Press control solutions including water control and fan-out control enable lean, high-quality newspaper printing

The global press control technology provider QuadTech (Hall 8, Stand 342) will exhibit groundbreaking innovations in color control and web inspection, and highlight its comprehensive customer care offering under the theme 'The Power of Better' at the World Publishing / IFRA 2012 Expo in Frankfurt, October 29-31.

The closed-loop Color Control System and Web Inspection System with AccuCam, enhanced with water control, is setting productivity and quality standards at major newspaper printing  operations around the world, including Newsprinters Knowsley (UK), Sankei Shimbun Printing Co. (Osaka, Japan), Herold Druck und Verlag AG (Vienna, Austria), and The Chicago Tribune (Chicago, USA). In July, QuadTech's AccuCam system received the prestigious Intertech Technology Award from Printing Industries of America.

Besides offering advanced image-based color control, the system also provides reliable warnings of many common printing faults such as scumming (catch up), creasing, transposed plates, plate crack-outs, and tramlines. The system's advanced web inspection typically detects defects within the first 170 copies, and continuously throughout the print run.

Eliminating the need for gray bars and color bars, AccuCam uses pre-press image files to create L*a*b* target aim point values. Its six-channel spectral sensor measures the printed web and calculates the L*a*b* values of the entire image, then brings the printed image to the specified L*a*b* target values and automatically maintains the color values throughout the production run.

QuadTech's Register Guidance System with MultiCam is a closed-loop color-to-color register control system designed to work on the ICON integrated platform with other QuadTech products such as Ribbon Control System with MultiCam. The uniqueness of the MultiCam design is that it can search the entire repeat length of the web, identifying marks as small as 0.36mm (0.014in). It can easily process the large volume of data generated by searching for register marks on text-heavy newspaper pages, using unique FPGA-based hardware. The MultiCam systems make adjustments at press speeds of up to 17.8 meters per second.

QuadTech's Register Guidance System also includes an optional fan-out control feature. The system captures even the tiniest shift in lateral register position and instantly makes automatic corrections via an interface with the bustle devices.

QuadTech press controls can then be linked to the ICON integrated platform, which provides real-time press control from a single point. Data Central Reporting, which is linked to the printer's IT system, generates and stores press performance data, optimizing quality control for operators who can then compare productivity and make strategic decisions according to previous and live runs.

Global Support
QuadTech emphasizes its commitment to global customer support with Service Advantage with Proactive Care. Through this initiative, customers choose the level of service that best matches application, business and budgetary needs. The program includes a wide range of services such as Proactive Care-24/7/365 remote monitoring of your ICON system by skilled technicians-preventive maintenance, training, technical support, and more. The advantage to the printer is optimum maintenance and equipment performance to minimize budget surprises and downtime.

The Performance Proven Guarantee is a pledge that customers will receive guaranteed levels of performance improvement as a result of their investment in QuadTech technology. When an order is placed, QuadTech specialists agree with the customer on the level of performance improvement expected after installation. Performance is then tracked using the reports generated by the QuadTech equipment. Customers who do not experience agreed-upon levels of improvements, after a specified period, are entitled to a full refund of the equipment cost.

Karl Fritchen, President of QuadTech, comments: "Our focus on product innovation has enabled us to establish new quality standards and drive waste from the newspaper printing workflow.   Our service packages ensure customers of the right support throughout the product life-cycles. World Publishing Expo gives an opportunity for visitors to see how these solutions make a significant, beneficial impact to profit margins."