Presses

Competition is fierce in the multi-million pound high-volume press market and with a new manufacturer now vying for the sector's customers, it's only going to get tougher, says Philip Chadwick.

The high-volume arena is where the big beasts of the offset jungle like to flex their muscles and, as you’d expect, Drupa was chosen by many manufacturers as the battleground to unveil their new flagship presses. At the high-volume end of the market, speed and size are everything and, if events in Düsseldorf are anything to go by, competition is hotter than ever.

At Drupa, the big guns, including Heidelberg, Manroland and KBA, were all pushing the latest developments on their workhorse presses, and despite the turbulent economy, there was a mood of optimism following the show.

"Drupa has given the market more impetus; it has breathed life back into it," says Mark Nixon, executive sales director for sheetfed at KBA. Nixon’s excitement is due to the drastic reductions in makeready times now being offered by all of the market’s key players. While these savings help keep offset one step ahead of digital, the high-volume sector is also reaping the financial rewards of such technology.

"The level of interest in this market has not changed," adds Nixon. "But with faster makeready times, companies really are saving money. Before Drupa we were splitting hairs trying to shorten makeready times but at the show we were bringing them right down."

Manroland, like KBA, has been shouting from the rooftops about cutting makeready times. Its 700 DirectDrive model incorporates features such as automated plate changes, but was launched with shorter run-lengths in mind. Its large-format beast is the 900XXL.

"Where larger format could help in the productivity stakes, we can offer the 900XXL," says Gary Doman, Manroland GB’s director of sheetfed sales. "With Drupa announcements in mind, a perfecting version of this press is now available to order – that’s perfecting in sizes of 1,350x1,800mm."

Despite the clamour for faster makereadies, sheets on the floor is still the name of the game in the sector, with KBA’s Nixon arguing that speed is now a given. "We can get up to about 18,000sph and I doubt sheetfed presses will get much faster than that," he says.

The speed and productivity levels of some of the market leaders means that one top-of-the-range machine can do the work of two standard models. However, KBA takes a different approach, focusing instead on format. At the show, it highlighted how its Rapida 205 can take on the workload of two Rapida 106s, simply through its larger format.

Similarly, the Heidelberg XL 105 can replace two Speedmaster SM 102s, partly thanks to its larger format but also because of its speed. Gernot Keller, Heidelberg UK product manager for B1 commercial presses, claims that the machine saves time and increases productivity.

"The average number of double-sided printed sheets the 102 can achieve every year is between 35-40m," he says. "The XL 105 can print 65m sheets a year. So you can replace, for example, two SM 102s from 2000, with less automation, with one XL 105. This incorporates faster automation and quicker makeready times. But all this does very much depend on the infrastructure of the company."


Tough competition
The uncertain economic climate means that making a big purchase is not a straightforward decision. "The market is not quite ready to make investments at the moment," explains Keller. "Printers are aware that they need to do something but they are hesitant."

However, KBA’s Nixon doesn’t view the market in the same way. "The level of interest in our kit has not changed. I don’t think the market has gone down due to the credit crunch."

In times like these, the supplier becomes almost like a partner for a business. There are so many different options for printers to choose from, so they often need someone to guide them through the maze.

"I don’t think competition is necessarily hotting up; this has always been a ferociously tough market," says Nixon. "We fight with the likes of Heidelberg and Manroland everyday."

However, now there is a new kid on the block. Web press manufacturer Goss is honing in on the B1 commercial sector and at Drupa, the company made its presence felt with the launch of the M-600 Folia web press. Capable of 30,000sph, its speed is almost double that of a perfecting sheetfed press. Goss says that, like its sheetfed rivals, the machine incorporates automatic plate changing; there’s also digital inking and convertible ink train and dampening systems.

"These features may not be readily available on a long perfector," says Goss commercial product manager Jean-Claude Pautrat. "They all enhance overall productivity by reducing job changeover times."

Essentially, the web press is four Goss M-600 units twinned with a newly designed sheeter developed by VITS that can sheet the outcoming web without the need for a dryer. Pautrat adds that in terms of running costs, paper supplied on a reel can be "5-15% less expensive" while the consumables cost per sheet is the same. Goss also argues that the press needs the same sized crew as a long perfector, although it doubles productivity.

Effective solution
The Goss M-600 may well be a machine pitched at the B1 commercial market, but KBA’s Nixon isn’t sure that it can go head-to-head with established players. "If you were a magazine printer then you would consider investing in this press, but I think only a handful of them will be sold in the UK," he says.

Manroland’s view is that the new machine is "a good PR move from Goss to help get its products back into the spotlight". But a more serious point is raised: how effective is this machine compared to sheetfed?

"With run lengths continuing to fall, you have to question how effective a solution it can be if you are looking at it as an alternative to sheetfed," says Manroland’s Doman. "The production statistics are certainly impressive – 30,000sph is considerably more than a sheetfed system could produce, but just how much of the time would be spent running at full speed and how much time would be spent on makereadies?"

He continues: "The breakpoint between sheetfed and web offset has moved over recent years, with the 16pp web press having serious question marks over it due to advances made in sheetfed press perfecting capabilities. Perhaps Goss have come up with a configuration that provides a stay of execution for this format?"

Goss counters this by pointing out that the machine has been designed to attain a high overall equipment efficiency rating (OEE) and says this needs to be at around 80-85% for the press to represent a sensible investment. The OEE takes into account not only how much time is spent on makereadies, but also how long the press will be in action.

"The M-600 Folia has been designed with a high target OEE," explains Pautrat. "With a high OEE the only consideration is the ability to fill the press with work. The fact that a company is considering an investment suggests that this has already been analysed but care needs to be taken to harmonise the product size and layout to maximise the sheet size, which is only variable in one direction."

Like Heidelberg and Manroland, Goss is banking on high-volume customers replacing two long perfecting presses with its machine. But anyone making such a move should proceed with caution: the only way you can take advantage of those makeready savings and speed enhancements is to keep the press running. Loading up a high-volume press with long-run work is vital if you want to get value for money from your multi-million pound investment.

DRUPA PRESSES SHOWCASED

Goss M-600 Folia
On show at Drupa, this 30,000sph monster is pitched as an alternative to the sheetfed long perfectors. Goss claims that while the machine comes with a big price tag, it’s still cheaper than buying the two long perfecting machines that would be required to match output.

Heidelberg XL platform
Two new supersize presses were unveiled at Drupa – the Speedmaster XL 145 and 162. Both
were pitched at the packaging market. The manufacturing giant also showed its
Speedmaster SM 102 B1 long perfector as well as
a new long perfecting version of the XL 105.

Komori Lithrone SX40
Japanese manufacturer Komori upped the ante by boosting the output speed on its SX40 with a faster automatic plate-change system as well as new control systems for reducing the amount of material waste produced.

Manroland 900XL
Visitors to Manroland’s stand were able to catch sight of the launch of new perfecting 900XL press.

Ryobi 1050
The Japanese manufacturer launched its first B1 press at the show, the 16,000sph 1050.