Oosterhout, March 2018
– Whereas the printing
industry in other parts of the world has increasingly been discovering the
merits of retrofitting, in the United Arab Emirates this is not yet part of
daily practice. The process, which involves the installation of state-of-the
art innovations in the field of automation technology on existing printing
presses, still has to win over popularity in the region. Gulf News was the
first printing concern in the UAE to decide on having its register system
retrofitted.
To carry out the project, the
company chose Q.I. Press Controls (QIPC), the Dutch specialist in measurement
and control systems for the printing industry. “We see clear benefits in
automated register control and an upgrade of our now outdated cut-off control,”
explains Michael Condon of Gulf News, a company which now has a pioneering role
in the region. “After having used a similar system from QIPC on our new KBA
Cortina press, we decided to modernise our manroland CROMOMAN too.” QIPC is
delighted that Gulf News has opted for them to install the trailblazing system.
“What’s more, we are absolutely convinced that the success of this project will
start to rouse the interests of other printing companies in the region,” Erwin
van Rossem, head of sales at QIPC, believes.
Savings in waste
In total, 33 mRC-3D
cameras for colour register and cut-off control were installed on nine towers.
“The biggest savings will be during start-up,” anticipates Michael Condon.
“Thanks to automation of the register system and improvements in the cut-off control,
operators can devote more attention instead to ink-water balance and density.
As a result we are now able to achieve better results more quickly and waste
can be reduced by between 30 to 40 percent.” Erwin van Rossem adds this: “Gulf
News will now be able to recover the costs of the investment within two years.”
Future
Installation of the new
automation system has just been completed. Nevertheless, both companies are
already looking towards future cooperation. “I know for sure that support for
the new system won’t be the only reason for staying in touch with QIPC,” says
Michael Condon. “We’ll be keeping an eye out for other cost-saving technical
innovations that may come on-stream in the future.” This is music to the ears
of QIPC. “We’re keen to let other printers in the region know about the
benefits that register control can bring,” concludes Erwin van Rossem. “Gulf
News’ satisfaction with the system is the best advert we can have.”
