Mrkim Report This Comment
Date: August 10, 2007 12:00PM

So what kinda machine are we lookin at here Woberto, I'm curious

Tiw Report This Comment
Date: August 10, 2007 07:46PM

I think it is probably either a large plotter/printer or a laminator.

Mrkim Report This Comment
Date: August 10, 2007 10:00PM

A printer/plotter with fountains like that ? Most plotters I've seen use like an inkjet head ?? What is particularly unusual is the ink/toner/UV ink (??) containers on the units. It almost looks as if they would come pre-packaged this way and I've never seen anything like 'em

fossil_digger Report This Comment
Date: August 10, 2007 11:34PM

it'sa ricer kim!

woberto Report This Comment
Date: August 11, 2007 01:10AM

Heidelberg CD102 offset litho sheetfed.
The ink cartridge is a newish feature for large runs.
Larger presses actually have a bowser for the ink.
Even bigger (web) presses have a continuous pump feeeding from a 2.5tonne tank.
In Australia we call it an "ink-duct" not a fountain. Although for the water we call that a fountain. As you know lithography requires ink & water.
And of course to print anything useful you need four process colours, this is just the yellow unit... 12 colours with perfecting is the standard these days.

Mrkim Report This Comment
Date: August 11, 2007 02:18AM

Yep, although I got my start many years ago in offset on Goss web press and then on to a Harris 25X38" 2 color Harris sheet fed, I split from the industry completely for about 15yrs years before winding up workin on a 2 color 102" Langston flexo press at a box company. Then went from there to workin mainly on converting letterpresses to die cutters and foil stampers and doin service and installation work on those as well as different pieces of finishing equipment.

What many people outside the industry have little idea of is just how MANY different areas there are within the printing world and that each area is pretty specialized.

BTW, most Americans call 'em ink fountains and water systems or fountains. I believe the Heidelberg manuals refer to fountains as ducts and of course that explains why the roller winds up being called a ductor roller

I don't really often get around much offset equipment these days although I was in a shop just last week where they had just installed a new Heidelberg CD 102 6 or 8 color with a coater unit. The operator told me they were unable to use the last unit or the coater unit because the tech had installed them 1 tooth outta time with the rest of the machine ! Hard to believe a factory tech can make such an error. I sure couln't make a livin doin stuff like that

woberto Report This Comment
Date: August 11, 2007 03:34AM

The cylinder turns 360 degrees (obviously) but some machines have double impression cylinders which makes it more fun. And to make it more complicated the alignment scale goes to 2 decimal places of a degree. So it is more likely that he was a few degrees out rather than a whole cog. For example when some of the plate clamp systems fail you must rotate the machine to exactly the right position before you can release the pneumatic cam. That sucks.
Reminds me of the time I rebuilt an engine and the when I put the timing chain back on (yes chain, I'm an old fart too) the manual said "align the nickel plated link with the TDC mark on the toothed cam gear". Problem was that someone had replaced this chain before with a non-genuine part and there was no nickel plated link! Being a young fella with hardly any tools I worked it all out mathematically with a spirit level and a protractor, and got it exactly one cog wrong...

Mrkim Report This Comment
Date: August 11, 2007 04:50AM

The operator told me that the tech said it could all be retimed by unpinning, moving and then repinning the mated drive gears between the 2 out of time units and the rest of the press, which sounds like a major PITA to me ! He told me the 2 out of time units are a full .125" out of time with the rest of the machine. Hard to imagine a company layin out the kinda big bucks for such a machine and then not even being able to utilize it to its full potential.

I was at their shop to oversee removal of a ZT-100 Planeta, ever heard of 'em? They're a really bizarre 40" letterpress and this one is converted to a die cutter. This machine was built in East Germany while it was still under Communist rule !

woberto Report This Comment
Date: August 11, 2007 05:27AM

Yes I have repaired the continuous delivery on one, the manual was in Russian. They had unique casting, looked kinda like an alien compared to the square edged German manchines. Makes a good anchor these days.
Which reminds me, a friend has operated a Goss Urbanite that was at the bottom of Sydney Harbour for three days. They bolted it to a Goss Community to make estra units and somehow it worked. They print the Trading Post on it in Australia. Still going strong.

Mrkim Report This Comment
Date: August 11, 2007 05:51AM

As a 40" die cutter capable of cutting heavy plasticized board stock for under $40K I'd hardly call it an anchor. Old, hard to get parts for, and slow by new machinery standards, yes, but an anchor .... hardly

It's all a matter of perspective and cost effectiveness at gettin a certain job done.

Companies who can justify the expense of a 1/4 million dollar (and up) machine and have huge runs to make it worth the investment, make such an investment. Shops with short run work and specialized products have to look at things differently.

Try tellin a customer whose die cut work consists of runs typically less than 5000 sheets that he has to invest $250k or more on equipment and then spend 2+ hours setting up those kind of runs and tell me how many sales you make doing it that way.