Charlie Scandrett from Sakurai importer Pressnet says printers can optimise their productivity by using A2 and A1 presses rather than the B2 and B1 format machines.
IN the mid-1990s, all European manufacturers stopped production of A2 size offset presses (66cm) and concentrated on the B2 format and B1 format. It was reasoned that the two international standard paper sizes, Quad Crown 1020x760 and IPS 910x650, both fit on these size presses, albeit with some trimming. Sakurai and other Japanese manufacturescontinued with both the A2 66cm format as well as their 72cm B2 format, because their local market demanded it.
Sakurai introduced the 7 o’clock double-diameter cylinder configuration in the early nineties with their Sakurai ED72 model, which then became popular with board printers throughout the world. Responding to demand from board printers, Sakurai them introduced the 75SD model in 2003. At 76.5x60cm sheet size, the SD75 was the first B2 format press to print the complete half board sheet size of 76x51cm.
However most European and Aus-tralian publication work is based on the A4 format. Many small to medium commercial printers produce more than 99 per cent of their work in various fractions and multiples of A4. Constant ink starvation on the outer six centimetres of ink roller on B2 presses, when running 65cm formes, heats the roller ends and causes degradation by swelling and perishing. The capital cost of the press and the consumable cost of the larger plates also affects competitiveness of the B2 format when running 65cm formes.
The 52cm format multicolour press became popular for short run work during the nineties, because setup was fast with a physically small press. But since the introduction on fully automated A2 format multicolour presses, 52cm format has lost its setup advantage. Autoplate loading and CTP punching accuracy has speeded up plating mounting and fitting. With CIP3 ink key setting, sheet size, impression pressure, roller, blanket and impression washing, all being performed from the console, 52cm presses now lost their make-ready advantage. Less than one minute separates the average setup time of these formats now.
The fully automated A2 format has an advantage over B2 format in capital cost and running cost. This A2 format can compete easily with 52cm multicolour presses by achieving par on setup times, conceding some plate cost disadvantage but achieving far greater productivity. The productivity of the A2 format gives the small to medium multicolour press owner access to work from 400 copies of a two page A4 brochure, to several thousand 92 page A4 publications. I have chosen
92pp because 92p+ cover is the maximum capacity of a Watkiss Digivac twin tower stitch-fold-trim. Other Japanese models of stitch-fold-trim can produce 76pp plus cover in a single pass of twin tower. This competitive ability with digital production and with larger publication production is the strength of the fully automated A2 format for the small to medium printer with a single multicolour press.Sakurai introduced the 66SI fully automated single-diameter impression press in 2001 and it quickly became its best selling model in sixty years of press production.
Since Pressnet took over the Sakurai agency in 2005, Precision Print in Busselton WA, Hollands Print Solutions in Darwin and Printzone in Mooloolaba have had success with this model in Australia. Sakurai responded to market demand and produced a double-diameter SD model in the 66cm format in 2006. Pressnet has sold those 66SD models to Harvey Print Group in Melbourne, Specialty Press in Albury and Queensland Trade Print in Mooloolaba. Several other orders are now pending.
In the USA and UK Sakurai is now the top selling 66cm format model in the market. This reflects demand for a competitive format that European manufacturers seem to have forgotten.
In the A1 format Sakurai has recently introduced the 96SD model with a 96x64cm sheet size, capable for printing the full IPS sheet size for publication. The extra 4cm in width was included for the rapidly growing Chinese market who need this format. For this model Sakurai included all options as standard. CIP4, roller, blanket and impression cylinder wash, and ink temperature cooling.
This Sakurai 96SD model is 50 per cent heavier than competing brands, and it is a double diameter 7 o’clock impression. Capital cost savings over a 102cm format press are about 30 per cent. Sakurai has statistically established
that 97 per cent of work that is now run on 102cm format presses, could be run on the Sakurai 96SD sheet size. Because capital cost and plate cost are significant percentages of the total cost of production, the 96SD creates a sustainable competitive margin for the A1 format press.
