Shinohara 66: Ideal for shorter runs

The secret to the success of this long-running press is its high degree of automation, making it ideal for shorter runs, says Sachin Shardul

The Shinohara 66 series has been making ripples in India thanks to Suba Solutions, its dealer since late 2008, which is when it was introduced.

Established by Kanzaburo Shinohara in 1919, Shinohara is the manufacturer of sheetfed offset presses. With headquarters in Ubume, Shinohara has a factory in Shizuoka, Mariko and Kikugawa in Japan.

In 1985, Shinohara 66 was introduced as a single-colour offset. In 1988, the multicolour Shinohara 66 with aqueous coating system was developed and manufactured. In 1989, the Shinohara 66II two-colour and 66IIP two-colour convertible perfector offset presses were introduced. In 2001, the capacity of

Shinohara 66 was increased to eight colours. In 2003, medium-pile series Shinohara 66 were added to product line-up which was launched at IGAS 2003.

The press has proved to be a popular alternative to Heidelberg and Komori’s more expensive machines. The levels of automation are impressive and C Naresh, the marketing director at Suba Solutions, says: "People buy Shinohara because the presses have a good amount of automation for what you pay."

Customer speak

At present, printers like Prasad Printers and Hosadigantha in Mangalore and Eskay’s Scanna Graphics in Nagpur have installed refurbished Shinohara presses.

Eskay’s has installed a Shinohara 66IVH four-colour press. The fully loaded 66IVH press runs at a speed of 17,000 sheets per hour and can handle stocks of upto 400 gsm.

Rakesh S Kinariwala, managing partner at Eskay’s Scanna Graphics, says: "We have evaluated and purchased a Shinohara for its attractive features. We are impressed with the price point to performance ratio. The operation is swift. We are able to complete 17 jobs of 1,000 sheets in 10 hours."

Shinohara is capable of producing a range of multicolour work including brochures and commercial work for a booming market in Nagpur.

Recently, Suba Solutions has installed a brand new Shinohara press at Print Shop in Chennai and Balaji Packaging Industries in Pune.

Primary technologies
The two primary technologies featured in the Shinohara 66 are the Shinohara pre-inking system (SPIS) which provides accurate colour on the next job in fewer sheets, and the Shinohara semi-automatic plate changer (SPC), which removes the need for plate bending and makes the use of standing plates easier.

Naresh says: "The SPIS system increases efficiency and precision. It substantially reduces the time required for the make-ready adjustments before the printing."

Using the information from CIP3 data, SPIS automatically creates the ideal ink film on the ink rollers and then starts printing. It eliminates the need for operators to manually adjust ink keys or to run the press to achieve the proper ink film on the ink rollers.

A new suction belt feeder system ensures the smooth transport of sheets while the new automatic blanket washing system uses either solvent or water cloth. Shinohara’s plate clamping system means that the press can accept both aluminium and polyester plates. At the press operator’s end, the press features a large, colour liquid crystal display touch screen, ensuring all the presses functions are at the operator’s fingertips.

CIP3 station digital capabilities
The Shinohara CIP3 Station uses JDF data and print production format (PPF) files created during pre-press processing to automatically preset ink key apertures. This enables faster makeready and reduces waste.

Naresh says: "With this station, fast optimum ink key presets are achieved."

Shinohara was one of the first members of CIP3, an organisation promoting a standard for communication among printing devices known as the PPF.

Plate and feeder system
Shinohara’s exclusive plate clamp cocking system allows for distortions of upto +/- 0.024 inch (0.6mm) to be corrected on the fly, without affecting bearer-to-bearer contact between the plate and blanket cylinders. Calculations are automatically performed to assure that undue pressure is not placed on the printing plate, regardless of the direction in which it is moved. The cocking operation can be controlled from the operation console.

The Shinohara 66 multicolour has a suction belt in the feeder system that ensures sheets proceed smoothly over the feed board to the printing unit. This feeder assembly and a one-touch brush-and-wheel adjustment system make it easy to adjust for changes in paper size, so throughput is increased.

