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May 2009
SWUG gets the reel story
In a first for the SWUG conference, this year’s host
site was not a print centre but rather a paper mill
where delegates were given a behind-the-scenes
look at how the stuff they print on is made.
T
he SWUG conference
made a successful return
in 2009 having been
postponed the previous year
in order to move to an earlier
time in the year.
Delegate numbers were
down slightly but this was
probably due more to the
current tough economic
climate than any change in
the conference calendar.
In another break from
tradition, the host site this
year was the Norske Skog
mill at Albury, the first time
that the conference has been
held at a venue not directly
involved in the printing of a
newspaper title.
Delegates enjoyed a behindthe-scenes look at the
processes involved in
transforming timber and
recycled paper into fresh
newsprint reels, experiencing
every stage of production
from raw material through to
finished product.
Norske Skog staff were
on hand to act as guides
throughout the huge site,
providing an extremely
interesting and informative
afternoon for all the delegates.
In the evening, Norske Skog
also played host at the nearby
Kinross Woolshed Hotel
where delegates relaxed and
enjoyed the country
atmosphere and hospitality.
Best venue ever
The NSW town of Albury
proved to be a popular venue
for the conference with the
facilities at the Albury
Convention Centre among the
best yet enjoyed in the 24 year
history of the conference.
Over the course of three
days, the 200 delegates heard
a range of presentations on
this year’s theme of ‘Lean,
Green, Safe and Clean’.
Speakers such as Dr Tony
Wilkins from News Limited
and Lillias Bovell from
Magnificent Mandurah
RPP Mandurah were the big winners at this year’s SWUG awards as the
WA site demonstrated once again that it is the best single width
newspaper production site in the country by winning two of the major
shields on offer, the second conference in a row it has done so.
Pictured celebrating the double are (l-r) Terry Brissett who presented
the Art Roller Shield, Brendan Hannay, Greg Haley, Ron Brown and
Stuart Holder of Mandurah, and Ian Johns of DIC Australia who
presented the Coates Shield.
the Publishers National
Environment Bureau
addressed key environmental
issues such as carbon
footprints and recycling.
Other speakers also
covered various aspects of
newspaper production from
the point of view of making it
more efficient and less
wasteful, while safety once
again featured prominently.
The ‘Who Am I?’ sessions
proved to be as popular as
ever while the two Engineers
Sessions once again raised
a number of important
maintenance and production
issues to be followed up over
the coming year.
A popular innovation on
the final morning this year
was the staging of a ‘mock’
OH&S trial that recreated the
treatment that managers and
staff can expect to face if they
are ever unfortunate enough
to be prosecuted for a breach
of safety legislation.
The annual SWUG Awards
evening, a traditional
highlight of the conference,
confirmed the standing of
RPP Mandurah as one of the
best single width printing
sites in the country when it
once again won two major
awards and was runner-up
in the other one.
It was left to Shepparton
Newsprinters to prevent the
WA site from achieving a
clean sweep in 2009.
High calibre candidates
The Apprentice of the
Year award went to Hesm
Noureddin from Murray
Bridge. The high calibre of
candidates this year was
demonstrated by the fact
that two other apprentices,
James Johnstone of Capital
Fine Print and Sarah Weldon
from the Border Mail, were
also highly commended.
As an extra bonus for
delegates, after the conference
concluded at lunchtime on
Monday, the local print site at
the Border Mail opened its
doors for tours of the plant.
Based at nearby Wodonga,
the modern facility houses the
unique five tower Goss
Uniliner S press with Agfa
prepress and Müller Martini
mailroom. Visitors had the
opportunity to inspect the
press in action at close
quarters as well as the inline
inserting system operating
in the mailroom.
It was a fitting end to a
packed weekend of learning,
discussing, networking and
enjoying the friendship and
spirit of co-operation among
delegates that makes SWUG
so special.
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3
SWUG May 2009
Despite the economic
downturn, SWUG
members once again
displayed their
enthusiasm for the
annual conference.
T
he 23rd annual SWUG
conference held at Albury with
the theme Lean, Green, Safe and
Clean was one of the best to date in
my view. With the current financial
crisis, we had expectations of
approximately 170 delegates
attending and to top 200 was a
significant effort on all counts.
To have the SWUG conference
received so enthusiastically by so
many is a credit to the committee and
the efforts that they put in.
The Albury Convention Centre and
the accommodation in Albury was
excellent. The Convention Centre staff
proved exceptional in their organising
of our conference.
The Conference highlights were the
host site Norske Skog Albury mill
visit, the Border Mail Print centre
tour, the SWUG Apprentice winners
and the ‘mock’ court experience.
The conference started off with a
welcome function sponsored by
Kodak in the Albury Library/Museum
in the city centre, which was a great
place to view some of the local
artefacts and books of historical value.
The library is a moving feast with
regular theme changes.
The Saturday programme went
well and with the speakers from
overseas and locally doing an
excellent job. Timing was better
than usual and the speakers were
most impressive.
The host site Norske Skog Saturday
afternoon mill tour was a huge
success with all delegates touring
the mill in detail and gaining an
insight that even I hadn’t experienced
before. The whole operation of the
mill from the wood chipping, deinking and final making of the
paper was very educational.
This part of the conference was
outstanding and there were many
questions answered during the tour.
A big thank you to Andrew Leighton,
Michael Lukin, Steve Cox, Svein
Aurstad and all the mill staff for their
efforts to make the tour a fantastic
and enjoyable event.
It was followed by an evening of
country fun with cowboy hats for us to
set the scene at the Kinross Woolshed,
all sponsored by Norske Skog.
A great night out
The Sunday night annual
presentation dinner, sponsored by
the major sponsor Goss International,
which has been with the SWUG
conference since its inception, and
headed up by Peter Kirwan, was a
great night of award winners, both
in the newspaper competition and
the apprentice awards.
The ‘de-motivational’ speaker was
uninspiring, unemotional but bloody
funny, and an enjoyable night was
had by all.
The conference kicked off early on
Monday with a presentation from
GAMAA and comments on the
Awards competition and then went
into the mock court situation which
was a brilliant exhibition of what can
happen if we don’t pay attention to
our OH&S procedures.
To be put in that court situation
(and some of the delegates were setup, I must admit) puts a huge
emphasis on the effort that we must
all put in to ensure all staff are kept
safe during their working days.
To finish up with our motivational
speaker, Tony Mowbray, telling of
his epic tours in a very emotional
way was a fitting final session for
the conference.
Thanks for the support
As we all know, the SWUG
conference has grown over the
years to what it is today and we
certainly cannot survive without
the sponsorship we receive, especially
from our major sponsors Goss,
Kodak and MAN.
The support of GAMAA and their
training opportunities are well
thought of and used by many in the
print industry. Several of our SWUG
We’re
keen
to be
lean,
green,
safe
and
clean
delegates have completed the courses
at GAMAA.
To all our important sponsors Baldwin, DIC, Ferag, Brissett Rollers,
Flint, Müller Martini, Oceanic
Multitrading, Böttcher, DS Chemport,
MacDermid, Ace Rollers, Fujifilm,
Mosca, Plunkett & Johnson, Servicom,
Agfa, GSB Chemicals, KBA - we
thank them all for their support and
look forward to it continuing in
coming years.
We need to thank once again
special people at the conference. It
was great to see Bill Kemp attend
this year, a great supporter of the
conference over the years and now
retired. Also Geoff Austin, our long
time committee member who is also
retired. He was the original SWUG
President from 1985 to 1990 and has
always been a great asset to SWUG
especially as a facilitator.
I would like to thank Anita White
for all her hard work prior to the
conference and for organising all the
detail. These conferences don’t just
happen without the work put into it
from the start, and we appreciate
Anita’s attention to detail for SWUG.
Thank you also to all the SWUG
committee members who facilitate
and help the conference run smoothly
over the three day period.
Finally, thank you to all the
speakers whom I nominate on a
regular basis. We should also
SWUG President’s Report
acknowledge that this year’s
apprentices did a great job with
their presentations.
Looking forward
During the coming year, it would be
prudent to look at your apprentices
and consider nominations for next
year. This year’s nominations were
the most we have ever had and it
was good to see the effort put in by
some managers.
We need to continue to encourage
apprentices and the trips they win are
well worthwhile. Last year, we had
two apprentices on tour and this year
we will have three, so we are
enthusiastically supporting the growth
of young people in our industry.
At next year’s conference in March
2010, we need to consider our
Industry Leader Scholarship
nominations as this is a bi-annual
event, so you need to think about this
now. Look at people in your area who
could be leaders for the future and
think about the fantastic trip that Dave
Davies from Fairfax Regional Printers,
Beresfield, experienced. It’s a trip of
a lifetime worth $20,000 sponsored
by SWUG.
