And how many times have you put off a maintenance check until the next day to get an order out, but never actually got around to it?

Most people would probably respond positively to the first questions and negatively to the last, suggesting they’re veritable maintenance saints. And yet this creates a disparity. Manufacturers across the print technology spectrum estimate that at least 90% of issues reported on machines are down to missed or poor maintenance. Print, it seems, has an issue with truth when it comes to upkeep. 

Excuses, excuses

Which is not to say printers don’t have good excuses for putting off maintenance checks. “Sadly, the hectic and economically challenging times we live in don’t allow much scope to carry out the basic maintenance functions,” explains Martin Prior, customer support and operations manager at Fujifilm UK. “Many companies today are under-staffed, and, in the past, maintenance services were valued more highly – even seemingly mundane tasks were considered important if they helped to guarantee an efficient production environment.”

Dean Trewin, KBA UK sheetfed service director, adds that the growing demand for ever-faster turnarounds exacerbates the issue, as this creates a pressured environment where something has to give. “Lack of maintenance can be the result of a lack of a structured maintenance regime and pressure on job throughput, which can create a ‘production at all costs’ mentality,” he says. 

Users of all types of print technology can apparently be guilty of this: digital, litho, finishing kit, you name it. And the consequences of not doing regular maintenance are as costly in monetary, uptime and quality terms no matter what the technology. Indeed, the digital print workhorses now present in many pressrooms may look like computers that can look after themselves, but they often need as much love as their litho cousins. 

“Advances in technology mean commercial printers using digital printing devices are seeing many processes automated to maintain quality and reliability,” says Mark Hinder, Konica Minolta’s market development manager for production printing. “However, commercial printers should be mindful that there are many factors that can affect optimum print quality and performance. Regular preventative maintenance and servicing intervals can positively affect print output.”

It’s the same story in wide-format, according to Mark Jones, technical operations manager at Roland DG UK. “Roland printers are designed to regularly auto-clean, thereby significantly reducing the frequency for any manual intervention. However, poor print quality due to lack of manual head cleaning can sometimes occur. In a small minority of cases, I think there needs to be a greater appreciation of how much regular maintenance can greatly aid print quality and the machine’s consistency and stability.”

Even in finishing, where a more conscientious approach might be expected due to the fallout from lack of regular maintenance manifesting itself more obviously, there are issues. “Lack of maintenance can lead to a variety of problems and, ultimately, costly breakdowns,” says Michael Morphew, director of operations at Friedheim International. “These can include belt, bearings and shaft issues, and even photocell failures if not cleaned regularly. Production pressures, cost of down-time, and maintenance seen as another unnecessary expense are the excuses, but the truth is a well maintained machine will perform better.”

Particularly frustrating manufacturers is the fact that information on effective maintenance has never been more readily available. The guidance for all kit clearly stipulates the benefits of regular servicing, the training emphasises the point again and then the machines themselves now almost always give reminders of when they need a bit of attention. And if all that fails, some manufacturers will even ring you up to remind you if they spot, through remote diagnosis, a potential issue. 

“The maintenance routines the operator should undertake are outlined as part of the demonstration and training at point of installation,” explains Paul Wells, national service manager at Heidelberg UK. “Increasingly, maintenance routines and prompts are also built into the electronics, creating prompts at the machine console. Remote access to equipment is also commonplace now, allowing Heidelberg to access the machine and check for impending issues or to check and remedy an issue or to advise that an onsite visit is necessary.”

But perhaps all this assistance is aimed at the wrong people. It may be that while the owners doing the kit purchasing understand the importance of maintenance, the staff actually working on the machine do not. If true, this is an area John Cracknell, managing director of digital finishing specialist Ibis Integrated Bindery Systems, says manufacturers are keen to help with. “Good quality training, education and understanding of products are important. We are always happy to provide this support and assistance because improving the performance and reliability of our equipment benefits everybody at the end of the day.”

Fujifilm’s Prior agrees. “There are different automated tools embedded into Fujifilm equipment that are designed to inform customers about the need to carry out a specific maintenance function. Unfortunately, many of these alerts are often ignored.” Detailed guidance is available from Fujifilm, he says, to explain to all within the print firm why ignoring these messages can be very costly. 

It’s not just about the operators, however; the issue can often be poor leadership. Heidelberg’s Wells says scheduling has to be sensible and responsibility distributed evenly. 

“The owner or production manager should ideally schedule maintenance during the normal working day, not at weekends or during a night shift. On a press, we would also recommend assigning specific areas of responsibility and ownership to each operator. For example, operator one has control over feeder and units 1 and 2, operator two has units 3 to 5 and so on,” he explains. 

Finding the time

There’s also the fact that understaffing means that many operators simply don’t have time to undertake maintenance, even if they recognise its importance. Here there is the option of handing this over to an outside company, often the manufacturer themselves. KBA’s Trewin believes this is the simplest answer, explaining that KBA has three levels of service to allow the print owner to still control this. 

The latter obviously costs more than in-house service by someone already on the payroll. But the printer may well end up making a saving in the long-run. 

Of course, some owners know all the benefits of maintenance and have the ability to schedule work effectively but choose not to – it’s not all the operator’s fault despite what some might think. The idea of maintenance at all is still problematic to some: too much downtime for minimal gains when orders need to be out the door as soon as possible. 

Wells says some need to understand that costs and downtime are much worse without maintenance, as those minimal gains prevent what can become very significant problems. He adds that maintaining a machine properly can help ensure a good price should you want to sell it. 

“It’s good to have a disciplined system and also to log what work has been done. This minimises downtime because of misunderstandings between operators on different shifts but it is also evidence of how well your kit has been cared for, vital when you come to sell on your machine,” he explains.

Another common worry for owners is that customers won’t understand the need for maintenance if it is their order being held up by the process. Fujifilm’s Prior says this is not the case. Price and quality are, of course, ultimately what the customer is after. And telling them their job may take a little longer to achieve that price and quality is unlikely to lose you that job, says Prior. 

In truth, the 90% statistic at the start of the feature should be enough alone to persuade print owners to get their maintenance in order – whether that’s ensuring staff do it or buying it in. The statistic is essentially telling printers that 90% of problems they report – and therefore 90% of downtime they experience and 90% of maintenance costs – are preventable. With margins, turnaround times and costs as tight as they are, printers simply can’t afford to have the maintenance problems they currently do.   

Maintenance resolutions for 2014

• Raise awareness within the company about the importance of running regular maintenance services
• Ensure that staff are appropriately trained to deal with maintenance duties 
• Distribute responsibility for maintenance among staff, giving each a set job that ultimately they have to answer for if issues arise
• Allocate small slots of time regularly rather than long periods of time irregularly. This ensures production is not noticeably impacted
• Ensure you read and take in the manufacturer guidance and that all staff that come into contact with those machines do as well
• Ensure maintenance is being completed. If staff don’t think you will check up, they will be more tempted to skip the occasional process. If you do spot checks, then no one will risk it
• Make your excellent maintenance record a selling point in marketing pushes. Set targets for how regularly maintenance is completed and explain to customers why this makes you a better bet than your rivals
• Bring an element of competition into the workplace. Get your operators to treat the machines like F1 cars, finely tuning every element to beat each other on efficiency and quality improvements. Ensure you celebrate these achievements among all the staff