Oosterhout, April 2016
– The US
newspaper Spokesman-Review is to invest in a further round of automation for
its printing press. Q.I. Press Controls (QIPC) is set to install the IDS-3D
system on its TKS press with two towers in Spokane, Washington. QIPC, the Dutch
specialist in measurement and control systems for the printing industry, will
be installing 4 IDS-3D register control cameras at its plant in the United
States.
Extensive investigation
Before closing the deal with QIPC, Spokesman-Review carried out a thorough investigation into the possibilities and alternatives. In fact, the first contacts between QIPC and Spokesman-Review took place about 3 years ago. “We talked to several suppliers”, says Steve Heidal, Pressroom Manager at Spokesman-Review, explaining how the business arrived at its decision. “We approached quite a few of the references our suppliers had given us and asked them about their experiences. Everyone, of course, seemed to be positive, but much more so about QIPC.” The performance of the systems supplied by the Dutch specialist came out better than the competition’s. “QIPC is competitive priced and more reliable”, Steve Heidal concludes. “What’s more, the camera is more compact. The so-called brains of the system are in the camera itself, which is what we like the most.”
QIPC has also responded positively to the order from Spokesman-Review, which Print2Finish agent Juan Echavarria played an important role in. “It took some time to complete the deal, not least because of the lengthy investigations”, Ronald Reedijk, managing director of QIPC-EAE Americas confirms. “They even looked into whether one of the options was to install a new printing press. Ultimately, it was decided to keep the current press, which was in a perfect state of repair and as good as new, and - not without reason - the organisation came out in favour of QIPC because the client was convinced of our in-depth know-how.”
Looking towards the future
With the IDS-3D, Spokesman-Review is not only opting to use automatic register control, in the future it will also be possible to expand the system to include closed-loop colour control. “And that’s definitely part of our plans”, explains Steve Heidal. “This is a long-term investment. In the first instance we will have the register control installed, then the colour control, and the goal next year is to expand it to two other webs.”
Thanks to the IDS-3D, Spokesman-Review will be able to make significant savings in waste whilst at the same time improving the quality of the final product. Furthermore, the paper had a shortage of personnel on the production floor, so this round of automation will now meet these shortcomings. The IDS-3D cameras will be equipped with AIMS for the automatic cleaning of the lenses.
