Offset Printing
Baldwin Improves Productivity At Donaukurier Newspaper
Monday 18. February 2008 - German newspaper Donaukurier in Ingolstadt is benefiting from the installation of a Baldwin Litho Spray Maxima spray dampening system and a Baldwin blanket washer on its KBA Colora.
The press, designed for Berlin format (315 x 470 mm), has three four-high units and four reelstands. It is used to print the Donaukurier, which appears with eight subeditions throughout the week except on Sundays, and weekly freesheets on behalf of a separate publisher within the group. It also handles an assortment of contract work.
The need for consistent four-colour printing of products with up to 48 pages was one of the main reasons for the installation of the KBA Colora. Achieving a reduction in waste was another goal and this is where Baldwin technology plays a vital part. By maintaining a constant pressure and altering the spraying frequency, Baldwins spray dampening system provides an accurately controlled amount of dampening solution to the plate, combined with fast reaction to changes in settings. Each Litho Spray Maxima spray bar is fitted with eight nozzles and trouble-free operation is maintained by Baldwins Constant C technology, which prevents blocking of nozzles.
“The Baldwin spray dampening system has given us a clear edge when it comes to achieving the right ink/water balance, reducing fan-out and eliminating makeready waste,” says Uwe Lehmann, technical director of Donaukurier Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG.
Uwe Lehmann’s decision to purchase the Baldwin blanket washer was based on his experience with equipment on the companys previous web press, as well as on impressions gathered from visits to print shops that were using a more recent version. One of the biggest attractions was the space saving wash bar concept with one for two cleaning units installed in the machine’s three four-high towers. The rubber blankets on two blanket cylinders are simultaneously cleaned by a single unit with a large brush (diameter 110 mm). There are consequently only four of these one for two cleaning units in each four-high unit.
“These units are an immense advantage because the blanket cylinders are readily accessible, and the wash bars can be quickly and easily removed if necessary. Along with the new washing programs, the equipment has contributed to cutting washing agent consumption. Compared to the old machine’s configuration with individual units, our requirement for cleaning agent is 25 per cent less.”
Donaukurier cleans its blankets at the end of every print job. To reduce paper waste to a minimum, the blankets are washed at web-up speed, so that each washup only takes around 500 cylinder revolutions – just under four minutes. Since the run lengths of the various newspaper and freesheet editions are not particularly high, production washing is only necessary with large contracts. “The Baldwin blanket washer has helped us cut waste by 3.5 per cent. Whats more, the systems cleaning quality easily beats that of any other system we’ve come across,” says Mr Lehmann.
The blanket washer’s control system is fully integrated in the EAE press control system and shares the same user interface, which means the blanket washer is extremely convenient to use. Although numerous programs are available for different washing modes and mixing ratios of water to cleaning agent, printers at Donaukurier usually keep to a small number of fixed automatic variants.
During use, the brush roller in each cleaning unit is sprayed with an emulsion of precisely metered cleaning agent and water according to the program. Any paper or ink residues on the blankets are dissolved by the liquid and removed by the rotating brush. These residues are scraped off the brush by a doctor blade and collected with the dirty cleaning liquid in a trough incorporated in the cleaning unit. This is finally drained off to a central point for disposal.
The printers operating the KBA Colora report being impressed by the blanket cleaning systems simple operating principle and minimal maintenance requirement. Another point in its favour is that the cleaning units do not continually need replenishing with consumables.
“The Baldwin system is exactly the kind of blanket washer we were seeking for our newspaper printing – simple, efficient, robust and reliable,” says Uwe Lehmann.