drupa is Manroland Sheetfed’s next step

Future proofing offset impress: Heike Weber and Wilhelm Graeff in Offenbach

Revitalized manufacturer to showcase its Evolutionary press with more than 250 incremental enhancements and improvements every bit information technology pursues its goal of time to come-proofing outset printing. Patrick Howard visits the Offenbach foundry and manufactory.

M anroland Sheetfed has turned into a lean manufacturing machine under the energetic management of UK entrepreneur, Tony Langley. Since taking the captain in 2012 of what at the time he describes as 'a lumbering leviathan,' he has consolidated its manufacturing into ane constitute, sold off surplus building and machinery, and brought staff numbers down to i,600 worldwide. He describes the procedure equally adjusting production capacity to come across the market and derides his two German language competitors as standing to 'languish [while] their re-alignment of capac ity to current demands remains glacially slow.'

It'southward a very different way of doing business for German language industry and Langley's free- wheeling English manner has undoubtedly put a few noses out of articulation. But more than im portantly is the attitude of the workforce to their Anglo saviour. Talking with long- term employees, Willie Graef and Hieke Weber, on a cold afternoon in the Southern Germany manufacturing boondocks it is credible that far from resenting the English human being's takeover, they run across it as a very welcome intervention. Following the trauma of downsizing and bankruptcy, the iconic German printing manufacturer has regained its spirit with both staff morale and results looking better. Co-ordinate to Langley's an nual report it's in the black, making money as well equally printing presses, even if it does operate in a very reduced market place.

Long recognized for the high-end manufacturing quality of its machines, which in clude some of the largest and most circuitous custom-built in-line presses in the world – the Ultimas, Manroland Sheetfed has tied its destiny to evolving offset tech nology to meet the challenges of the digital age. At drupa where Heidelberg is launching its Primefire inkjet, Manroland Sheetfed is focussing its admittedly much smaller R&D budget on fine-tuning the product line for greater productivity.

Although the exact configuration of the drupa printing was revealed to me confiden tially, it will exist an Development 700, at to the lowest degree a 6-color with in-line foiling. What'south under wraps are the improvements to the feeder. This is the press that was launched in late 2014 with the outset Australian installation going to Labelmakers in Melbourne this year.

The Evolution press with its sleek curved await won a sought-later on Red Dot Laurels for design. While it undeniably looks schmick, what is less obvious is what's under the hood, where the company is confident it has an edge on the competition in terms of production processes. It will likewise be the nearest thing any offset press human ufacturer will have to bringing a 'new' printing to drupa.

Co-ordinate to Graef, head of press technology, much of the improvements are in visible, such equally in a rewriting of the system software to time to come-proof it for at least twenty years. The outcome is an operating arrangement that tin be evolved over time in the con stant search for improvements. Many of these improvements are incremental ad justments, in keeping with Graef's stated belief that offset is not about to radically change; it is a very mature technology. Just it can be improved and that is the Man r oland evolutionary strategy.

At that place are no plans to develop a digital printing, a la Heidelberg, or to branch out into
other sectors. The addition of Kodak Stream inkjet marking in the feeder and an At lantic Zeizer marking station at the coater, are both designed to evangelize 100% guar antee of accurateness in high-finish packaging. The aim is not only to pick up the tiniest er rors in the packaging print only also to save on waste where only the wrongly print ed box on a sheet is rejected, not the whole sheet.

Wilhelm Graeff, head of print
technology (left) and Stefan Finger,
head of research and evolution
at Offenbach

The presses employ all types of drying with LED UV challenge much of the attention. Only Graef is attentive in promoting it as the 'exist all' curing technology of the fu ture. He believes in that location are other developments to come and that the health and en v ironmental requirements of the packaging sector will limit the use of LED UV. A saturday isfactory blanket formula that can be used without turning yellow is still to be found.

Manroland Sheetfed continues to boss in the long-form custom-fabricated pack crumbling presses that are virtual standalone factory lines. They can be up to 36 metres long with multiple coating and printing units in addition to foiling and extended dri ers. The numbers are not very large but the steady return of customers looking for the next generation says a lot about Manroland'southward technology reputation.

The future of first printing is assured for the foreseeable hereafter. What'south less cer tain is the fate of the offset press manufacturers. They all accept to chart their own destinies and Langley believes that a 'correct sized' Manroland Sheetfed with its price base of operations in order is capable of coming together the requirements of its customers indefinitely.

This article is reproduced past permission from Impress 21 in Australia

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