Offset Printing

Mitsubishi SimulChanger Can Save Eight Hours per Week on Makereadies

Tuesday 15. September 2009 - "Everybody talks about 15-minute makereadies," observes Alan Guttridge, president of Coastal Printing, Inc. in Sarasota, Fla. "Thanks to the Mitsubishi SimulChanger on our Diamond V3000LS press, we can achieve true 15-minute makereadies."

SimulChanger, the exclusive simultaneous plate-changing system being demonstrated by Mitsubishi Lithographic Presses in booth #1146 at Print ’09, is a perfect example of how Mitsubishi technology enables printers to increase productive time on press.

A typical plate change requires 60 to 90 seconds for each printing unit. By contrast, SimulChanger automatically replaces old plates with new ones on every printing unit in a single operation in just over one minute, regardless of whether a job requires four colors or 10 colors.

Compared with conventional plate-changing systems, SimulChanger alone can save eight hours per week on makereadies (based on a six-color press operating three shifts a day, five days a week, and running four forms per shift).

“The ability to change all plates within a minute and six seconds is unheard of,” Guttridge says. “When you hang eight or 10 sets of plates a day, like we do, the savings you gain put your competitors at a major disadvantage when it comes to pricing jobs.”

How SimulChanger works
Sheetfed presses operate with a phase differentiation between printing units in order to prevent shock marks. Positions of the cylinder are different for each printing unit when the press comes to a complete stop. For this reason, each plate cylinder must be positioned individually during plate changes.

To synchronize the phase differentiation, SimulChanger makes use of the uppermost and lowermost adjustment settings for registration. Plate cylinders at each unit automatically turn and stop at the optimum position for changing plates, enabling the plates at all units to be changed at the same time. Once the plate change is completed, the cylinders return to their proper phase for printing.

All processes — including cylinder phase adjustment of the entire press, removal of the old plates, mounting, clamping and tensioning of the new plates, and returning the cylinder phase to the proper position for printing once the cycle is completed — occur in a single automated operation with the touch of a button at the COMRAC press control console. The push-button system and reduced manual exertion also minimize operator fatigue.

If the time required for plate cylinder repositioning at each unit is excluded, the plate change time itself is performed in less than 38 seconds.

In booth #1146, Mitsubishi Lithographic Presses will demonstrate superfast makereadies on the Diamond V3000LX press with live printing jobs and changeovers performed several times daily.