I look forward to seeing you all
at the SWUG conference in 2010
and, until then, keep Lean, Green, Safe
and Clean!
Bob Lockley
SWUG President
Rain, rain, come again...
We all know that SWUG has achieved many
wonderful things but this time around it
managed something quite miraculous - it
brought some much-needed rain to the
parched country around Albury. The start of
the conference coincided with the first major
downpour of the year in the town, threatening
to put a dampener on the visit to the Norske
Skog mill. Not that the locals minded at all they were just happy to see the ground wet
once again. Here, Steve Cox of Norske Skog
delivers an armful of ponchos for delegates which just goes to show that even in the
middle of a drought, he’s well-prepared for
everything that nature has in store.
4
SWUG May 2009
Printers on the move
Who Am I?
First hand accounts of
new installations, new
careers and even new
countries all featured in
the Who Am I? sessions
this year as speakers
took the opportunity to
tell their own stories.
s usual, the personal
narratives of new
presses, new sites and
new roles in the single width
newspaper sector offered
an insight into the changing
nature of the industry.
First up was Barry Dukes, a
man who knows a thing or
two about running newspaper
sites – sometimes two at a
time. At one point in his
career with APN in
Queensland, he was dividing
his workload between two
sites at Ipswich and Lismore.
When the former closed
down, he moved to northern
NSW and made a home for
himself at Lismore, the
southernmost site in APN
stable, only to find that the
new press due to go there was
in fact moving to a brand new
site down the road at Ballina.
The new site was chosen
because it was in a better
location and it meant that the
print centre could be built
quickly, a necessity as the new
press was already on its way.
The new press installed is a
six tower Manugraph, capable
of printing 48 pages of colour,
with a Uniset folder with
quarterfold. Whilst it was
being installed, production
continued as usual at Lismore
with four daily papers being
printed every night.
The actual start-up process
at Ballina was very quick,
recalled Barry, with the press
going from zero production to
full production in a week. The
only snag was that the Müller
Martini SLS inserting machine
was already installed at
Lismore and so all the
production that required
mechanical inserting had to
be transported up to Lismore
after being printed.
Even so, the team still
managed to keep their
production schedules on track
and not miss any deadlines.
Eventually, Barry realised
that running two sites was too
much hard work so it was
decided to move the SLS
down to Ballina. The fact that
it had already been installed
in Lismore turned out to be an
advantage in the end because,
when it was moved, it was up
A
and running again in a very
short space of time.
The Manugraph is a good
press and an easy press to run,
according to Barry. The average
run length is 15,000 copies and
spoilage is down to sub-4%.
Running with six webs, the
press can be managed with two
printers and a reel hand.
Barry counts himself
fortunate to have the Uniset
folder at Ballina compared to
other APN sites which have
the Manugraph folder.
Since bringing the
mailroom operation in-house,
which now also includes a
second hand Sheridan stitch
and trim machine for the
quarterfold, there have been
no deadline issues and the site
hasn’t looked back.
and a 1680mm web width,
two Goss Contiweb FD pasters
and a 2:5:5 jaw folder with
stitcher and quarterfold. It has
also been configured for cutoff changes in the future using
the unique Goss slide-apart
unit design.
Overall, the site produces
about 3.5 million papers per
week for around 120 different
titles with the biggest run
being 250,000 copies.
An interesting aspect of the
plant is that, according to
Gaby, staff from different
departments – prepress, press
and mailroom – all help out
each other with cleaning and
maintenance. Also, anybody
working in the reel room who
displays a bit of willingness
can be trained up as a printer
– the company doesn’t hire
printers from outside.
In awe of Goss
Another speaker with
experience of a new press
installation was Jason Ryder,
maintenance manager at the
Ormiston site in Queensland
which has just switched
from a single width Goss
Community press to a double
width Uniliner.
An electrician by trade,
Jason worked in a variety of
industries before being initiated
into the printing industry after
a visit to the Rural Press
Printing site at Ormiston.
“At the time, I was in awe
of the Goss Community
running at full flight at 25,000
copies, not really knowing
that this one piece of
equipment would change the
course of my work,” he said.
In 2004, Jason took part in
his first major installation, the
KBA Comet at the Gold Coast
Bulletin. This was immediately
followed by an upgrade to
the Ormiston site which saw
the installation of two new
towers and infeed units, plus
a new PLC control system
with A/C drives.
“At the end of this upgrade,
I realised that the printing
industry was my future and
that Rural Press would play a
major role,” said Jason.
Over the next few years, he
travelled around the country
working on plant upgrades at
sites such as Murray Bridge,
Port Macquarie and Whyalla,
as well as most recently back
at Ormiston.
The new facility comprises
four Goss Uniliner towers, two
folders and Ferag publishing
equipment, capable of
producing 124 tabloid pages
of colour in a single pass.
One of the challenges of the
installation was the lack of
space so, as Jason illustrated,
elements of the new press,
including the two massive
folders, had to be lifted in
through the roof by crane.
Another feature of the
installation is the reel stands
at right angles to the press
A New Zealand post
Clockwise from top left - Barry Dukes, Gaby van Deventer, Paul Kelly
and Jason Ryder.
line, a configuration that is
designed to deliver greater
flexibility with web widths.
From fights to FPS
Coming all the way from the
Netherlands to speak to
SWUG (and pitch for a job),
Gaby van Deventer gave an
insight into the operation at
Hoekstra Boom newspaper
plant, one of the most
technologically advanced
sites in the world.
Gaby’s own background is
not from the printing industry
at all – in fact, he dropped out
of school and did all kinds of
jobs, none of which he liked.
In his own words, hanging
with his friends and going
drinking was his biggest
hobby at this time.
Then one night, he got
caught up an altercation
which ended up with him
being stabbed four times and
which nearly cost him his life.
This was the wake-up call he
needed and, as he lay in
hospital for a year learning
how to walk again, he
resolved to do something
with his life.
The first place he was sent
after recovering was Hoekstra
- and so began his new career
in printing. He started off in
prepress, mostly on the
evening and night shifts,
sorting out plates and cleaning
the processors.
From there he progressed to
learning the software and
prepress workflow and when,
in 2000, the site upgraded to a
Goss Universal 70 from
Community press, Gaby was
put in charge of setting up
the new prepress department
and workflow.
“This was the coolest job I
ever had, and it was also proof
to me that I could do more than
just hanging out and being a bit
useless,” he recalled.
Later on, the company
started looking at ISO colour
certification, which it gained
in 2005, the same year in
which Gaby was put in charge
of the complete print process
at the company.
To overcome friction
between the prepress and
press crews, he implemented
job swapping whereby staff
from each department got see
how the other half worked.
“It worked very well,” said
Gaby. “Nowadays, those guys
are really a team and they
understand each other.”
The picture of Hoekstra
Boom presented by Gaby is
of an advanced, innovative
contract printer running a
Goss Universal 70 and the
second Goss FPS press
installed worldwide which
started up in April 2008.
The FPS is a compact 4-high
tower which aims to deliver
higher quality print results
by reducing web travel to
eliminate fan out and improve
registration. In fact the very
first samples printed on
the new press at Hoekstra
were shown to comply with
the requirements of the
International Newspaper
Color Quality Club.
At Hoekstra, the FPS
installation comprises two
towers with a 580mm cut-off
Paul Kelly is another printer
on the move, having
previously worked at RPP
Ballarat before moving last
year to take charge of
the Fairfax Media site in
Wellington, New Zealand.
In his time at Bendigo
and then Ballarat, Paul has
certainly seen plenty of
changes, not least when the
Courier moved to a new site
in 2004 with a new Uniset 75
press line. More upgrades and
titles were added and the site
prints now four dailies for
Ballarat, Bendigo, Geelong
and Warrnambool.
As operations manager,
Paul was responsible for
maintaining a focus on key
areas such as customer service,
maintenance and quality.
Then last year he was given
the opportunity to go to New
Zealand, a big change which,
naturally, he felt he should
discuss first with his wife –
who replied that it would be
“good to have a holiday”. In
the end, it turned out to be
rather more permanent.
The print site at Petone,
north east of Wellington,
prints the Dominion Post, a
broadsheet daily which is
second only to the NZ Herald
in size. Circulation is 95,000
daily, 110,000 on Saturdays.
The site also prints a second
daily paper and nine
community papers.