Operation console
The operation console makes it possible to remotely control ink key, registration, cocking, and other settings from one convenient panel. Optical fibre is used to pass data to the press. Settings can also be saved to either IC memory or on a CD, to reduce setup time in repeat runs. An interactive touch-panel LCD display provides an easy-to-use interface, assisting the operator with information related to inking and paper size, among other things.

Naresh says: "With the use of multiple CPUs, Shinohara has made it possible to control all the different motors in the press simultaneously through the operation console dramatically reducing makeready time."

The operation console also provides bar graphs of ink key apertures besides the touch keys and features a colour PC touch panel. This improves readability, prevents errors and enhances the communication between the operator and the machine.

Special features
Shinohara 66 series can be fitted with a chamber type doctor blade aqueous or aqueous/UV in-line varnish coating system that can be used for spot coating with a convex resin plate. The press can also use IR dryer and cold curing system that enables printing onto plastic as well as a wide variety of papers.

SPECIFICATIONS


Maximum sheet size
508mm X 660mm
Minimum sheet size
200mm X296mm
Paper thickness
400gsm
Maximum speed
17,000 sheets per hour
Maximum printing area
470mm X 650mm
Plate size
550mm X 650mm
Feeder pile height
900mm
Delivery pile height
730mm
Contact

Suba Solutions 
V Vaidy + 91 9382867972 / C Naresh +91 9380515024 / +91 44 32978312 / 45012070 vaidy@subasolutions.com, naresh@subasolutions.com
ALTERNATIVES
  • Mitsubishi Diamond 1000
    The Diamond 1000 has an auto-preset inking system, feeder and delivery presetting and a remote controlled running register with lateral, circumferential and plate skewing.
    Maximum sheet size
    520mm x 720mm
    Minimum sheet size
    273mm x 380mm
    Paper thickness
    400gsm
    Maximum speed 15,000 sheets per hour
    Contact Proteck Machinery +91 44 24506000 marketing@proteck.co.inwww.proteck.co.in
  • Sakurai 466 Oliver
    The Oliver 466 is advantageous for ideal printing quality on larger cylinder. With push-button operation, the ink rollers and blankets are cleaned.
    Maximum sheet size
    508mm x 660mm
    Minimum sheet size
    200mm x 297mm
    Paper thickness
    400gsm
    Maximum speed
    16,000 sheets per hour
    Contact
    Proteck Machinery Kartik Iyer +91 44 24506000 marketing@proteck.co.in
  • Heidelberg SM 74
    The SM 74 has the feeder with central suction tape and pneumatic pull lays which ensures reliable sheet transport and lays the foundation for top print quality.
    Maximum sheet size
    530mm x 740mm
    Minimum sheet size
    210mm x 280mm
    Paper thickness
    400gsm
    Maximum speed
    16,000 sheets per hour
    Contact
    Heidelberg India +91 22 28224343 / peter.rego@heidelberg.com
  • Komori Enthrone 29
    The Enthrone 29 has greater flexibility for smaller print shops. It is capable of high quality printing with the help of double diameter cylinders.
    Maximum sheet size
    530mm x 750mm
    Paper thickness
    400gsm
    Maximum speed
    13,000 sheets per hour
    Contact
    Insight Print Communications +91 9810115389 ajay@insightwithin.com
    Printools Graphics +91 9342247180 
    bhojraj@printools.info
  • Ryobi 680
    The Ryobi 680 allows the operator to enter preset values for paper size and thickness using the touch-panel display. Positions of the feeder head and delivery section guides as well as pull side guides can be preset.
    Maximum sheet size
    508mm x 686mm
    Minimum sheet size
    200mm x 279mm
    Paper thickness
    400gsm
    Maximum speed
    15,000 sheets per hour
    Contact
    Indo European Machinery +91 80 23435866, 40865000 satish_bs@iem-india.com
         
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