Ink equates to about six percent of aprinting house’s consumable costs.While this figure is only one-fifth as greatas that for substrates, the imperative to

manage ink logistics and control wasteprofessionally is as important.

First, due to volatility of world oil markets,ink prices have risen sharply, with somesuppliers passing on increases of up to 30percent in the last nine months alone.Secondly, the packaging supply-chain hasmoved to a flexible, just-in-time workflow,and consequently, shorter production runs.All machines, components and materialsused in production need to be suited to thequick changeover and fast make-readyenvironment.

Automated ink logistics are vital for lean, responsive print operations says Maarten Hummelen of GSE Dispensing

Reprinted from Folding Carton Industry. September/October 2011

Thirdly, quality standards are moreexacting. Printers must achieve greatercolour accuracy, because point-of-sale(retail) success plays an increasinglyinfluential role in a brand’s success, and thus a consistent look, sometimes on a global scale, is essential. Unique, trade-mark protected spot colours, which are formulated by complex recipes, areincreasingly used to differentiate the producton a crowded retail shelf. And greater healthand safety concerns mean that in the case ofcertain food or drug labelling, components,including ink batches, must be traceable.

Without a modern, automated,streamlined ink logistics to face this myriadof challenges, a printing house runs the riskof down-time due to production bottle-necks and recalls due to poor colour quality.The cost implications are too great tocontemplate.

SMART INK LOGISTICS

Reprinted from Folding Carton Industry. September/October 2011

This principle applies as strongly to thecolour preparation process as any otherpoint in the production workflow. A situationwhere colours are prepared manually iswasteful, puts extreme pressure on the ink-room and fails to give adequate assurance ofcolour precision. The problems are identifiedin the context of the ‘seven aspects ofwaste’, a Japanese managementphilosophy adopted by Toyota. Over-production: Predicting the exactamount required for a job is difficult, andmore so, in the age of short production runs.Printers rationalise that it is less costly toproduce an excess, rather than to riskincurring the greater cost of productionstandstills while ink is remixed to replenish ashortfall. As it is virtually impossible tomanually calculate the press return leftoversof a unique hue into a new job, suchexcesses usually go to waste. In somecases, up to 30 percent of ink stocks are lostto overproduction. Inventory costs: Because of unpredictabledemand and a need to hold a more diverserange of colours, assets are tied up in bothexcess stock and the space needed to holdthem. Motion: Time is a raw material, though wehave only a finite amount that we can use toadd value to our business. This makes motiontime another critical factor of businessefficiency. A manual preparation necessitatesa dedicated ink room, with less flexibility to mixink near the press. And mixing inks requires adedicated hike around the inventories toacquire the necessary ingredients. Waiting time: Forty percent of the time of atypical job changeover is caused by inkchanges and colour adjustments. Theadage, ‘you’re as efficient as the weakestlink in the chain’ rings true. The fast changesof sleeves, substrates or anilox positions areall for naught if the colour mixing stage letsthe side down with bottlenecks! Transportation: Transport & environmentalcosts are incurred internally, by excess useof small buckets to transport ink.Alternatively, printers might outsource theink mixing for unique recipes. This toomeans extra transport costs and anincreased carbon footprint.

Over-processing: With greater humaninvolvement, the risk of quality errorsinevitably rises. Over-processing is whenmore work is done on a piece than isrequired by the customer. This happenswhen ink mixing is outsourced, because ofthe resulting administration costs, taxes andloss of added value – all unnecessarily! Rework and defects: Resources ploughedinto fixing defects is another symptom ofpoor ink management. Often this resultsfrom a failure to achieve colour perfectionfirst time round. The costliest defects of allare field failures, where a whole product isrecalled due to a colour error.

Integrated ink logistics

Gravimetric, modular ink dispensingsystems together with powerful software,solve these problems and provide thesolution to a smooth workflow and a cleanink room, where colour is prepared inprecise quantities and colour requirements,on-demand.

The base element of an automated inklogistics workflow comprises a gravimetricdispensing system, featuring a user-friendlyinterface, linked to several barrels of baseinks, ranging from 12 to 32 Corrosion-resistant stainless steel pipes with optimisedfluid dynamic characteristics that ensure fastand accurate dispensing. When spot colourink is required, the operator simply entersthe colour required; the recipe and dosagevolume is calculated, to an accuracy ofbetween 0.1g and, for large amounts, 2g.The desired colour is then dispensed, and iffour colours or fewer are used, the recipe is

COLOUR ON DEMAND

Typical Packaging value chain vs.costs

Total Ink Cost

TIME IS A RAW MATERIAL,THOUGH WE HAVE ONLY AFINITE AMOUNT THAT WE CAN USE TO ADD VALUE

TO OUR BUSINESS.