The press line has grown
from a collection of mono
and satellite units with the
addition of an HT70 tower
and, last year, a Uniliner 80
tower. It now delivers 64 pages
broadsheet in colour. There is
also a Ferag mailroom with the
capacity for five inserts.
The challenges facing Paul
include the ever-present threat
of earthquakes – so far, the
only ones felt have been small
tremors but the ‘big one’ is
due – while in the pressroom
the job ahead involves
5
SWUG May 2009
press. His experience there held him
in good stead because he then went
on to train other staff on the Uniset
press at Ballarat.
“Many a good time was had, many,
many good friends were made and
many, many good beers were drunk.”
After 18 years with Rural Press,
he left last year to move to Melbourne
and take up a position with Goss as
newspaper products sales manager, a
role in which he is looking forward to
travelling and meeting more people
in the industry.
The last broadsheet
You might think big presses are impressive but
Steve Packham from DIC Australia had some
awesome stats and stories about another
engineering marvel, the NASA space shuttle.
Steve experienced it first hand when he visited
the NASA base in the US with a school group
last year. For instance, did you know that the
thrust from a shuttle booster rocket is the
equivalent of more than 50 jumbo jet engines?
And in order to get the 2,400 tonne shuttle
skywards, the boosters must burn over 500
tonnes of fuel in just two minutes. But best of
all, the shuttle is also a great example of a
green machine - it can be reused and its
engines emit hydrogen and water, not CO2.
changing the culture on maintenance
and OH&S.
Life on the far side
Matt Hancock is well-known to SWUG
members from his time at North
Richmond with Rural Press but he is
now enjoying life on the other side of
the fence in his new role with Goss.
For a while though, it seemed as
though Matt might be lost to the
printing world, having tried his
hand, at various times, at being a DJ,
a sign writer at sports grounds and a
wedding chauffeur.
Luckily, at some point along the
way, he also got a job at the Rural
Press plant at North Richmond,
working his way up through the ranks
from labouring on the reel stands to
running the press, and in the process
working “a number of different and
strange shifts with a number of
different and strange people”.
In his time at North Richmond, he
worked on a Goss Community press,
an Urbanite and then a big change
with the arrival of the MAN Uniset
addition of national and international
news. The masthead, which
previously carried the slogan
‘Bringing people together’ now
proclaims ‘Serving Mildura and
district since 1920’.
The changes clearly paid off,
however, with recognition from
industry peers at the following year’s
PANPA awards – a tribute to all the
staff at the Sunraysia Daily.
And finally, Sarah Weldon was
introduced by Frank O’Grady from
the Border Mail to talk about what it is
like to be a female apprentice in a
The Sunraysia Daily may not be the
biggest paper in the country but the
Mildura-based daily certainly punches
above its weight. Last year, it took
out the PANPA award for best daily
newspaper with a circulation under
20,000, beating some bigger (and
better resourced) regional dailies.
Rob Donaldson, prepress
production manager, was on hand at
SWUG to outline the story of the
paper which was first published in
1920 in a broadsheet format and only
moved to a tabloid newspaper in
2007, the last remaining regional
broadsheet to do so. It is currently
published six days per week.
The paper has been owned since
1950 by the Lanyon family with three
generations involved in running it
(and a fourth on the way), one of the
last of the independent, family-owned
regional papers in the country.
Rob did his apprenticeship at the
Sunraysia Daily where he trained as a
compositor when hot metal was still
being used.
“I really appreciate that because
working with hot metal gave me an
insight into how the industry was
as a trade,” he said. “Now with
prepress, it’s more a matter of
computers but it gave me a good
grounding in the industry.”
The current print site features two
4-high towers with room for two
more which Rob admits should have
been put in. The paper currently runs
to 64 pages on a Saturday requiring
four runs.
The shift to a tabloid format was
clearly a major move for the paper,
having resisted it for so long, and
involved a major re-design of the
paper’s look and feel, including the
male-dominated industry. Now in her
fourth year of apprenticeship, Sarah
admitted that she hadn’t been looking
for a trade when she took on a job at
the Border Mail.
Moreover, she doesn’t see any
difference being a woman in the job
except for some of the heavy physical
work of which there is much less
these days. Given her time again,
Sarah said she would still choose to
become a printer.
And as for the future, her path
seems clear: “Frank’s job would be
good,” she commented.
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6
SWUG May 2009
Smarter ways to cut costs
run the software, and,
once it is set up, it runs
automatically: PDF files
are submitted for
optimisation, run
through the software and
the ink weights adjusted.
Damian presented a couple
of examples of how it works.
In one case, an initial preoptimised file had ink weights
of C: 55, M: 47, Y: 50, and K:
55 for a total weight of 207.
After optimisation, this was
adjusted to C: 9, M: 2, Y: 7 and
K: 87 for a total weight of 105
– a significant reduction but
with no apparent change to
the look of the page.
As Damian pointed out, the
optimisation results in a
reduction in the amount of
colour ink used, which is
more expensive, compared
to an increase in the amount
of black ink used which is
more economical.
While the process itself is
fairly straightforward, there
are a number of pre-requisites
that need to be implemented
in order to make it work.
These include fingerprinting the press to provide a
baseline starting point from
which ICC profiles can be
developed. Afterwards, it’s
important to keep focusing on
ink weight and to use
densitometers to measure ink
density on an on-going basis.
“Ink optimisation is not a
magic wand,” said Damian.
“It’s not difficult to put in,
and it’s not that costly, but if
you do so and don’t do a few
basic things then you won’t
get the benefit.”
Apart from cost savings,
the benefits include greater
ink mileage, better colour
balance and registration,
faster ink drying, less show
through as well as less set
off and marking.
“That’s been a huge benefit
for us because we stitch and
trim inline,” said Damian. “If
you’ve got less ink on your
sheet, you’ve got a cleaner
product, less scumming, less
marking, and there’s a huge
improvement in the product
printed inline.”
The effect on staff morale is
beneficial too, and overall
there is less waste produced
and a higher print quality.
In terms of costs, Damian
said the initial target had been
for a 4% cost saving and that
after four months of running
it, savings were currently
running at about 12%,
although that may change.
The initial return-oninvestment period of 24
months now looks like being
just 8 months.
Other sites within the
Fairfax Media group also run
ink optimisation including
Chullora in Sydney, Beresfield,
Mandurah in WA and
Tullamarine in Victoria.
release it, and how they
perform at high speeds.
Next year, it will be 50
years since Brissett Rollers
started operations in the
printing industry, and Terry
commented that if somebody
had asked him back then how
long he would be supplying
rollers to the industry, he
would have said maybe 20
or 30 years.
The fact that there is still a
market for rollers highlights
the resilience of print as a
medium and the fact that
people do still have a need
and a desire for it.
LEAN
The pressure on printers
to reduce costs while
maintaining quality is
unrelenting, especially in
the current economic
climate. Fortunately, there
are a number of
techniques and processes
out there designed to help
you run a lean operation.
nk optimisation solutions
are available from all major
prepress vendors to reduce
the amount of ink used on the
press – but do they work?
Damian Balkin presented a
real-life case study about the
implementation of ink
optimisation at the Fairfax
Media Border Mail site.
As outlined at previous
SWUG conferences, ink
optimisation is a softwarebased process that aims to
reduce the total amount of ink
used on the press without
changing the appearance of
the printed page.
It does this primarily by
changing the ratio of ink
usage between the CMYK
colours, in particular using
black as a substitute for CMY
in shadow areas.
When considering whether
to take on ink optimisation,
the Border Mail did an analysis
of its costs structure to see
where savings could be made.
This revealed that about
$1.5 million per year was
spent on ink, and while there
was little scope for cost
reduction in some of the
other areas, ink optimisation
offered greater promise.
While cost reduction is
one obvious motive for
implementing ink
optimisation, Damian said
that sites looking to take it
could expect a number of
other benefits as well.
These include better
‘runnability’ on the press,
resulting in more consistent
quality and with the
additional benefit that clients
will ring up to discuss the
weather rather than what’s
wrong with their ads.
The process of optimisation
itself is relatively simple to
implement, basically requiring
the installation of servers to
I
Closed loop colour
Ink optimisation has certainly proven to be a success at the Border Mail
in Albury.
The experience from the big
metro sites confirms the
experience of the Border Mail
with savings running at
around 10% - a considerable
sum in dollar terms and
especially valuable in these
tough times.
“There’s no doubt from our
experience at Fairfax Media
that ink optimisation does
work,” concluded Damian.
Focus on rollers
The message of lean operation
was echoed by Terry Brissett
of Brissett Rollers who
outlined some of the key areas
that printers should be
focusing on to run their
presses more efficiently.
