Ryobi invited 140 agents (including regional agent, Cyber), customers and journalists to its Hiroshima plant in Japan last month for a preview of its new B1 size sheetfed offset press, the Ryobi 1050 series, and other innovations to be shown at drupa. Brian Moore was there for AP
TARGETING both the commercial and package printing segments, Ryobi’s new flagship 1050 series embodies successful technologies found in presses such as the company’s popular 680/750 series, together with the results of the company’s constant R&D activities.The 1050 series can handle paper stocks up to 1085 x 780mm and is available in two types to handle a printing area of 1050 x 710mm (S type) or 1050 x 770mm (XL type). The presses can print on stock ranging from 0.04mm to 0.6mm, with an option available to print on 1mm stock.
A single press, says Ryobi, has the flexibility to print commercial jobs such as posters, large newspaper inserts and pamphlets as well as labels and packaging.
Ryobi has sought to provide users with a new level of operability, enabled by PQS (inline printing quality control) and the PCS-L dual-monitor printing control system. PQS is an optional inline printing quality control system for the control of ink density during the print run; a CCD camera mounted at the delivery takes a digital image to measure the density on the colour bar of the printed sheet.
Values needed to match colour densities to target are calculated and provided as feedback to the printing control system which appropriately adjusts the openings of the ink fountain keys.
PQS enables efficient colour adjustment and reduces wasted printing sheets. In addition, the system can detect print defects such as hickeys and other marks, and automatically identifies flawed printed sheets by inserting marker tapes, all, says Ryobi, at a much lower price than competitive systems on the market.
An interesting option on the 1050 series is the addition of moveable shell type skeleton transfer drums.
Different print stock types and thicknesses can be accommodated by shifting the shell, ensuring consistent print quality by minimising scratching and marking of the printing stock.
For printing on heavy card stock, the shell sections are stowed inside the transfer drum. For printing on lightweight stock, the transfer drum can be expanded by attaching the shell sections.
High printing quality on the 1050 is enabled by a printing unit design which consists of a double-diameter impression cylinder and a doubler-diameter transfer drum. These cylinders, which have a large curvature ratio, transport paper with minimum flapping, providing stable paper transport even when printing on heavy stock.
As an option, transfer cylinders can be equipped with air guide plates to ensure minimal scratching to print stock, even during high speed printing.
Air blow and suction from the plate forms a cushion between the guide and print stock and supports reliable transfer of the printed sheets.
The Ryobi-matic-D Remote continuous dampening system with remote on/off hickey removing function is another option.
It reduces hickeys on the plates through the use of a drive mechanism for the water form roller that creates a rotational speed difference between the water form roller and plate cylinder.
Meanwhile, the new Ryobi PCSL-L printing control system uses dual operation monitors. The simultaneous display of two setting screens facilitates easy job set-up and greatly improves operability, says Ryobi.
Ryobi Program Inking automatically sets the conversion curve for each colour according to the image area ratio data calculated at prepress.
The ink settings, ink fountain roller speed, and number of contacts by the ink ductor roller are all controlled based on the conversion curves to assure optimum ink volume. This function allows the operator to quickly begin the next job, minimising the amount of wasted paper at the start of printing.
Models in the 1050 series come standard with Ryobi’s Semi-RPC (semiautomatic plate changer) and Full-RPC (Ryobi’s fully automatic plate changer) is available as an option.
On the Full-RPC, plate mounting and removal is entirely controlled from the PCS-L touch panel leaving the operator free to carry out other tasks while plates are changed automatically.
Even with Semi-RPC, precise plate mounting is achieved quickly with push-button control because plates are set using positioning pins.
There is no need for bending the plate’s leading or trailing edge on either the Semi-RPC or Full-RPC models.
Ryobi has enhanced the stability of paper feeding performance with the incorporation of a new stream feeder, equipped with a blower type static eliminator, ensuring reliable feeding of a wide variety of printing stocks.
Two suction-tapes securely and smoothly feed print stock to the front lay.
Highly accurate sheet feeding is achieved by the efficient deceleration of each sheet with a tape slowdown mechanism. This ensures reliable front lay and pull side guide positioning for more precise register.
To ensure reliable stock feeding, sliders automatically adjust the position of the feed table when sensors detect slight alignment deviation of the paper pile at the feeder.
Air suction is used for the pull side guide to eliminate concerns about roller marking. Adjustment is easy for kinds of stock and can even be carried out while printing is in progress.
For high value-added printing, aqueous or UV varnish coating can be processed inline.
The coating unit of the Ryobi 1050 series has a chamber-type doctor blade system that can apply a uniform layer of varnish over the entire print surface for a fine finish. The unit can be raised and lowered for enhanced operability.
Four delivery options are available: extra long, long, semi-long and standard. Infrared and UV curing can be mounted at the delivery end.
Combining a coating and UV curing unit not only provides quick drying for faster delivery time but also makes higher value-added printing such as on film, metalised paper and other non absorbing materials.
The Ryobi 1050 will make its debut on stand 17/A06 at drupa in Düsseldorf. Ryobi will be demonstrating a five-colour (1050-5) model in Germany. The machine is expected to be ready for delivery to customers approximately one year after drupa, in 2009.
Energy-saving LED-UV curing system
RYOBI has collaborated with Toyo Ink in the development of an energy-saving and environmentally-friendly LED-UV printing system which will be shown at drupa on a five-colour Ryobi 525GX A3 plus.
The system employs a commercially available LED-UV irradiation system from Matsushita Electric and ink specially developed for the process by Toyo Ink. In place of a conventional UV lamp, the new system employs a long-life (with 10 times the lifespan of a conventional UV lamp), lower power consumption LED light source for UV (ultraviolet) curing.
The growing range of applications for
UV offset printing already include labels and packaging and the market is set to grow substantially with the increasing demand for printing on film, metalised paper and other non-absorbent paper for higher added value printing.
UV-capable presses are also attracting attention because there is no need to wait for drying before the next process.
UV inks contain no VOC (volatile organic compound) solvents and can be dried instantly without using a hot air dryer. Thus, UV printing systems are more environmentally friendly and do not directly generate CO2. Ryobi offers a variety of UV printing presses to maximise these advantages and is planning to extend the LED-UV system to other models such as the 750 series B2 plus size.
Compared to conventional UV lamp systems, Ryobi’s LED-UV print curing system reduces power consumption by 70 to 80 per cent. This corresponds to a reduction in environmental impact by about 25 tons of CO2 emissions per year (assuming an annual operating time of 2000 hours for a Ryobi 525GX as exhibited at drupa 2008).
