Hjemmet Mortensen, Norway’s largest publisher of consumer magazines, revealed it had reduced waste during the make-ready stage by at least 40 percent after upgrading their Goss M4000 1225mm, 32-page web-offset press with QuadTech’s register guidance and ribbon control technology.
 
“Almost all our output of magazines is destined for the domestic market, where the top-selling titles have runs of 150,000. As a result, we perform relatively short runs, with as many as 15 change-overs per day. So we are always seeking ways to reduce make-ready time and start-up waste,” commented Harald Andersen, Hjemmet Mortensen’s technical director.
 
“The M4000 press performed consistently since Mortensen commissioned it for the Oslo plant in 1994. We have enjoyed many years of reliable service from QuadTech’s RGS IV technology on both our presses, and we felt the time was right to refurbish the press with new generation press control technology that could achieve registration and color accuracy in a shorter time, and reduce waste levels further,” added Mr. Andersen.
 
As a result, the Hjemmet Mortensen team upgraded the press with QuadTech’s Ribbon Control System and Register Guidance System with the MultiCam® camera, a closed-loop system that identifies marks as small as 0.36mm at maximum speeds of 17.6m/second.  MultiCam provides both circumferential and lateral color register, making up to 30 searches per second.
 
Since the new QuadTech equipment was installed in the summer of 2010, the production team has cut start-up waste levels from over 2500 to 1500 copies.
 
“The system gives us a dependable, consistent print quality, not only reducing waste levels but helping our production team to use their time more efficiently. Register is synchronized and targets are maintained automatically, so manual intervention is no longer necessary. We have improved our cost control and run a leaner production program at our Oslo plant as a result of this investment,” said  Mr. Andersen.