“We’ve got to keep the
industry viable,” he
commented. “We’ve got to
do our bit to ensure that
newspapers are a viable
alternative to these other
forms of communication that
are out there today.”
Looking at the area in
which he specialises – rollers –
Terry outlined how, when it
comes to running a more costeffective operation, it is very
difficult to find economies in
the cost of the actual rollers.
Around the world, roller
manufacturers have addressed
many of the issues facing
printers, such as roller
longevity, so that today rollers
are generally manufactured to
a very high standard.
In terms of the overall cost
of production, and given their
lifespan, rollers account for a
tiny proportion of the total
cost of a newspaper and little
can be done to reduce that
cost further.
On the other hand, where
rollers and blankets can play a
role is in helping to reduce the
costs associated with other
consumables, most notably
with the ink-water balance.
Most of the problems
associated with offset printing
today, such as misting, can be
partly traced back to too much
water in the ink, so getting
that balance right is critical,
said Terry.
“The first thing you learn
when you start out as an offset
printer is that to print well,
you need less ink, less water
and less pressure,” he said.
“That’s what we’re aiming for.
“What we are looking
at is the quality of the
water produced and not
the quantity.”
This comes down to
ensuring that the film of water
on the plate is produced in an
even manner rather than a
‘burst’, a consequence of too
much pressure in the nip,
something which can cause
all sorts of problems.
The critical element
therefore is to look at the
surface characteristics and
stability of the rollers, how
well they hold water and
Another area in which
efficiencies can be achieved is
with the aid of closed loop
colour control systems.
Scott Carter from Plunkett
& Johnson, distributors of
QuadTech colour control
systems, outlined the case
for this technology.
According to Scott, the
basic requirements for a
closed loop system include
maximising labour efficiencies
(ie reducing the number of
press operators), having
no colour bar or visually
obtrusive marks on the end
product, improved colour
quality and consistency,
reduced waste, low
maintenance, minimal training
and a system that can be
operated by less skilled users.
On-press closed loop colour
systems from QuadTech use
colour data acquired from a
prepress image file which is
then used to compare with the
actual printed sheet during
production to make
adjustments on the fly.
The measurements are not
ink densities as measured by
a densitometer but CIELAB
colour values, regarded as a
more accurate measurement
of colour.
QuadTech’s AccuCam
system uses a six channel
spectral sensor which is
claimed to measure a wider
range of CIELAB values,
ensuring the most accurate
and repeatable comparison
between the printed sheet
and the prepress data.
The system is also flexible
enough to be adjusted for
‘press OK’ colour, using an
approved colour from the
actual print run as the target
rather than the prepress data.
Benefits of the AccuCam
system include the targets
being generated automatically
at the front end without
manual input, a reduction in
production time, waste and
labour by automatically
controlling colour from press
start-up, and the ability to
print to ISO or client
standards ensuring quality
control and repeatability
between jobs and sites.
7
SWUG May 2009
Around the world in 20 days
Dave Davies from FRP reported
on his fast-paced tour of global
printing sites that he undertook
as part of the inaugural SWUG
Leadership Scholarship.
he tour that Dave organised for
himself was designed around
single width presses and new
technology, including a visit to the
T
drupa exhibition in Germany. He
focused on world leading companies
and their respective leadership styles.
In total, he visited seven countries in
a whirlwind trip of 20 days.
Before undertaking his tour, Dave
investigated the different types of
effective leadership and the qualities
embodied by a variety of leaders
throughout history.
The scholarship allowed Dave to
meet many different types of leaders in
other countries, but the one thing he
noticed that they all shared in common
was that they had a great amount of
pride in their company and even more
so in their people. They were always
approachable and were always willing
to share knowledge with others.
The tour itself got off to a rocky
start, thanks to Qantas, with a 42 hour
On a roll - Dave Davies, above left, in front of a giant reel at drupa while, right, one of the
bigger rollers being prepared at the Böttcher factory in Cologne, Germany.
trip to Denmark. First stop was the
Sun Chemical (DIC in Australia)
pigment manufacturing facility at
Copenhagen. This particular site
makes yellow and magenta pigments
only, a complex process of mixing
chemicals and resins with water which
is then converted to a dry powder.
From there, Dave moved on to
Cologne to visit the Böttcher head
office and roller factory. Böttcher
produces over 2.5 million rollers per
year and manufactures over 15 million
tonnes of rubber. Dave witnessed the
complete roller refurbishment process,
including stripping of the old rollers,
applying new rubber, hardening and
grinding – a highly accurate process
involving numerous quality checks.
Then it was on to the drupa
exhibition at Düsseldorf in Germany,
the biggest printing show in the world
covering 17 halls each the size of
Sydney’s Darling Harbour exhibition
centre. All the manufacturers were
there with huge stands. Indeed, as
Dave discovered, everything at drupa
is big - big presses, big reels, big plates
and even folders big enough for two
people to stand inside.
Next stop was the Fujifilm plate
manufacturing plant at Tilburg in the
Netherlands, a huge manufacturing
facility that covers 66 hectares and
includes three plate production lines.
Each line functions very much like a
web press except in this case the web
is made of aluminium and each reel is
up to 8,000 metre long. The plate line
runs at 45 metres per minute non-stop
and requires only five people to run it,
although if they have a web break it
can take up to 12 hours to fix.
The first print site on the tour was
Weiss printing facility in Germany
which has several double width
heatset presses in operation. Here
Dave saw a QI Press Control closed
loop colour system in action,
automatically checking and adjusting
colour at full speed on the press in
real time.
Leaving Europe, Dave headed over
to the US where he visited the Goss
plant at Durham in New Hampshire
where the company makes some of its
largest pieces of equipment including
a folder with a top speed of 120,000
copies an hour with dual delivery.
Still in the US, Dave visited the New
York Times print facility in New York,
one of the biggest print centres in the
world with six Goss Colorliner presses,
each with 12 towers, the equivalent of
288 Community 4-high towers.
Then it was on to Asia where he
visited the Goss manufacturing plant
in Shanghai as well as the Sing Tao
News Corp plant in Hong Kong which
publishes a free daily tabloid
newspaper with a circulation of
800,000 copies. The site uses a variety
of Goss Magnum and Uniliner presses
with all inserting done by hand.
From there it was but a short step
back home and the end of a
memorable journey - not a holiday by
any means but well-worth considering
for all future leadership nominees.
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09_0380_VS5_Newspap_1_2_au.indd 1
20.4.2009 13:47:00 Uhr
8
SWUG May 2009
Papers must count their carbon
N
E
E
R
G
More than ever before,
environmental issues are
shaping how newspapers
should be produced.
Several SWUG speakers
outlined what is at stake
and how to develop a
green strategy.
he environmental
message was loud and
clear at this year’s
SWUG conference, more than
at any time in the past. This
reflects the growing urgency
within the industry to take
practical steps to reduce
the impact of newspaper
production on the planet.
Dr Tony Wilkins from
News Limited addressed the
major topic of climate change
and the push to become
carbon neutral, a target which
has been specifically identified
by Rupert Murdoch as being a
key goal for the company in
the near future.
As manager for the
environment and climate
change at News Limited,
Tony is responsible for
implementing the One Degree
program which seeks to
reduce the company’s energy
usage and move towards
carbon neutral operation.
What does carbon
neutrality mean? This is all
about reducing the emission
of so-called greenhouse gases
that are believed to be
contributing to the gradual
warming of the earth’s climate.
These gases include carbon
dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4),
nitrous oxide (N2O),
hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs),
perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and
sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) as
well as water vapour.
Carbon neutrality simply
means having what is called a
‘net zero carbon footprint’,
which is “the total set of
greenhouse gas emissions
caused directly and
indirectly by an individual,
organisation, event or
product”. To achieve carbon
neutrality, an individual’s or
company’s activities must not
result in any net addition
to the total amount of
greenhouse gases in the
earth’s atmosphere.
The starting point to
achieve this goal is to carry
T
out a carbon
footprint
assessment to
determine
the baseline
starting point.
News Limited uses
standard greenhouse gas
accounting protocols for
assessing its carbon footprint
and also offers its own online
carbon calculator at
www.1degree.com.au which
anybody can use to calculate
their carbon footprint.
News Limited’s own carbon
footprint for the year 2006/7
has been assessed as the
equivalent of 164,000 metric
tonnes of CO2 emissions, a
tiny amount compared to
other businesses such as
airlines but nevertheless a
significant amount. Of this
total, 93% was the result of
electricity consumption.
Neutralising this footprint
involves reducing energy
consumption as much as
possible and using carbon
offsets equivalent to the
remaining unavoidable
emissions to achieve a zero
net increase in emissions.
