Oosterhout - Today printers often ask themselves how they can best upgrade their production equipment to comply with modern standards in terms of quality and productivity. Aside from protecting their investments, their main aim is to get more out of their existing machinery. Johannes Heider Verlag GmbH, a publisher in Bergisch Gladbach (Germany), was also thinking along these lines when it invested in new system solutions from Q.I. Press Controls. Established in 1889, this family owned business meanwhile employs 90 staff and operates in the commercial sheetfed and newspaper offset segments.

As a publishing, printing and media company, Heider's coldset printing portfolio mainly consists of contract orders such as weekly newspapers, ad journals, membership newspapers and catalogue-like products. The run lengths are generally between five and several hundred thousand copies. All jobs are printed on a 32-page KBA Journal web press comprised of two four-high towers and a 16-page KBA Colora with one tower. These presses, installed in 2002 and 2006 respectively, have one folder each and can be interconnected if necessary in order to print 48-page products on three webs. 

Heider recently ordered new, fully automatic control systems from Q.I. Press Controls for both these presses. In addition to the innovative mRC-3D colour and cut-off register control systems, the presses will also be equipped with an ABD (Air Bustle Device) fan-out correction system. "The main motivation for this investment package", explains Roberto Heider, the publishing house's Managing Director, "is that one of our four-high towers has not had colour register control until now. What's more, the control systems in the other towers came on gradually during the past years, but no longer represent the state of the art with regard to hardware and software or speed and efficiency. Finally, apart from fixed rollers, the presses have so far lacked an effective solution to correct for fan-out. In other words, this purchase will bring the control technology for all of our newspaper presses in line with a uniform, modern standard." 

Q.I. Press Controls follows Q.I. Press Controls

The print service provider will replace its old Q.I. Press Controls’ register control systems with the newest generation from the same supplier. "We obviously took a look at systems from other manufacturers before reaching this decision. However, we've always been happy with the Q.I. Press Controls’ systems. We know the company well and in an emergency we receive prompt German support directly on the premises. That's why we opted to stick with Q.I. Press Controls", Heider continues.

Systematic register monitoring

With mRC-3D John Heider verlag GmbH will ensure itself from innovative press control technology. Each of the two four-high towers will be equipped with two mRC-3D cameras for colour register control and each paper web will be assigned one camera for cut-off control. The compact scanners both feature LED illumination of the reading range and built-in microprocessor hardware. They process all images in real time and supply precise information to facilitate exceptionally fast control. Thanks to their 3D functionality, the Q.I. Press Controls’ cameras are capable of measuring the micro-marks on the web accurately at a focal depth of ±20 mm. Minor flutter or deformations of the moving paper web therefore have no effect on the quality of the measurements.

AIMS makes a clean difference

The scanner equipment selected by Heider will also have the Automatic Ink Mist Shield (AIMS), which guarantees reliable mark measurements while restricting cleaning and maintenance to a minimum. The AIMS shields the lens and lighting of the mRC-3D cameras and prevents contamination due to ink mist, paper dust, etc. with a clear protective film. Manual cleaning by the press operators is now a thing of the past because the motor winds the film on one pulse if ever it becomes smudgy and a clean section is positioned in front of the optical system instead. The driven film used by the AIMS is long enough to enable the system to be operational for several months without any operator intervention.

When it comes to fan-out correction, the ABD system gives the printer access to a new quality level. It works with contact-less, motorized air nozzles that can be adjusted remotely. Four nozzle heads per web will be installed on a bar at the Bergisch Gladbach facility. "The new fan-out control system from Q.I. Press Controls will allow us to correct web stretch far more flexibly and with more precise settings", Heider adds. "That's important because of our various contracts we need to process a relatively wide range of paper types – from standard 42 g/m² newsprint to 80 g/m² wood free, white paper."

The new control systems have been installed early May 2013. So Heider will be able to leverage the benefits of the new Q.I. Press Controls’ technology in daily production – with respect to greatly reduced start-up, run and roll change waste plus increased image consistency throughout the entire press run.