The scalable digital VisuEnergy X software from Koenig & Bauer will enable users to collect and visualise their energy consumption data, helping them to save energy and reduce their future costs.

The software comprises three elements: the automated recording of meter data, visualisation of the analysis results, and the derivation of appropriate measures in response.

VisuEnergy X records the consumption of all equipment connected to the machine, analyses this consumption in relation to the production output, and can then calculate job-specific parameters such as the energy consumption per 1,000 sheets.

It is possible to upgrade the system beyond energy data to include production-relevant parameters such as temperature and humidity, Koenig & Bauer said.

“Sustainability is the greatest challenge of our time. And as a company whose history extends back more than 200 years, we do, of course, also bear responsibility for future generations," said Koenig & Bauer CEO Andreas Pleßke.

The energy management system will be available on a subscription basis as a SaaS (software as a service) offering. It is available with immediate effect for customers in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland while the global rollout will follow at the beginning of 2023.

Contiweb, which manufactures drying and web-handling equipment, meanwhile said it has streamlined its dryer product portfolio in response to its customers asking for “the most environmentally friendly and cost-effective solutions”.

All types of the Ecotherm, Ecoweb and Ecocool will therefore be replaced by equivalents based on the latest Ecoset technology, it said.

“We have noticed that the gas crisis has acted as a deciding factor in the increasing demand for these products. This has led us to further focus on the development of new enhancements of this kind and on the discontinuation of dryers that no longer meet today’s environmental requirements,” said Rob Bosman, sales director at Contiweb.

“Our commitment to our customers and the environment pushed us to take this step and to challenge ourselves in new ways. Only by discontinuing the old, we can focus on further improving the new."

The cornerstone of the company's portfolio for web-offset will now be the Ecoset dryer for commercial printing applications, while a further option in this portfolio is the Ecodry for 16pp presses, available only with a web width of 1,020mm, Contiweb said.

For book and newspaper printers, Contiweb will offer the Ecobook dryer while for its installed base it will continue to expand the range of optional upgrades and enhancements to enable customers to also equip existing older generation dryers with “the best available technologies that Contiweb successfully applies in the Ecoset and Ecobook”.

Separately, Compass Business Finance has just published a paper titled, ‘Practical Steps and Ideas to Mitigate the Energy Crisis’, as it continues to provide cashflow support to businesses to help them face both energy hikes and the rising cost of raw materials.

Director Mark Nelson said: “We’re seeing businesses being forced back into survival mode, again, many of whom are having to take urgent action to navigate their way through a whole host of critical issues. Following the mini budget, businesses have been provided with some short-term relief, however, many of our customers are looking for longer term solutions.”

The discussion paper from Compass looks at mitigating the energy crisis, and details practical steps and ideas for managing businesses through the crisis and to advance towards their sustainability goals.

Compass has also advised businesses to talk to their finance provider as soon as possible if they are in need of cashflow support, or funding to become more energy efficient or to invest in sustainability projects.

It said funding support is available through the Recovery Loan Scheme and local grants, as well as tax benefits such as the Annual Investment Allowance and the Super Deduction, however, it added that all of these are time limited.

The October/November issue of Printweek, out later this month, will feature more energy-saving tips and advice.