Carbon offsets typically
involve buying a unit that is
the equivalent to 1 tonne of
carbon. They often take the
form of investing in renewal
energy sources such as wind
and solar power, for instance,
that help to reduce the
emission of greenhouse gases.
If a company or individual
buys carbon offsets that are
equivalent to their total
emissions then they are
effectively carbon neutral.
Efficient energy use
The New Limited goal in
Australia is to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions by
20% through efficiencies in
energy usage before investing
in carbon offsets.
As a result of its initial
energy audit across 16 sites
(9 print, 7 administrative) that
contributed 85% of the
company’s carbon emissions,
savings were identified with
an average energy reduction
of 21%.
More than two thirds of
these savings were achievable
now with the rest worthy of
further investigation.
The total cost saving across
the sites was $1.5 million for
a cost of just over $4 million
and a payback period of
just 2.6 years. In terms of
emissions, the savings
amounted to 16,661 tonnes of
CO2, or about 10% of the
company’s total emissions.
Most of the opportunities
presented in both offices
and print centres were for
reductions in heating,
ventilation and air
conditioning. In total, 95
opportunities for energy
reduction were identified and
Doing it by degrees - Dr Tony Wilkins of News Limited.
generally the payback periods
were very good. Every project
identified with a four year
payback will get the go ahead.
One of the most surprising
discoveries is that many of the
changes required to reduce
energy consumption cost
nothing to implement.
For instance, in one print
centre, the audit identified 27
behavioural changes that cost
nothing to implement and
could be as simple as getting
people to turn off equipment
at night and adjusting the time
clocks on lights and air
conditioning units.
Even a project with a six
figure investment, namely
painting the roof of the
Chullora print centre to reflect
back more sunlight, is
The clear message was that
significant savings can be
made often with very little
investment required or with
short payback periods.
estimated to have an 18 month
payback period.
The clear message from
Tony was that significant
savings can be made often
with very little investment
required or with short
payback periods.
Moreover, the best ideas
always come from the sites
themselves, he said,
reinforcing the importance of
changing people’s attitudes
and ways of thinking, and
getting everybody involved.
More than just paper
Lillias Bovell from the
Publishers National
Environment Bureau (PNEB)
informed delegates about
the next stages in that
organisation’s development
and its role in lifting recycling
rates for newspapers across
the country.
The PNEB was originally
formed by local newspaper
and magazine publishers in
the early 90s in response to
government moves to impose
levies on newsprint. To avoid
such an imposition, publishers
agreed to measures to handle
their own waste streams.
Since then, the Bureau has
achieved tremendous success
in helping to lift newspaper
recycling rates in Australia
from 28% in 1990 to over 77%
today, one of the highest in
the world.
At the same time, the
Bureau’s objectives are not
just about recycling paper.
Subsequent industry plans
have sought to widen the
focus to include not just paper
recovery but also other issues
such as reducing water and
energy usage and setting
targets for a range of
recycling items.
Currently, according to
Lillias, the goal is to
reinvigorate the PNEB, rebranding it and giving it a
fresh modern image while
looking at how to use the
available sponsorship money
and promotion budget in a
targeted manner.
Publisher members of the
Bureau currently donate $1
million in free advertising
space in their newspapers
each year for use by
governments to promote their
own recycling schemes.
The Bureau also provides
free educational materials to
schools to help promote the
message about recycling and
encourage environmentally
sustainable behaviour.
Current directors of the
PNEB include industry figures
such as Gary Osborne from
APN News & Media, Liam
Roche from West Australian
Newspapers and Bob Lockley
from Fairfax Media as well as
Dr Tony Wilkins.
Prepress progress
Finally, Rob Mollee from
Kodak outlined some of the
technologies that are making
a significant contribution
towards making the print
industry more sustainable,
particularly in prepress, as
well as delivering cost benefits
to users.
These digital technologies,
the impact of which, as Rob
pointed out, many people
might not know about, include:
• Soft proofing and web-based
project management tools
that reduce the need for
hard copy material, saving
paper and inks as well as
being more efficient.
• Optical plate registration
that ensures the accuracy of
image registration on the
plate every time, reducing
start-up waste and resulting
in more saleable copies
early and an improved cost
of production.
• FM or hybrid screening
technologies, along with
ink optimisation systems,
that improve the colour
range and allow for better
control of ink and water,
providing substantial waste
and cost benefits.
• More user-friendly plate
technology that includes
things such as the removal
of pre-heat and pre-wash
systems, low pH long-life
chemistry, refined post-bake
systems and coatings that
wash easily in recirculated
water systems.
• ‘Simple process’ CTP
systems in thermal and
violet technologies that
incorporate low-surfactant
chemistry as a single bath
solution, further reducing
the chemical impact as well
as contributing to energy
and water reduction.
• Non-process CTP systems the ‘holy grail’ of plate
technology - that eliminate
plate processing and the
associated chemistry
altogether, thereby reducing
energy and water
consumption and removing
an entire waste stream.
“If you’re not looking into
those things now, I implore
you to talk to your supply
partner and start working on
something – you will see the
benefits,” said Rob.
Of course, it’s not just
about the technology. Rob
also highlighted the need
to work with responsible
supply partners who are
committed to environmental
sustainability and who are
prepared to work with their
customers to help them
achieve their goals.
One such area, for instance,
is in the reduction of
packaging waste and the shift
towards bulk packaging for
chemistry or the use of
returnable and reusable totes
and refillable on-site tanks, all
of which helps to reduce
cardboard, paper and plastic
container waste.
9
SWUG May 2009
Winners go walkabout
Bryce Franklin from Ormiston and Troy McGuiness from North Richmond
(below) reported on their travels together in Victoria and NSW as a
Welcome
to the
fold
result of winning the previous SWUG Apprentice of the Year award.
AFTER flying down to Melbourne, their
first stop was The Age Print Centre at
Tullamarine where they were met by
Grahame Wallace. Bryce and Troy were
impressed by the size of the site and its
organisation for minimal handling
including automatic reel handling.
Next stop was DS Chemport for lunch
which was followed by demonstrations
of how the company tests the quality of
its products. They also inspected the
new blanket making facility next door.
This site also has an unusual
environmental feature, being able to
store large amounts of water in an
underground tank the size of a
swimming pool beneath the factory.
Next stop was the Ace Rollers factory
which produces rollers for both the web
and sheetfed sectors. Their guide, Angus
Scott, demonstrated how rollers are
refurbished with new rubber applied
to the shafts before being cured and
ground to an exact specification.
First stop the next day was the
Ballarat print site which features a nine
tower manroland Uniset 75. At the time
of the visit, the site had gone more than
500 days without a time-loss injury.
Flying north to Sydney, the pair visited
MPD in Marrickville where they were
shown around by Luch Lopez. This site
uses Agfa Polaris plate units that output
about 8,000 plates per month.
First stop the next day was Flint Ink
where they toured the mixing tanks as
well as the on-site storage facilities.
This was followed by News Limited
at Chullora where they were met by
Jim Nally. This massive site was in the
process of being upgraded with new
Geoman presses.
Then it was off to Offset Alpine where
there are six commercial heatset presses
as well as sheetfed presses for producing
a variety of publication work.
Last stop was North Richmond where
the pair were met by Michael Gee and
Bob Lockley and shown around the
press hall which combines both coldset
and a heatset tower.
A special thanks to Angus Scott for
acting as guide and driver for the
duration of the three days.
We all know that paper is a highly
versatile medium with many
applications, including being used
to make headgear. John Jennison
(left) introduced delegates to the
lost art of making a printer’s cap
out of paper.
Traditionally, these caps would be
made by printers at the start of each
shift and they served an important
purpose in protecting their hair from
excessive ink misting.
After being shown the step-by-step
process of folding the newsprint to
make the cap, delegates were invited
to see who was the fastest cap-maker
at the conference.
Below, delegates line up in front of the
judge to determine who was the first to
make the cap correctly - but who won?
To find out, turn to page 22 where the
identity of this year’s cap champion will
be revealed.
EasySert
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Phone +61 2 8337 9777
Fax +61 2 8337 9788
[email protected]
www.ferag-australia.com
021_300_Easysert_262x190_E_AUS 1
4.11.2008 13:35:10 Uhr
10
SWUG May 2009
Court in the act
SWUG delegates experienced
first-hand what lies in store if
they are unfortunate enough to
end up in court being prosecuted
for a workplace accident.
he mock trial arranged for
SWUG delegates at this year’s
conference centred on a fictional
case involving an unlicensed forklift
driver who took on an unloading job
unsupervised and ended up injuring
a truck driver.
