We have a customer that wants to transfer a lot of its corporate printed collateral to its intranet. Is it possible to automate this process?

Yes it is. But it depends on the results you want. The usual scenario is that clients simply want to post copies of their printed documents to the intranet in a format such as PDF. The main disadvantage here is that PDFs are often large files and require a PDF reader, which must be up-to-date to take advantage of navigation functions.

It’s more complicated when a client wants to publish printed documents in a fully interactive format that provides users with tools and navigational aids to help in reading the document in an online environment. Traditionally this has meant transposing manually into an entirely new web-enabled format, and this introduces the possibility of errors, inconsistencies across versions and is time-consuming and expensive.

There are several software products that can automatically convert printed documents into rich, fully-interactive versions (including menus, keyword searches and other navigation aids) with no manual intervention, including our own ‘i-version’. Automating the process guarantees that both print and online versions are identical in terms of content, and the finished product requires no special reader software other than a browser.

These products vary in their capabilities: not all are truly automated and require some manual intervention, either for the conversion process or posting the document to the intranet. The main features to look for are truly automated conversion; a feature-rich final document; value for money (some solutions are very expensive); customisable interfaces that allow for an element of branding and styling by the publisher; and, for real value, a reporting capability that tracks visibility and the use a document gets. All these features are available with i-version.
John White, managing director, CGI Squared

We’d like to reduce the amount of time it takes us to fine-tune the underpacking on our blanket cylinder. How can we do it?

The answer is not to change underpackings at all. But as we all know, we have to: they become impregnated with blanket wash and water/fount solution that swells the volume and alters the running heights, with the possible result of inconsistent print quality.

Packing a blanket consistently can be a time-consuming, costly and sometimes hit-and-miss affair. For all the electronic technology on a modern offset press, it’s frustrating to think that a major part of the quality it produces rests on an imprecise process that’s difficult to control. On some presses, the systems for keeping packing and blankets in place can take up to 30 minutes to change (per unit), and if you charge your press out at, say, £300 an hour, that can be a huge cost over the course of a complete change.

There are three main options for underpacking: Manilla packing sheets, with gauge tolerances on each sheet; underblankets, sometimes with packing sheets that bed down gauge loss; and the third option is a non-absorbent underpacking product such as the new Finito, made by Printgraph in Italy.

Finito is a dedicated underpacking blanket that comes in gauges from 0.35mm up to 0.5mm, with a removable undersheet of 0.5mm in case you want to vary the blanket height to affect print length. It’s made from a specially-developed urethane, and has a self-levelling compressible layer that avoids the high and low spots of traditional packing methods. It’s also guaranteed for six months, and while it’s more expensive, it’s claimed to pay for itself in terms of reduced downtime. Two German press manufacturers think it’s so good they’re evaluating it with a view to supplying it as standard on their presses.
Bradley Aldridge, managing director, BFS Pressroom Solutions

We’re considering buying either a DI press or a digital press for short runs (up to 500 copies), most of which will be non-variable information. Which type would be best for us to buy and run?

Many factors could influence which solution is best for you, including capital cost, cost per page, quality required and type of stock the customer requires. As far as the simple economics go, a run-length of 300 A3 pages or under is better produced on a digital press, whereas runs of 500 are best done on a DI offset press. The area between these two numbers is exactly where the price-per-page crossover occurs. DI is profitable in a range between 300 and 10,000 A3 sheets per job. And once you get over 2,250 A4 copies, the average price-per-page is half as much on a DI press compared to a digital press. You should also bear in mind that the price per page continues to decrease on a DI press as the run-lengths increase; because the selling models of many digital presses are based on click charges, the cost remains constant no matter what the run-length.

DI presses are also faster and more productive than a digital press. The slowest DI press on the market
will easily produce 14,000 A4 sheets an hour running two-up on a B3 sheet, whereas the top speed of most toner-based presses is around 10,000 A4 sheets per hour. At this level, the capital cost of a digital press is broadly similar to a DI offset press: between £300,000-£400,000.

As far as quality goes, offset is still ahead of digital, although improvements continue to be made. DI also has the advantage of producing high-quality waterless print. And stock is important: while most digital presses will run on stocks up to 250gsm without problems, a DI offset press will go up to 350-450gsm.

DI presses can’t produce variable information. Limited amounts of variable information can be achieved by inkjetting, either on the press or on a downstream post-press machine like a folder or a mailing line. But for true 100% page-by-page variable information, a digital press is the only possibility.
Stan Najmr, DI director, Presstek Europe