Page 20 - Print21 March-April 2022

Print Production
Sheetfed
production rules
In the past 30 years the printing industry divided into two types of businesses – offset and digital. Issues of productivity and quality reinforced opinions as to the future of print. The arrival of the HP Indigo 100K B2 press last year allowed leading industry trade supplier, CMYKhub, to bridge the gap and develop a highly evolved synergistic sheetfed printing operation. Patrick Howard reports.
The Covid-19 pandemic presented CMYKhub with unparalleled challenges, as well as the opportunity to radically envision a
different printing production model. Doubling down on investing for
its future, the leading trade print supplier invested in new technology for its factory in the Melbourne suburb of Heidelberg. It refined its workflow, rearranged the factory and all but eliminated the distinction between digital and offset printing. It integrated both forms of printing into a single workflow that prioritises speed and throughput instead of
the type of printing. Welcome to the future of sheetfed printing.
“We completely rearranged
our factory, except for the existing Komori, and completed
a significant refurbishment of workflows to suit our current and future environment,” said Dayne Nankervis, CEO, CMYKhub.
He attributes much of the company’s drive to improve to the requirements of its customers.
“Our customers drive us to be better, whether this be turnaround times, consistency, scalability and 100 per cent machine redundancy. We need to provide improvements for our customers, so when opportunities come by, we can meet the demand quickly, with consistent quality, and fast turnaround time. “Now we have digital and offset working together. We run as a sheetfed business, we no longer separate digital and offset. Finishing is separated by job duration. We have a dedicated factory for next day dispatch and a factory for extended finishing times; a fast highway and a slower one.
“We’ve been able to combine workflows, packing lines and guillotining lines. We’re able to streamline the process, cross train staff, locate like machines closer to each other, and put all the laminating machines in one area. This way we get a better buddy system. We have offset saddle-stitched booklet making alongside digital saddle-stitch, with multiple operators who can support each other in a very similar product.
Right
Offset look and feel from HP Indigo 100K: Bernie Robinson (left) and Dayne Nankervis
Below
Printing in Covid: Staff at CMYKhub in Melbourne with the HP Indigo 100K
“Good supply chain partners will be important for everyone’s future” – Dayne Nankervis.
20 Print21 MARCH/APRIL 2022