Bruce Whitehead and Mark
Maddox from The Brief Group crossexamined witnesses who played the
parts of key protagonists in the
fictional accident – the employee,
the supervisor and the owner.
This role-playing demonstrated
vividly the tactics that prosecutors
(and defence counsel) use to prompt
contradictions from witness
testimony, as well as showing how the
case in a real-life court is built against
the business itself and not just the
person who caused the accident.
Both Bruce and Mark, former
WorkCover lawyers, are highly
experienced in real-life cases
involving OH&S legislation, so
their handling of witnesses in cross
examination (ably assisted by Judge
Ostler and clerk of the court, Trevor
Channon) gave a practical
demonstration of what participants
might expect – and why they should
do everything they can to avoid
ending up in court.
For that to occur, the accident
must be of a fairly serious nature,
something that no workplace can
totally discount from happening.
According to the Australian Bureau
of Statistics, 690,000 people suffered a
workplace injury in 2006 and yet, each
year, only about 800 prosecutions are
launched, usually reserved for the
most serious cases. At the same time,
about 70,000 improvement notices are
issued for workplaces.
T
Above - David Zagami
feels the pressure of
cross examination
while Judge John
Ostler looks on.
Right - Order! The
court is in session
observed by a packed
public gallery.
SAFE
However, for those cases that do
go to court, the rate of successful
prosecution is over 90%.
So, if a summons is issued, there is
a near certainty that the defendant
will be found guilty. Penalties are
severe, usually resulting in hefty
fines, and in nearly all cases the
penalties will be made against the
business rather than the employees
and managers.
As the mock court case
demonstrated, just because an
employee has engaged in behaviour
for which he was not qualified does
not exonerate the business or the
owner, and the fact that the owner
was unable to demonstrate a serious
commitment to workplace safety can
weigh heavily against them in any
court case.
As Bruce put it: “When someone
has a brain explosion at work, it
usually exposes the systematic
deficiencies in the safety process
at the workplace.”
The fact of somebody ending up
in court is always the consequence of
something serious happening in the
workplace, so the best defence
against the cross-examination of
the WorkCover lawyers is to do
everything possible to prevent that
from happening in the first place.
A deadly statistic
The serious nature of workplace
accidents was underlined by Bruce
Treharne who quoted the statistic
that more Australians die every
couple of years as a result of
workplace accidents than Australian
serviceman were killed in the whole
of the Vietnam war. And yet, as Bruce
pointed out, where are the street
demonstrations and protests against
such unnecessary fatalities?
“Still today far too many
Australians face injury or death due
to the culture of ‘She’ll be right, no
worries, it’ll never happen to me’. But,
unfortunately, in
some cases it
does,” he said.
One area that
Bruce focused on
this year was the
use of forklifts –
“one of the most
dangerous pieces
of equipment in
the industry” - and the need to
manage them carefully.
Forklifts can travel at a speed of
three metres per second and,
travelling at 12kph, will take eight
metres to stop so, in the wrong hands,
they can be lethal.
In Victoria alone, over the past 20
years, 55 employees have died as a
result of forklift injuries.
Every production site needs a
traffic management plan that covers
all vehicles – trucks, small vehicles
and forklifts as well as pedestrians
and contractors. Such plans should be
well-developed and reviewed on a
regular basis.
“Don’t just look at the day shift,
get all employees to participate in
potential hazards they may have
observed,” said Bruce.
One of the most effective and costefficient means of doing this is the
safety toolbox meeting.
Employers have an obligation to
instruct employees in safe work
practices and find unsafe ones, and
safety toolbox meetings before the
start of each shift are one of the
best ways in which employees can
contribute to that.
“If your site isn’t participating in
safety tool box meetings in each
department on each shift, I don’t
believe you are demonstrating duty
of care,” said Bruce.
Another area that Bruce focused
on was the use of compressed air
and the need for sites to have safe
workplace practices in relation to it
and not to allow people to use it
unless they are trained. In the wrong
hands, compressed air can be highly
dangerous and should be treated with
the same respect as electricity.
Forty pounds of air pressure
released from the nozzle of an air gun
passing four inches (10cm) from the
ear can cause rupture of the ear drum
and/or cerebral haemorrhage resulting
in death. It can also cause blindness or
rupture the lungs, stomach or
intestines. Remember:
• Horseplay with compressed air is
dangerous and can be fatal.
• Never use compressed air to clean
clothing or to blow dust from your
body. The slightest scratch or
puncture in the skin will let air in,
causing swelling and severe pain. If
air enters the bloodstream and gets
to the brain, it can cause death.
• Never point an air hose at anyone
and always make sure nearby
workers are out of the airflow.
• Check all connections before using
hoses and keep them out of aisle
ways unless measures have been
taken to prevent a tripping hazard.
• Make sure you turn off the air
and depressurise the lines before
changing tools.
• Wear the proper protective
equipment, especially safety eyewear
– metal chips with 40psi behind
them can travel faster than 70mph.
“Hopefully, you can go back to
your workplace with a higher degree
of safety awareness,” concluded
Bruce. “Have a look around your site,
look around the departments, and
raise any safety concerns with the
appropriate people because it may not
be you who is injured but it could be
one of your work mates.”
Making
Moving heavy pieces of
equipment is always a big
task but making sure it is
done properly and in
accordance with all current
safety requirements demands
special attention. Anthony
Payne outlined a recent
textbook case of how to
move a press.
he move itself involved
relocating a Goss Community
press – five towers and an
SSC folder – from Wagga Wagga to
Tamworth in NSW and adding
another 4-high tower from
Warrnambool in Victoria as well
as a second folder from Nowra on
the NSW south coast.
Managing such a project with
its mix of equipment would be
challenging enough, but it was
also decided that, in moving the
equipment, it should be brought
up to current standards from an
OH&S perspective.
Current legislation requires that
if any equipment is moved or
upgraded, a proper risk assessment
must be carried out.
In the case of the Wagga press,
the assessment was facilitated by
Bruce Treharne, Fairfax OHS
officer, in conjunction with
Anthony Payne, Fairfax OHS
manager, Dave Davies, engineer
from Fairfax Regional Printers,
Peter Kirwan and Matt Sharkady
from Goss and Peter Tomazic from
Rockwell Automation.
Right from the beginning, it was
obvious that the press required a
fair bit of work being done on it in
order to bring it up to scratch.
As a result of the risk
assessment, it was determined that
to move the machine, refurbish it
and bring it up to standard would
cost up to $1.5 million.
T
Successful assessment
Bruce Treharne said that the time
spent inspecting the Wagga press
had been one of the most successful
risk assessments he had ever been
involved with.
Working together as a group, the
team set out to identify the hazards
of operating the press, assess the
risks associated with those hazards
and then decide what control
measures should be implemented
based on the level of risk.
“Risk assessments are a must,”
commented Bruce. “And you can’t
do a risk assessment and expect it
to last five years – you have to
review your risk assessment on
an ongoing basis.”
One of the reasons why the risk
assessment was so important for
this press, according to Bruce, was
because it was going to a site where
the staff had been used to running
11
SWUG May 2009
a safe move
a very different type of press and so
they had an acquired knowledge as
to what was safe or risky behaviour
that might not be applicable to the
new installation.
To help guard against such learned
behaviour, Peter Tomazic from
Rockwell Automation outlined the
requirements and benefits of installing
a safety control system on a press,
using the example of two recent
installations, the one at Tamworth
and another at Shepparton.
Control systems can vary in
complexity from a simple Safe Stop
that will stop both the press and folder
with a single button to complex
installations with multiple towers and
folders where several Safe Stops may
be needed.
In these cases, the design of the
system is critical to ensure that the Safe
Stop works properly when required.
“You can have the best componentry
in the world but if you don’t engineer
it correctly it’s not going to work when
it should,” said Peter.
The benefits of a properly designed
control system are not limited to
the safety aspect but also include
providing operators with diagnostic
tools that can be used to get feedback,
analyse production issues and increase
running time.
In the case of the Tamworth
installation, the configuration of the
press comprises six towers with two
folders enabling it to be run as two
separate three tower presses. New
control systems included safety-rated
PLCs, new DC drives in two cabinets
and two press consoles.
The press is now running live in
Tamworth at a greenfield site.
Long term project
The Shepparton installation was a
long-term project with upgrades
dating back several years.
As part of an upgrade project in
2006, it was decided to carry out a
safety inspection which was performed
by Roger Lim, an independent safety
advisor, who made several key
recommendations as to where
safety controls should be installed
to accommodate the many different
press configurations.
