At the heart of CMYUKhub is a KBA Rapida offset press that outputs high-definition stochastic printing at 500lpi. Very different print requirements demand a fresh approach for the workflow on the print shop floor and there are six main areas every sign business should evaluate to identify waste and create opportunity for operational efficiency gains
Asking yourself the question, “where do I create waste in my processes?”, is a great way to start considering a fresh approach to your production workflow. Every step of the process—from order entry and prepress to delivery—can generate waste, especially when customer demands are changing. Certain sub-processes today may slow down production, create delays and rework, and increase the potential for rejects and equipment idle time.
There are a number of steps in a typical workflow, from design, estimating and customer approval to prepress, printing, cutting and packing. And every stage can be improved.
Esko is dedicated to helping businesses work through these complexities to remain competitive in a dynamic marketplace”
The approval process can take a long time because designs are often presented in several iterations until the customer is 100 percent satisfied. By implementing 3D rendering of the display designs before any physical mock-ups are made, cycle times can be significantly reduced. Moreover, this capability can be an integrated function of a fully automated workflow, including communication with the customer.
Another key area is preventing errors in graphical files. Signage or display designs can arrive from many different sources in various formats with a variety of individual components. They must be checked, corrected and nested on the right substrate prior to moving them to print to avoid delays and extra costs, as well as waste that occurs when inaccurate files reach the press. Unfortunately, manual checks often create a bottleneck and waste valuable time during the prepress process.
CAD design skills can also not be underestimated, as a lack of structural design skills can be a major area of waste. Customer opportunities are sometimes turned down because the display is too complex to design and produce. Design time can be cut by up to 90 percent by using CAD software and templates, and to simplify the process.
The key to workflow efficiency is to identify all areas of waste and standardise processes to eliminate that waste”
Improving production control is also vital. How often does the delta between the price on the customer quote and the actual production cost eat away your entire margin? How often do you have to ask your staff to put in extra effort to get that rush job out on time? Knowing exactly how long a job will take, including setup time, and understanding when to best interject a rush job in an existing job queue for production devices is essential. Lack of transparency in the workload of departments and devices hurts your flexibility, and ultimately, your bottom line.
Another area to look at is cutting table efficiencies. Job setup can easily take up to 30 minutes and result in hours of equipment idle time, especially when many short-run jobs, sometimes hundreds, must be processed each day. Simplified cutting tables make operation fast and easy for a 10 percent increase in throughput and reduced errors.
The final element to consider is packaging, as this department is typically the last step in the shop floor workflow, and consequences of waste earlier in the process will ultimately end up there. Slight modifications to the product and to the production flow on the way, typically undocumented, may lead to inadequate and inefficient packing of finished products.
The key to workflow efficiency is to identify all areas of waste and standardise processes to eliminate that waste. Esko solutions help convert waste into value-added time every step of the way. Identifying waste in individual processes is not difficult, but understanding each step of a workflow and how they perform as a chain can often be complex.
Esko is dedicated to helping businesses work through these complexities to remain competitive in a dynamic marketplace.
