Ink & Ink Dispensers Hitting colour targets and hammering


costs with automated ink logistics By Maarten Hummelen, marketing director at GSE.


I


n a complex workflow like labels and packaging, managing ink and preparing colours can be a source of significant costs and delay. It is no wonder: brand owners place stringent demands of accuracy on their packaging suppliers. With short runs to contend with, there is no time or room for error.


Here are some steps converters can take to reduce waste, focus on value creation, and speed up processes, based on the ‘Lean’ manufacturing mindset:


DEFINE YOUR REAL ADDED VALUE Ask yourself what customers are really paying you for. The label and packaging they buy are a means to a greater end: increased sales, or compelling, strong and consistent point-of-sale branding, for instance. Analyse processes and identify which costs provide value (such as your staff, press and equipment), and to reduce as much as possible the costs and tasks that don’t.


IDENTIFY WASTE


There are eight types of waste that relate to ink: OOverproduction: producing more ink or labels than the customer will pay for


OMismanaged inventory OWaiting: job change-over times for short runs cost more!


OTransport: the cost of shipments. Base inks in large containers are cheaper rather than many small- volume orders


OMotion: excessive walking when internally handling and moving inks within the factory


OOver-processing: administrative costs of purchasing, storing, monitoring, providing or relying on the supplier to mix inks


ORework / rejects: wasted materials, manpower, downtime and production time.


OHuman talent: excessive manual intervention – from administration to manually mixing inks – means that employees are less likely to fulfil their productive or creative potential.


REORGANISE YOUR WORKPLACE Reorganising the workplace creates the conditions for removing waste and resolving problems at their source. There are five elements: OSort – remove all items in the ink room that are not used in the work area.


OSet in order – arrange all items so they can be found when needed within 30 seconds.


OShine – clean and inspect tools, equipment and surfaces, to discover problems as soon as they arise, such as leakage or damage.


OStandardise – make an organised workplace an expectation. Set standards for everyone to meet.


OSustain – prevent ‘backsliding’ with regular audits and always look for improvements.


THE AUTOMATED INK KITCHEN The most effective solutions for reorganising the ink kitchen and eliminating ink-related waste are an ink dispensing system, spectrophotometric colour measurement and, for flexo process users, a tabletop proofer.


Ink dispensers create special colours by blending exact amounts of base inks together, as specified by a formula. The base inks are supplied from connected barrels to the dispensing bucket, to make a batch of a special colour in minutes. The dispenser’s own software stores the ink recipe for instant recall, when a job is repeated, and handles inks returned from the press – booking them methodically into storage and calculating them into new recipes. There is also ink recipe formulation software, which uses digital colour data as targets, generated by a photospectrometer.


Tailored dispensing systems are available for all label and packaging applications and ink sets. They are modular, so more base components can be added later if needed.


A tabletop wet-proofing system measures a flexo ink’s colour at the same dot gain as it will experience on the press. This accurately predicts colour without fingerprinting, and without making colour adjustments during job changes on the target press.


INK-COST REDUCTIONS OF UP TO 30% Automating the ink kitchen can yield ink cost reductions of up to 30%, by enabling: Oreduced ink usage: dispense exactly what is needed without excess ordering; re-use press- return inks in new jobs


Ostandardised colour processes – assuring


Ink dispensing equipment at Pharmalabel, Roosendaal, the Netherlands.


repeatable quality


Oincreased machine uptime – because processes are faster and reliable


Oreduced inventory, transport and administrative costs


Oreduced material waste – especially in the startup phase.


SMART INK LOGISTICS: INTEGRATE SOFTWARE


Software advances and the cloud have enabled “smart manufacturing,” where digital technologies ensure transparent, integrated and intelligent production processes.


Dedicated, modular ink management software, such as GSE Ink manager, is an example. It stores, shares and analyses high levels of data, enabling faster processes and more waste reduction. Its value- adding functions include: Oreusing ‘press return’ inks Operforming colour corrections and adjustments Ocreating new colours Ogenerating management reports Ogenerating purchase advice automatically when base colour stocks are low Otracing ink batches.


Automated technologies such as dispensing and proofing are key to simplifying, standardising and accelerating processes. With these in place, a converter is on the road to ‘preferred supplier’ status.


Xwww.inkconnection.org


16


October 2021


www.convertermag.com


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