The Shepparton press line
incorporates four clutches with
numerous running options, so the
requirements for control switches
was complex. The installation of new
drives and the addition of an AllenBradley GuardLogix safety controller
in 2006 provided a complete solution
for managing both the operation and
safety of the entire press line.
Paul Kelly at Shepparton Newsprinters standing in front of one of the new drive
cabinets with the safety I/O cabinet on the right.
Above, one of the new drive cabinets and press consoles ready to go to Tamworth.
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12
SWUG May 2009
Quality still going up
- but entries are down
There were fewer entries in this
year’s SWUG awards for the best
newspapers produced on a
single width press, but the
standard of the winning entries
is still improving. Gordon Cole,
who along with Phillip Lawrence
and Wayne Johnstone judged
this year’s competition, gives the
verdict on both the good and
not-so good.
his time around, as I understand,
there are only half the number of
entries as there were at the
previous conference in October 2007. I
can tell you it only took half the time
to carry out the judging. Perhaps this
has something to do with the change
in time slot on the calendar or maybe
having to lodge entries just after the
Christmas break.
But the overall standard of entries is
high with record scores among the
T
winners in a couple of categories – 85,
86, 88 and 90%. Outstanding scores for
outstanding books. So, perhaps the
real explanation is that you have
simply been more selective in the
entries that you did lodge.
Generally, the presentation of
entries was of a high standard, with
few flaws in relation to folds and pin
marks and little marking throughout.
There is also an increased number of
trimmed entries, particularly in the
Coldset Commercial Publication
category as might be expected.
Having said that, there are still
entries received with obvious flaws
on the cover pages: marking, creases,
pin tears. All things that your
average punter will baulk at in the
newsagency. Also, while there are
very few hickies, there are instances
where the odd obvious one has
popped up in paid advertisements –
not a good look.
These are things that do result in
significant loss of points, the
expectation being that we won’t see
entries with these obvious flaws.
Regarding quality of print
reproduction, again the overall
standard is high with little or no
background scum or set off, generally
good registration (with a few
exceptions) and very few print defects
– but again, look out for
those hickies. Where
these things do occur, it is more the
exception than the rule.
While there is a degree of variation
in density, both within a page and
from page to page, this is relatively
minor and not likely to be easily
picked up by the untrained eye.
Photographic reproduction is also
generally of a high standard, although
in some instances where stochastic
screening was used, the images are a
little “muddy” and lacking in the
clarity expected from this technology –
possibly just carrying a little more ink
than necessary.
However, where stochastic was used
well, images of high contrast and
“sparkling” clarity have been produced.
At the same time, very good images
have also been produced by those of
you using conventional screening. Very
few photographs were adversely
affected by registration issues.
So, all very positive in the main and
a pleasure to see such good books.
What to look out for
There are a couple of points in respect
of presentation and appearance of
publications that the judges thought are
worth mentioning, although no severe
penalties were applied on this occasion:
1. Colour of newsprint – some
samples are printed on what we
assume are newsprints of high
recycled content. These are grey-ish in
colour with considerable background
spotting that looks somewhat like
background scum. While we
appreciate the economic and
sustainability pressures associated
with producing a newspaper, it does
make for a grubby looking book. This
is particularly highlighted when both
this type and the alternative newsprint
of a traditional creamy colour are
combined in the one publication.
2. Plate edge marks – particularly on
cover pages. These are a fact of life it
seems with newspapers, and trimming
may be the only remedy. But to the
purchaser and the advertiser, they look
like something that should not be there.
We put these out there for
consideration because they do
not occur in alternative media that
are competing with you for the
advertising dollar.
Finally, I think it is worth noting
that three of the 10 winning entries
were printed on good old reliable Goss
Communities. So, while it is a good
thing if you have it, you don’t
necessarily have to be printing on the
latest and greatest machinery to
produce an outstanding publication.
But you must exhibit diligence and
attention to detail.
Congratulations to this year’s
winners and all participants. Please
keep up the good work. And keep the
entries coming in.
Art Roller Shield for Best
Overall Print Quality
Highly Commended
Merredin-Wheatbelt Mercury
RPP Mandurah
(MAN Uniset 75)
Runner Up
The Herald
Fairfax Regional Printers
(MAN Uniset 70)
Winner
Avon Valley Advocate
RPP Mandurah
(MAN Uniset 75)
13
SWUG May 2009
Coates Australia Shield for Best
Four Colour Newspaper
Highly Commended
Shepparton News
Newsprinters, Shepparton
(Goss Community)
Runner Up
Hawkesbury Gazette
RPP North Richmond
(MAN Uniset 70)
Winner
Financial Review
RPP Mandurah
(MAN Uniset 75)
Flint Australia Shield for Best Coldset Commercial Publication
Highly Commended
Winner
Australia Asia Business Weekly
SN Real Estate
RPP Mandurah
Newsprinters, Shepparton
(MAN Uniset 75)
(Goss Community)
Runner Up - tied
NZ Aviation
Horton Media
(Goss Community)
Good Guys
RPP Mandurah
(MAN Uniset 75)
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finger anymore. Except one.
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production changeover, printing maintenance. Each day we are moving a little closer
to this goal. And with our autoprint newspaper presses, full automation is within your
reach. WE ARE PRINT.
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PO Box 6192, Silverwater NSW 1811.
Phone: +61 (0)2 9338 3961. John Ostler: 0418 365 588.
15
SWUG May 2009
Spray bars and magic blocks
N
A
E
L
C
Several SWUG speakers
highlighted new products
and systems designed to
reduce waste and keep
your press clean.
ne of the overseas
guests at this year’s
SWUG conference,
Joacim Wellander from
Baldwin Jimek AB in Sweden,
highlighted the benefits that
automated systems can deliver
to the press in terms of
making it more efficient
and cleaner.
The Baldwin systems focus
on two main areas of press
automation, spray bar
dampening and blanket
and web cleaning.
Both these areas focus on
reducing waste in the
pressroom, improving print
quality and increasing the
amount of available press time.
A typical spray bar
dampening system comprises
a mixing and refrigeration
unit, spray bars mounted on
the press, Baldwin’s Constant
C nozzle technology for low
maintenance operation, and a
filtration unit for returned
solvent. According to Joacim,
Baldwin has installed more
than 50,000 spray bars
worldwide since they were
introduced in the 1980s.
Typically, a spray bar
dampening system will reduce
make-ready times by about
30-40% compared to
conventional brush and sock
systems, and the current spray
bar technology has improved
make-ready times by a further
10-15% compared to earlier
spray bar systems.
This is achieved by
maintaining an even
distribution of the
dampening
solution across the
web width and
using individually
controlled nozzles
to manage the
delivery of the
solution to ensure the
shortest possible time between
start-up and first good copy.
The system uses a very
short washing cycle with
between three and five
sprayings per wash. The
length of each spraying and
the time between them can
be varied.
The cleaner can be used
at any time, both as an
intermediary wash or as an
end of production wash.
The wash solution used
with the cleaner is made
by DS Chemport and Day
International, and is nonVOC with a high flashpoint,
environmentally non-toxic
and safe to handle.
Each wash cycle uses about
200ml to 1 litre of solution
per web and any waste
solution is recycled back into
the system to reduce
consumption. There are no
other consumables such as
pre-packed cloths or moving
parts such as brushes.
The system is used on
hundreds of newspaper and
commercial web presses
around the world, according
to Andy, including 17
commercial heatset presses
currently using it in Australia.
Figures from Baldwin
customers with single width
presses revealed some
dramatic savings in ink and
water consumption when
moving from brush and sock
systems to spray bars.
With these systems, the
amount of waste water to be
O
It’s like magic
Joacim Wellander (top) outlined Baldwin’s spray bar dampening while
(above) the Technocleaner system uses the web to clean blankets.
disposed of can also be
reduced through the use of
filtration systems that increase
its level of reuse.
With current filtration
systems, waste water from the
spray bars and drip pans can
be reduced dramatically by
up to 95%.
The latest generation of
filter stations are highly
efficient, providing complete
separation of solvent, ink and
micro-organisms from the
dampening water so that only
water and fountain solution
are reused.
As usual Baldwin also
kindly donated a nip
gauge for the
SWUG
Presidents Prize which was
awarded to Border Mail
Printing. Our thanks to Peter
Tkachuk of Baldwin for his
valued support.
New blanket cleaner
Andy Stephens from Global
Press Technologies introduced
a new type of automatic
blanket cleaner, the
Technocleaner from the Frenchbased company, Techniweb.
