It is an area that needs careful consideration. In these cost conscious times, the option of buying a new £1m-plus machine is highly unlikely so companies are looking at getting the most out of what they already have. As a result, interest in press ancillaries is growing and many companies are looking to retro-fit some of the latest technology, dependent on the age of their press.

These options can come in many different forms: colour controls; blankets; reverse osmosis; inks and rollers, to name but a few. Peter Benton, managing director at Technotrans, believes that now is as good a time as any to weigh up these options and squeeze the most you can out of a crucial asset. "Overcapacity, depressed prices and tough market conditions combine to make it critical that printers achieve optimum productivity with the least waste," he says. "Pressroom efficiency is critical to cost reduction and profitability. It is in this area that pressroom ancillaries can make a real difference."

Adam Robotham, commercial manager at Manroland GB, reports that there has been plenty of interest in ancillaries that can provide a solid return on investment. "If you're going to spend around £10,000, then you'll be aiming at recouping that within two years. We find the bigger customers understand what needs to be done. They closely measure everything."

One particular area that Robotham highlights is sheet-stoppers - an upgrade for customers that can help to protect the blankets and prevent crashes. At a cost of around £4,000, companies can invest in something that will prevent them shelling out more money on replacement blankets in the future. These types of add-ons are often sold as being beneficial for the environment.

In a similar vein, Robotham argues that colour control can save waste as it ensures the colour on a job is accurate from the start and that there is no need to run unnecessary sheets through the press.

Heidelberg's Cavey agrees that colour controls can add value. "We offer our own colour control devices and they can be retrofitted," he explains. "Colour is the hottest topic at the moment and keeping colour consistency is essential. It's about getting a good balance and we are doing some wonderful things with the latest ISO standards."

Back to basics
In the same ballpark, Kevin Purdy, Sun Chemical product and technical manager for commercial sheetfed, explains that an affordable handheld device, such as a spectrophotometer, can in some instances be just as effective as the latest technology from any of the major press manufacturers. "If you have an older machine then this can give you all that you need. You can programme all of the various data from the press and it allows you to do all the relevant colour management. In the right hands, an external colour management system can work just as well as one from a press manufacturer."

Goss's Banks adds that a densitometer is another tool that can "get the press back to basics". But the bottom line, he claims, is that any additional purchase should be designed to give a good return on investment. "You should be looking for efficiencies but it does need a degree of capital expenditure."

With print buyers increasingly demanding evidence of standardisation in colour, quality and environmental processes, printers need much greater process control, explains Technotrans' Benton. "Of course the latest generation of presses, with their increasing levels of electronic, mechanical and workflow wizardry are going to provide the optimum quality and output, but in a tight market many companies can't afford the thousands, even millions, of pounds required to buy a new press. Ancillaries are an affordable stop gap," he adds.

Benton says that there has been an upsurge in barrel ink pumping, with the number of UK installations reaching almost 100. This allows companies with long perfectors or multiple presses to take advantage of bulk ink prices, reduced ink waste, faster makereadies, reduced disposal costs and a cleaner pressroom environment. Benton adds that automated inking can be retrofitted onto most presses which were built in the past 10 years.

And while Sun Chemical's Purdy admits that ink on its own doesn't make the defining difference in the running of a press, new ink technology has focused on the high-speed presses during the past two or three years. Sun has developed inks that combat the issue of misting - where the higher the speed of the press, the more vapour is emitted in the atmosphere. The technology means that the ink has a "better water window" and improves the environment for pressroom staff.

But he adds that if companies maintain their presses properly, then it's less likely that things will go wrong. "You should have a proper cleaning regime," says Purdy. "That will give you more from the rollers and maintain the condition of the blankets. If you spend more time checking the grippers and lubricating the press correctly, you will extend the life of the press."

Heidelberg's Cavey emphasises the importance of "tidying up around the press" and indentifies reverse osmosis as another area companies should be looking at. He claims this helps to eradicate any variables in the water supply.

"More control means less downtime for makeready and maintenance and more quality control," adds Technotrans' Benton. "Printers today have to look at the detail because the quality, speed and cost demands are so stringent. Ancillaries enable a printer to retain and gain work while running at maximum efficiency. It's becoming ‘the norm' and those who don't invest in this area will lose competitiveness. Ancillaries are about good business health."

To ensure your press stays in rude health, most of the major manufacturers offer service agreements where every few months an engineer will visit a business and give the press a full check-up. Remote diagnostics has also become an increasingly appealing proposition to customers, but upgrading into this area will cost money, explains Manroland's Robotham. "That kind of upgrade can cost as much as £12,000. However, the benefit is that you have the technology in place that enables an engineer to look at your press remotely and solve problems faster."

Installing this type of technology means that the manufacturer can dial into the press with good broadband links and find out where the fault is, adds Heidelberg's Cavey. "From there we can come down and visit or send the print firm the appropriate part."

Signs of aging
Regardless of upgrades, maintaining your press is incredibly important. Press manufacturers have experienced plenty of horror stories in the past where presses haven't been properly maintained and subsequently an expensive purchase has shown signs of aging well before it should. As a result, its value has significantly reduced.

"Some print firms spend up to £1.5m on a press, but looking at the condition of it after six months you'd think it had been running for six years," explains Steve Cavey, UK product manager at Heidelberg. "Then outside sits a £60,000 car, which would have been serviced every quarter."

Peter Banks, UK customer service manager at Goss, agrees with Cavey's assessment. "If you fill up a racing car with unleaded fuel then it will cough and splutter - you need to give it what it wants to perform. You have to give the same level of attention to a press," he says.

There is another upside: if a company decides to sell the press at some stage, a well maintained machine is likely to attract a premium price. Allowing the manufacturer to service the machine every few months provides a record demonstrating that the press has been well maintained, which could mean it's worth a little bit extra when it comes to selling.

With a long list of ancillaries available to help, there shouldn't be too many excuses for treating your most prized asset with little respect. After all, would you really treat your car in the same way?

KEY POINTS
Press ancillaries

• Retrofitting colour controls is one option and the press manufacturer may be able to retrofit its latest technology onto an older press. If this is not available, a third party control is worth sizing up, either in the form of a spectrophotometer or a densitometer
• Taking time to clean areas, such as the blankets, grippers and rollers can help ensure there is less downtime for breakdowns and can maintain the quality of the print
• Consider a service agreement with your press manufacturer or dealer. If they can check your press once every few months, then you will have a detailed service record - this could be a handy document to have when it comes to selling on your press. Also, consider remote diagnostics, which make it easier and quicker for the manufacturer to spot any problems