PressProfiler generates ink coverage and density data by examining digital files received from any workflow to enable printers to cut changeover times through shorter makereadies, fewer run-up sheets and faster colour correction.
The Dereham, Norfolk-based business is using the profiling software in conjunction with Prepress UK's CardWriter package, which allows press minders to check job preview images without leaving the press, before loading the pre-setting data.
Jem Packaging print manager Peter Horne said that using the software package had enabled it to cut makeready times on its Heidelberg Speedmaster 72 by almost half.
The company, which produces packaging typically in runs of around 2,000-3,000, but can handle jobs up to 50,000, said the faster makereadies made a significant impact on its productivity.
Horne said: “This has definitely made a big difference to the way that we work. 50% of time saved on make-readies is a significant amount for us – that can be equal to 20 minutes per run, and with relatively short print runs in terms of numbers of sheets, that adds up to a lot of time being clawed back during the course of a working day.”
Horne also noted other benefits: “Dramatic savings on makeready were accompanied by a much more straightforward approach to good colour on the press,” he said.
“The standard ink profile that the system provides us with gives us a straightforward, known starting point. Even if we do have to make adjustments for a particular job – perhaps to achieve a special corporate colour – we know how to tweak things without getting too far away from the standard. We are now swiftly into good colour on every job, allowing us to make savings on materials as well as time.”
Jem Packaging produces food packaging work for a number of high-profile food producers as well as packs for a major tool supplier. “There is a lot of repeat work,” said Horne.
“PressProfiler ensures that we can hit exactly the same colour every time a carton order comes in to be produced, meaning that the customer can be confident in the print quality of the packs that he receives – an increasingly critical issue for food pack specifiers.”
