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How automating ink processes drive performance in package printing
Maarten Hummelen, marketing director and co-owner of GSE, says software for managing ink is assisting packaging printers in standardising colour quality, streamlining processes, enabling better decision-making, assuring compliance and improving response times
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horter production runs, increasing customisation, tighter sustainability and safety regulations all make managing and controlling a printing plant and its
automated workfl ows more complex. Management information systems address this by automating processes and providing access to job, production and fi nancial information - helping printers get more done effi ciently. However, integrating ink-related information has been a challenge for printers, especially when spot colours are used. Being blended from diff erent colours, and sometimes returned after production for reuse, spot colours follow a ‘non-linear’ workfl ow journey, and so cannot be tracked by ERP software.
THE DISADVANTAGES OF NOT TRACKING INKS DIGITALLY
If the tracking of inks and ink-handling processes is not managed digitally, the converter is disadvantaged in a variety of ways. First is the heightened risks of workfl ow ineffi ciencies, including bottlenecks, excessive administrative costs and errors. This is primarily because of over-reliance on staff to do relatively mundane tasks: minutes lost printing out an ink recipe or job schedule, manual stock-taking exercises, or searching for a bucket of press-returns ‘somewhere in storage’ can soon add up, costing production time.
Second, strategic decision-making is impaired. In a fast-moving production environment, accurately
forecasting ink requirements becomes challenging without real-time inventory visibility or if consumption is laboriously calculated on spreadsheets. Without the advanced pattern-detecting insight from software, buyers will tend to order excess amounts, to be confi dent of avoiding a ‘stock out’. Third, is the risk of failing to meet regulatory requirements for documentation and traceability. The ability to retrieve ink data on-demand is fundamental to regulatory compliance – regardless of whether one uses spot or process colours. Food packaging suppliers must provide traceability of inks used in production, in accordance with safety standards – at speed.
DEDICATED PROGRAMMES FOR EVERY PROCESS STEP
To solve this, dedicated ink management software programmes have been developed that track inks through blending and press-return cycles that spot colours undergo. Capable of integration with other MIS / ERP platforms, they automate and accelerate ink processes, bringing a host of performance benefi ts to label and package printing. There are programs for improving tasks including: Purchasing: Software automatically raises purchase instructions to ink suppliers or internal procurement teams when stocks reach pre-determined low levels, cutting administration and ensuring orders are fi ne- tuned to customer demand. Inventory management: Software automatically
logs ink inventory changes, providing real-time visibility of stock levels at every point in the workfl ow. This includes records of base inks in storage and connected to the ink dispenser, and compatible press-return inks.
Colour recipe creation and adjustment: Software enables printers to react fast, for example, when launching a new product. Recipe data from colour formulation software is imported without the need for manual entry. Ink-batch traceability: Software traces dispensed ink batches, including information about their ingredients, to the customer order they were blended for, and vice versa. This allows compliance with global food safety standards, and can pinpoint a problem fast, in the rare chance of an error. Calculating ink consumption: A programme accurately calculates ink quantities needed for a print job, based on job and artwork data. Quantifying consumption gives greater insight into raw material forecasting, job costing, and carbon impact.
Report generation: Programmes can automatically and instantly generate customised ink reports concerning consumption, real-time inventories and per-job ink costs, resulting in better- informed decision-making or benchmarking.
PERFORMANCE BENEFITS OF INK HANDLING SOFTWARE
Ink management software off ers numerous performance-enhancing benefi ts. It streamlines administrative tasks, reduces costs, and improves inventory control by minimizing excess stock and preventing shortages. Time is saved through faster calculations and easy data access, while integrated systems boost quality control and reduce human error. The software enhances sustainability by tracking ink use per job and supports smoother production fl ow. It also frees staff to focus on higher- value tasks. Additionally, it ensures compliance with auditing standards and enables better decision- making.
Complementing other emerging technologies such as lights-out manufacturing, the cloud and ERP systems, automated ink management is an essential factor in the industry’s digital transformation that will be key to driving long-term competitiveness.
12 May 2025
www.convertermag.com
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