2001 BOOKMASTERS INC. CHALLENGE
Increase the number of good press sheets per hour to reduce waste and reduce the total amount of time required to produce a printing project.Background Information:
Increase the number of good press sheets per hour to reduce waste and reduce the total amount of time required to produce a printing project.Background Information:
BookMasters, Inc. is a book manufacturing company servicing the publishing
community. The company has 3 locations and 4 divisions; sales, publishing
services (design and typesetting), manufacturing (printing), and distribution
(warehousing). Sales for the manufacturing division have increased
dramatically and the need to produce more efficient press work has become
very important. Training has been implemented to increase each employee's
individual performance. We now feel that procedures require study
to add speed without sacrificing quality. We are in the process of
staffing 3 shifts on our two text presses.
Currently our yield of usable press sheets varies. Some of this is due to the length of the press run or the experience of the press crew. Some may be limitations of the equipment or the type of paper being printed on. All of these being equal, we still have a great gap in the number of press sheets yielded from job to job. We are expecting to come up with realistic expectations of our press crews so that we might more accurately project our press capacity.
Make-ready: The process of putting plates on the press, turning on the press to begin the ink flow to the plates and begin running test sheets through the press.
Form: Each form on a typical job is equal to 32 pages in a finished book. (Example: A 96 page book would be 3 forms of 3 press sheets.)
Press run: The total number of finished books needed. (Example: A 96 page book is 3 forms. If the press run is 1000 then we need over 1000 sheets per form or 3000 total press sheets + a 10% overrun for spoilage.)
Overrun: Because of the process of printing the forms, folding the forms, gathering and binding, each step causes a certain amount of wasted sheets. 10% overrun is typically an industry standard.
A press is capable of running at a top speed of 9000 sheets per hour and prints both sides of the press sheet at the same time.
Each press requires two operators; the lead pressman who is responsible for the ÒdeliveryÓ end of the press along with all adjustments while the press is running and a first assistant who is responsible for the ÒfeederÓ end of the press where the paper is loaded and fed into the press.
The current formula for determining the amount of time to complete a job is: 20-25 minutes to Òmake-readyÓ (put the plates on the press, ink up the plate and run some sheets until ÒgoodÓ sheets begin coming off) and run 1000 good sheets and 10 minutes per 1000 sheets after that.
A typical job can be as few as 200 sheets per form to as many as 5000 sheets per form. Also, a job may have as few as one form to as many as 30 forms.
Quality is essential. ÒGoodÓ press sheets must have consistent, even inking across the sheet, as well as from front to back. While the press is running the pressman pulls 1 or 2 sheets out of every 50 or so sheets to check quality. If ink is out of adjustment, spots appear on photos or other defects are discovered he must stop the press, put a color paper marker in the load where the defect occurred (so that the folder operator knows not to use those sheets), wipe all of the ink off of the plates, ink up the plates again and begin to run sheets through until ÒgoodÓ sheets are achieved again.
National Association of Printers and Lithographers
NAPL
75 West Century Road
Paramus, New Jersey 07652
1-800-642-6275
E-Mail: info@napl.org
The Graphic Arts Technical Foundation
GATF
200 Deer Run Road
Sewickely, PA 15143
412-741-6860
412-741-2311 (Fax)
E-Mail: info@gatf.lm.com
Web: http://www.gatf.lm.com
BOOKMASTERS, INC.
2541 Ashland Road, P. O. Box 2139
Mansfield, OH 44905
419-589-5100 FAX 419-589-4040 Sales: 800-537-6727
e-Mail: info@bookmaster.com
Internet: http://www.bookmasters.com