Gallus workflow optimisation

Lean manufacturing with Six Sigma and pit-stop strategies is becoming increasingly important in our industry, as in many others. High print quality is taken for granted and production efficiency is taking on greater significance – on the one hand for perfect order processing, and on the other to maintain margins under ever greater pressure.

Irrespective of the printing method used, the very highest print quality is a must – and at the lowest possible cost. Thanks to technical advances in presses and quality improvements for all printing media such as inks, anilox rollers, adhesive tape, plates and printing stock, flexo printers can satisfy the toughest quality requirements. Not long ago, this was only possible with offset and rotogravure printing.

Few printers are making full use of the possibilities offered by flexo. This is regrettable because many companies could unlock significant potential for improving their print quality with just a few well chosen measures. It is not just the print quality that could be improved, either. Production could also be made more efficient by optimising flows and cutting change-over times.

“Learning by doing” is one alternative for increasing skill levels. A more efficient method is passing on the know-how accumulated by experienced staff. This enables inexperienced printers to gain the necessary expertise to deliver faultless quality much faster.

Unlike in very standardised printing processes – such as offset – efficiency in flexo can be improved to a certain extent by handling the process correctly. The interplay between prepress and press and, in particular, the choice of materials used has a significant impact on the result.

Problems can be eliminated from the outset through company-wide standardisation. This requires a certain amount of discipline, since there are no international standardisation guidelines for flexo printing. Once in-house standards have been defined, they are easy to put into practice and adhere to.

Printing presses are an expensive investment and should spend as much time as possible doing what they are intended to do - print. Set-up times should therefore be kept to a minimum. Every minute lost has a negative impact on the end result.

An optimum production environment, logical and simple procedures plus a systematic division of labour are required to keep change-over times as short as possible and thereby boost efficiency. The potential that exists to make savings is immense. Just reducing the average change-over time by five minutes per job frees up enough capacity to handle several hundred more jobs each year. This in turn cuts the time required for return on investment significantly.

The potential that can be unlocked can be identified by analysing in-house production. The analysis should focus on three key areas – an evaluation of print quality, a study of production sequences, and an assessment of the production environment.

The print results are analysed in detail for print errors and the overall quality is rated. Consistency must also be ensured. The analysis examines how constant the print quality remains over prolonged production periods and whether any potential exists for improvement.

The flow of information and material in the production scenario is analysed and examined for any inefficiencies - in particular, whether a systematic approach is used for the job change-over process. Considerable information on this can be gathered from the distances walked by printing personnel - how far the operator walks away from the press each day. This is a good indicator of just how well the printer is “served” by the press and whether he himself is responsible for procuring all necessary printing items.

Another key point is the set-up time required prior to the start of printing, and the level of waste involved. This is directly related to the degree of standardisation.

The production and press environment must be examined to ensure an optimum flow of materials. The area around the press must allow efficient working and be equipped with the necessary printing accessories to deliver minimum change-over times.

Gallus has been performing analyses of this kind for several years: weak points are identified and solutions presented so the customer can boost efficiency. The prime focus of workflow optimisation is to reduce job change-over times by the maximum amount. The potential for savings is said to be immense.