Case Study In Zaragoza, Spain, Cartonnajes Santorroman, a converter of B1 and die-cut boxes for shoes, food andbeverages, especially Rioja wines, achieved increased efficiency, reduced waste and improved stockcontrol after installing a Colorsat Compact WB ink dispensing system from GSE Dispensing. Thecompany achieves colour on request from over 3000 formulations, all of which are stored on thedispensing software database.

The company’s technical director, Jesús Peréz Osma, explained, “The Colorsat Compact WBprepares complex ink formulations in accordance with our rigorous quality specifications in just a fewminutes. Our customers get exactly the colour they need, to portray the right message for their brand,and we have no interruptions to our workflow.”

almost always ready within a few minutes.Crucially, the system is capable ofincorporating surplus or ‘press return’ inksfrom previous jobs, into new recipes.Usually, these are too complex to manuallycalculate and go to waste.

The quality of the accompanyingmanagement information software can makethe dispensing system stand out. Software isavailable that can schedule production runs,track batch numbers, produce managementand forecasting reports and real-time inkavailability, and – perhaps for the first time -full cost analysis of each job. With health andsafety concerns a more important issue, theability to be able to show full traceability ofinks that have been used and which batchthey originate from is a key selling point,especially to suppliers in the food andpharmaceutical packaging supply chains.This brings about numerous advantages. ■ Consistent colour accuracy: Gravimetricdispensers guarantee a level of accuracythat the human mind can only dream ofachieving. A printer can assure brand

owners of being first time right, every time —meeting exacting colour standards from onejob run to the next.■ Increased responsiveness: Being able toachieve colour requirements almost instantlymeans one loses no time in setting up thejob, and one can schedule jobs with greaterflexibility. ■ Simpler, controlled workflow: The

Reprinted from Folding Carton Industry. September/October 2011

COLOUR ON DEMAND

Dispensing system: a necessary for leanink management

WITH HEALTH AND SAFETYCONCERNS A MORE

IMPORTANT ISSUE, THE ABILITYTO BE ABLE TO SHOW FULLTRACEABILITY OF INKS THAT

HAVE BEEN USED AND WHICHBATCH THEY ORIGINATE FROM

IS A KEY SELLING POINT.

L to R: Juan Garcia (MD, Ariangraf Suministros SL, GSE Dispensing’s distribution agency in Iberia), JesúsPérez Osma (Technical Director, Cartonnajes Santorroman) and Simone Boskamp (area sales manager,GSE Dispensing).

simplicity of ink dispensing makes itunnecessary to rely on external ink mixingservices. This cuts costs, retains an added-value service within the company andsimplifies the workflow. ■ Reduced waste: Furthermore, waste isreduced, as the dispenser is programmed toprepare the exact volumes for the job. Andany excess inks that are returned can beincorporated into new recipes. Reducedwaste means reduced carbon footprint andenvironmental taxes. Some companies areable to improve ink yields by up to 30 percent.■ Space savings: Space is saved becausea few, large base ink barrels, usually of about200 kg, can supply all colour requirements.It then becomes unnecessary to hold stocksof several small-volume ready-mixed inks. ■ Clean, organised inventories: With anaccompanying weighing scale and abarcode printer/reader, software can bookreturned inks into stock and provide ameans of ordering inventories so inks arequickly reused and easily located.

Systems to suit

There are systems to suit different ink typesor volume requirements, so that whateverthe printing situation, the owner can gain afast investment return. So, a board convertermay find it appropriate to invest in a systemthat dispenses in 25 kg batches, while alabel and occasional narrow-web cartonconverter may find a system adapted todispensing in 5kg doses more appropriate.In short, this fast, accurate and all-encompassing method of delivering printingink to the press - also known as Colour onDemand - improves quality, reduces stocklevels and optimises inventory control,enabling improved margins and a higherquality product also. A gravimetric inkdispensing system with the rightspecification, reliability and support, willensure print quality and fidelity, controlbudgets and support the growing level oflean initiatives that are allied more closelywith manufacturing rather than manualprocesses.

COLOUR ON DEMAND

Reprinted from Folding Carton Industry. September/October 2011

THERE ARE SYSTEMS TO SUITDIFFERENT INK TYPES OR

VOLUME REQUIREMENTS, SOTHAT WHATEVER THE

PRINTING SITUATION, THEOWNER CAN GAIN A FAST

INVESTMENT RETURN.