Offset Printing
New standby function on sheetfed presses from Heidelberg significantly boosts energy efficiency
Tuesday 05. August 2014 - Available on all presses with Prinect Press Center
Another innovation for green printing that conserves resources
Initial use by commercial printer demonstrates efficiency, even with short idle times
All presses from Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) that are equipped with the Prinect Press Center now come with the new standby function. This enables the press to be switched to an energy-saving mode that significantly reduces CO 2 emissions. Depending on press length and format, the standby function leads to potential savings of up to 15 kW. Calculated over an entire year, print shops that switch to standby mode for just one hour each day can thus save enough energy to power a family home.
Day-to-day press operation involves repeated waits and pauses. Depending on the situation, operators can decide whether they wish to switch to standby mode. This is a simple step that does not involve powering down the press. Pressing the standby button on the Prinect Press Center switches the peripherals and individual sub-assemblies of the press to energy-saving mode. Powering up the press again is also much faster than starting it from scratch.
Saving at the touch of a button
Druckerei Kern GmbH in Bexbach is one of the first print shops to benefit from the green, cost-efficient operation made possible by the new standby function. “We’ve now been using the standby function on our Speedmaster CX 102-5+L for several weeks. Even with idle times of just a few minutes, we can place the entire press – including water treatment, dryer units, and wallscreen – in standby mode,” explains Uwe Kuhn, a team leader in Kern’s Press Department. “The one-click operation is simple and intuitive, and it’s also extremely easy to start the press operating again. The standby function is an ingeniously simple solution for further boosting energy efficiency,” he adds.
The “Kern goes green” campaign demonstrates the company’s commitment to sustainable production. Operating on a production area of over 2,600 square meters, it offers short-run digital printing, large-format printing, and high-quality long-run offset printing. Heidelberg technology helps reduce resource consumption. The highly automated Speedmaster CX 102 five-color press with coating unit and Speedmaster SX 102 eight-color machine shorten makeready times significantly. In conjunction with Prinect Inpress Control, which controls ink and register on the fly, the amount of paper waste has been almost halved.
The innovative printing company’s certifications include the ISO 9001 quality management standard and the EMAS III European environmental standard. “One of our corporate principles is to ensure green working practices and we’re delighted that, in Heidelberg, we’ve found an expert partner to help us in this respect,” explains Kuhn.