suitable
wash. Dry blankets immediately as
damp blankets have increased risk of
swelling or fluid permeating into the
carcass. Inspect lock-up and check
blanket condition during cleaning.
Automatic washing systems using low
evaporation (non-VOC) washes have a
high risk of fluid entry and swelling
of blankets. Adjust programmes to use
the minimum solvent possible and start
wash cycle just before the next run to
minimise the time the blanket is left wet.
Roland, MEGTEC Systems, Müller
Martini, Nitto-Permacel, QuadTech,
SCA and Sun Chemical. Guides cost
€ 30 each and are available from
www.wocg.info.
© 2003 Web Offset Champion Group all rights reserved.
2. Washing solvent : The wash must be
chemically compatible with the blanket
and conform to health and safety
standards.
Avoid using washes with polar solvents
that are health hazards and will damage
the blanket. Generally any wash that
dries quickly and cleans extremely well
is probably harmful to the blanket.
Rejuvenators should only be used if
the surface rubber is glazed and no
more than once a week.
3. Thickness and height on press :
All blankets rapidly lose some thickness
as they settle in (a loss of about 1,5 to
3 % of original thickness is generally
acceptable, but over 4 % often causes
problems). The total height of blanket
and packing can be measured on press
with a Blanket Watch pin gauge or an
14
Elcometer. The blanket impression
profile across the cylinder can be
assessed using a special carbon paper
run through the nip with impression
on (this test does not measure
compression).
4. Correct blanket and packing
change : Most printers run blankets
until they are damaged (except 4-high
blanket-to-blanket presses where
registration is the critical change
factor). Many daily newspapers change
blankets every 3 months, but changes
on heatset presses are more frequent
because of surface damage from edge
cutting or piling. Some guidelines
include :
Change only the damaged blanket if
others are in good condition.
• Change both blankets in a double
width newspaper unit after a paper jam
(keep the good one for later use with
another blanket of the same thickness).
• Use blankets from the same
manufacturer and type in a press.
Do not mix them as different blankets
have variable transport behaviour
(unless advised by your blanket
manufacturer).
• Clean and check the packing.
Packing height : Many printing
problems are related to the height of the
blanket over the bearers :
Overpacked
• Change in web feed
• Premature plate wear or cracking
• Excessive dot gain / tone value
increase
• Damage to blanket
• Contamination of succeeding inks
• Excessive web tension increase
leading to a break
• Splices break in the first printing unit
Underpacked
• Change in web feed
• Poor solids
• Tone value decrease
• Excessive ink and paper piling
• Increased web break risk
All elements should be measured prior
to fitting on press because they have
variable tolerances (the thickness
printed on the blanket may not be
absolutely correct). The amount of
packing for different blanket types is
rarely identical (differences in
elongation, compressibility and
compressible layer and the exact
blanket height depends on :
1. The amount of blanket squeeze
needed at blanket-to-plate and blanketto-paper nips.
2. Cylinder diameter.
3. Weight of paper (except selfadhesive foils)
4. The brand and type of blanket (the
most important factor).
Self- adhesive packing foils do not
swell and are changed less frequently
than paperbased materials and are rarely
adjusted for papers between 32-150 gsm
(22-100 lbs). Blanket washing solutions
can dissolve the foils along the edges
and in channels. Change them when the
blue coloured glue is visible through the
transparent foil and apply anti-corrosion
treatment to the cylinder (foils cannot be
re-used once removed from the cylinder).
Beware of foil migration towards the gap
that can lead to cracking.
Replace packing correctly :
All blankets should be evenly packed
to the same height from unit-to-unit to
equalise the draw between units.
• Position packing 0,5 mm (0,02”) from
the gap to ease the path of the blanket
into the gap.
• Do not mix packing thickness, or use
thickness different from those
recommended by the press
manufacturer (unless advised by the
blanket manufacturer).
It is also important that cylinder bearers
are correctly set and regularly checked.
If streaks become visible mechanical
damage may have already occurred.
5. Correct attachment and tension :
Incorrect attachment may create a
tension peak across the web. A loose
blanket is immediately visible and
audible but deterioration from overtension shows over time with lower
smash resistance, sinking and even
tearing at the gap.
Use a blanket watch to measure blanket height
on the press cylinder. Photo MAN Roland.
A spring gauge measures blanket thickness outside
the press. Photo MacDermid.
Make sure torque wrenches used for tensioning blanket are regularly calibrated. Photo MAN Roland.
Follow the press manufacturer’s tension
specifications.
When new blankets are run for the first
time they lose height and grow a little
in length. They should be re-tensioned
after 20 000 to 50 000 revolutions to
avoid the trailing edge becoming slack
causing doubling (also possible blanket
cracking or tearing).
Do not re-tension again, as this will
over-stress the blanket.
Blankets should be stored flat to prevent an against-theprint-direction set that makes them harder to mount.
15
PrintCity Publishing, Commercial & Web Activity Group
The PrintCity alliance is focussed on
Technologies & Expertise, Value of Print,
and Networking. Members combine their
technologies and expertise in working
partnerships and projects that enable their
customers to add value to their
businesses. The results are communicated
through seminars, trade fairs, printed
materials and the Internet. PrintCity also
promotes the value of print as a media
and networking within the whole industry
to stimulate worldwide co-operation
among all partners.
This unique cross industry alliance of
many companies fosters cooperation
across the whole graphic arts value chain.
Its goal is to enable the graphics industry
to respond better to the challenges
it now faces as technology develops
and boundaries both within the industry
and of geography itself break down.
These include:
• Restructuring of printing within
the multimedia market
• Providing added value to products
and services
• Market fragmentation
• Challenges and opportunities
of digital technologies
• Optimising process productivity
and quality
• Expanding business opportunities
• Improving professional competencies
and skills
PrintCity was created in 1998 initially
as an organisation for Drupa 2000.
Today, however, PrintCity’s primary role
is to forge links across the whole value
chain to achieve goals that one company
alone, however large, cannot accomplish.
PrintCity’s “connection of competence”
focuses on cross-industry projects that
bring together companies’ diverse
expertise to answer some of the industry’s
challenges. Participation in these projects
is not limited to member companies and
frequently also involves other specialist
suppliers, institutions, brand owners,
printers and converters.
Gämmerler AG www.gammerler.de - MacDermid Printing Solutions www.macdermid.com/printing
MAN Roland Druckmaschinen AG www.man-roland.com - MEGTEC Systems SAS www.megtec.com
OCE NV www.oce.com - Sun Chemical Corporation www.sunchemical.com
UPM-Kymmene Corporation www.upm-kymmene.com
Previous editions of Webline and Special Report are available on www.printcity.de
or from webline@printcity.de
Webline n6
Webline n7
Webline n8
Special Report n1
Special Report n2
Webline n9
'PrintCity', the PrintCity logo, ‘Webline’ and 'VAPoN' are trademarks of PrintCity GmbH + Co. KG.
© PrintCity Web & Publishing Competence Group, October, 2007, PrintCity GmbH + Co. KG, Sebastianstrasse 29h,
D-86153 Augsburg, Germany. Info@printcity.de, www.printcity.de.
PrintCity Publishing, Commercial & Web Activity Group contacts: Gerry Schmidt
<Gerry.Schmidt@EU.SunChem.com> and Hans-Joachim Kölln <Hans-Joachim.Koelln@upm-kymmene.com>
Managing Editor, Nigel Wells, VIM, Paris. Design, ID Industry, Paris.
Printed UV by Herold Druck und Verlag AG, Vienna/Austria, on a MAN Roland COLORMAN using Sun Chemical
UniWeb Sunray inks on UPM Finesse.
16