Offset Printing
ABB wins contract to safeguard future of printing equipment at Dutch-based firm
Thursday 17. December 2020 - Range of production software at DPG Media Den Haag site to be upgraded to include virtualization of the process and bring long-term efficiencies. Global technology company ABB has secured a contract to upgrade specialist printing production software for DPG Media, the largest media house in The Netherlands.
Control system upgrades for the Den Haag site include ABBs Master Printing System (MPS) Production 6 and MPS Inform, which are virtualized and on the latest open source database, as well as a new control console application with the latest ABB software.
Based in Amsterdam, the group is responsible for some of the countrys largest newspapers, including Algemeen Dagblad and De Volkskrant, which have a combined print run of more than 600,000 copies, as well as popular national magazines Autotrack, Donald Duck and Libelle among many others.
An ABB press management and optimization system, MPS Production enables operators to plan print products using specifications imported from an external system or created using an inbuilt graphical planner. The tooling package also maps out printing presses installed on site for complete end-to-end production optimization using existing infrastructure.
By utilizing the latest version, DPG Media will ensure it is fit for the future, replacing obsolete operating systems and achieving reductions in maintenance and preparation time, start-up waste and ink and water use. The entire system has been converted to run with the PostgreSQL open source database and will help bring significant cost savings as a result.
MPS Inform, a production data analysis system, enables operators to gather reports for their specific requirements. It is customizable and can include statistics on production faults, operating sequences, material consumption and operation hours. As an option it also supports the management of preventive maintenance.
“We have chosen to lean on the expertise of ABB, as we have done in the past, to bring our equipment set-up forward once again in terms of the latest technologies,” said Jules de Corte, Head of Technical Service at DPG Media. “Virtualization means we have independence from reliance on specific hardware and operating system lifecycles. Our applications can be moved to a new platform seamlessly and we also have the security of backed-up copies using MPS software.”
DPG Media has also agreed upgrades to ABBs MPS Control Console, which is the operator’s console for newspaper presses. The currently installed version will be updated based on the new ABB Compact HMI (human-machine interface) platform. All existing PCs will be replaced by new PCs (Windows 10 Enterprise LTSB) and new 16:9 monitors.
“Technologies are moving at pace and while at the forefront of continuous development, using the latest software systems on the market, were well placed at ABB to advise on upgrade timelines,” said Damian Staedeli, Head of Printing, ABB. “We have the distinct domain and company knowledge of DPG Media and its systems and look forward to a successful installation campaign, and ultimately our customer reaping the rewards in terms of speed and harnessing the power of additional data on their operations.”
All of the upgrades are scheduled for delivery, installation and engineering at DPG Media in early 2021.