This particular cleaner uses
the actual web to clean the
blanket, taking advantage of
the natural friction between
the paper and blanket with the
addition of a micro-emulsion
cleaning solution applied to
both sides of the web.
The Technocleaner
comprises two spray bars on
either side of the web
that are positioned
prior to the print units.
Because it is installed
outside the press, it is
easy to retrofit and
doesn’t interfere with
the running of the press in
any way.
This edition of the SWUG newspaper is printed on paper kindly donated by Oceanic
Paper. Our thanks to Bruce Burgess and Oceanic for their generous support.
For further information, contact Bruce Burgess:
Tel: +61 (02) 9975 4122
Fax: +61 (02) 9975 4133
Email [email protected]
Steve Grose from Ballarat
introduced a new cleaning
solution that works like magic
– in fact, it’s called White
Magic and, according to Steve,
it works better and is cheaper
than most cleaning chemicals.
White Magic is a spongelike block that can be used to
erase dirt from most nonporous smooth surfaces
including glass, plastics,
ceramics and stainless steel
such as consoles.
It removes residues,
fingerprints, dirt and dust
just by adding water with no
need for added detergents or
chemical cleaners.
The secret of White Magic
is that it is made from fibres
10,000 times smaller than a
human hair.
This creates millions of
tiny surfaces to dislodge and
absorb any dirt on a surface,
making it much more effective
than traditional sponges or
micro-fibre cloths.
The fibres are said to be 10
times stronger than steel
which enables the block to
remove even the most
stubborn residues. The block
can be cut to the required size
and then used until it wears
out like an eraser.
Because it uses just water
with no added chemicals,
White Magic is not harmful
to hands and, after use, it
simply needs to rinsed out
after each application. It
produces no toxic chemicals
when incinerated.
Steve added that the blocks,
which comes in a variety of
sizes, cost about $2 each.
Go to www.whitemagic.biz
for more information.
Supporting the industry
GAMAA is a valued patron of the SWUG conference
but its activities also extend into many different
industry areas, as Karen Goldsmith explained.
One of the key areas of GAMAA’s involvement is in fostering training and
educational opportunities throughout the industry by providing direct
support to people studying in the industry.
Over the past five years, GAMAA has awarded 27 scholarships to people
working in the graphics industry, and 180 professionals have attended its
various workshops.
Its leadership programme is based on flexibility of study, both in terms of
venue and course design.
Scholarship recipients are usually awarded a three year scholarship
which comprises $3,000 per year towards study fees and attendance at
two leadership workshops a year. Industry members who have been
awarded scholarships in recent years include Helen Woods from Capital
Fine Print in Canberra and Graham Trickey from Hannanprint in Sydney.
In addition, attendees at the workshops have included Greg Carson from
APN Print and Jane Stokie from Shepparton Newsprinters who also
received a half scholarship.
On the supply side, workshop attendees include Adam Newman from
Ferag and Steve Brunsden from DIC Australia (both of whom received
scholarships), Roman Beeler from Muller Martini, Meredith Darke from
DIC Australia, and Ian Martin from Ferag as well as staff from Bottcher, DS
Chemport, and Flint Group.
The next workshop being held by GAMAA is in Sydney in October and is
a residential course entitled ‘Change management – New World, New
Rules’ facilitated by Dr Wesley McClendon.
Scholarship applications open in August annually.
16
What’s new?
Newspaper suppliers
were on hand at the
SWUG conference to
present the latest
developments designed
to make life in the
pressroom easier.
here were a number of
new developments from
Peter Kirwan at Goss
including a new folder of
particular interest to Goss
Community users.
The N40 folder is
compatible with existing press
lines and occupies the same
footprint as an SSC folder
making it ideal as a retrofit.
It has a top speed of up to
45,000iph and a maximum
capacity of 12 webs to
accommodate today’s longer
press lines.
It does broadsheet and
tabloid folds with double
parallel and quarter fold
options as well as a range of
perforators, a signature gluer
and tabloid stitcher. The
quarterfold has a top speed
of 40,000iph.
Also new from Goss is its
Triliner technology for doublewidth presses which enables a
quick changeover to a more
compact cut-off so presses
have the option of dual
broadsheet cut-offs.
The technology is pitched
as enabling press lines to run
dual cut-offs at a far lower
price than putting in a new
press with a single cut-off.
The way it works is to
change a two-around press
to a three-around press,
increasing the number of
pages from 4 to 6 and
adjusting the cut-off to create
a more compact paper.
On the newsstand, the
paper still looks the same due
to the fact that the half-fold is
down the page but, because
the copy itself is only twothirds the size of a normal
broadsheet, there is a 33%
saving in paper.
The Triliner also retains
the current capability for
sections - both straight and
collect – in both cut-offs, as
well as existing tab and
quarterfold options.
Peter also showed videos of
the new Magnum 4 press for
newspaper and semicommercial work, and the
revolutionary M-600 Folia, a
reel-to-sheet perfecting press
capable of producing up to
30,000 sheets per hour.
SWUG May 2009
It’s the latest and
GREATEST
T
Then there were three
There were three new ideas
from manroland presented, as
usual, by John Ostler.
These covered the latest
developments in automation
for newspaper presses,
environmental printing and
online ordering of spare parts.
One Touch is the name that
The new N40 folder from Goss (left) and the manroland
robotic Automatic Plate Loading (above).
manroland is now using for its
suite of automated press
options. At the moment, the
concept is being implemented
with the Colorman press and
is called Autoprint, but it is
expected that, in due course, it
will be rolled out for use on
all newspaper presses.
The idea behind Autoprint
is to design a fully-automated
press, one which can be
controlled, as the name
suggests, with one touch of a
button by one printer at one
console. Most of the features
involved are already available
or under development.
The minimum requirements
for Autoprint are automatic
plate loading (APL) and closed
loop systems for tension
control, colour and cut-off
register control. Other features
can be added as required.
These include items such as
APL logistics control which
manages the supply of plates
from the plateroom to the
press using conveying systems
that deliver the plates and
load them onto the press with
no operator intervention.
The APL system, which was
demonstrated at drupa last
year, features robotic arms on
each unit that can change the
plates on a complete pressline
in three minutes, regardless of
the number of towers.
Other inline closed loop
systems currently available
include inline temperature
control and inline density
control for managing ink
densities for the duration
of a run.
The first beta site for the
APL system was Saarbrücker
Zeitung in Germany in
January 2008
with further
customers lined
up in Germany
as well as the
Times of India in Mumbai.
In environmental printing,
manroland has announced
that it has a new 5th colour –
green. CMYK + Green is the
company’s all-encompassing
approach to managing its
environmental impact and
that of it customers.
According to John, the
idea runs through all
areas of operation, from
manufacturing in manroland’s
own plants to purchasing
raw materials and advising
customers, as well as running
the machines and disposing
of waste.
Areas being looked at
proactively include reducing
energy consumption,
managing waste and
recycling, energy efficiency
and recovery, and reducing
VOC emissions.
As an example, using
automation on a Colorman
press could save 690 copies
per make-ready which,
depending on usage, could
mean a total saving in paper
of more than 115 tonnes per
year and a reduction in CO2
emissions of nearly 90 tonnes.
An initiative designed to
make life easier for local
printers is the launch of a new
online parts store offering
internet-based ordering of
wear and tear parts, similar to
one already being run by
manroland in Europe.
Users have their own
password-protected account
and can log on to select the
items they require.
“Customers in Europe are
now using it pretty much
across the board to order their
parts,” said John.
Wear and tear parts for each
particular press are kept in
Australia so, when they are
ordered, they can be
dispatched directly to the
customer and then the stock is
replenished from Germany.
As a result, there is no
waiting for parts from overseas
and no exchange rate worries –
pricing is competitive in
Australian dollars.
Stock holdings can also be
tailored to suit specific press
requirements and online
templates can be set up so that
parts used on a regular basis
can be easily ordered. Local
staff are also available for
support if and when required.
Jim Messer of the Flint Group.
More backing for metal
Jim Messer from the Flint
Group updated the conference
on the latest developments in
metal back blankets.
Such blankets are not new
but there has been a steady
increase in their use in recent
years as the technology has
continued to evolve.
According to Jim, over the
past decade, there has been a
split in blanket technology
between the traditional fabricbacked or tensioned blankets
and non-tensioned blankets
which may be either metal
back with a narrow gap or the
gapless sleeve blankets.
The majority of blanketrelated problems, said Jim,
are due to the on-press
tensioning of blankets. These
include gauge loss, hourglassing and durability, all
of which contribute to poor
print quality.
Non-tensioned, metal back
blankets, however, overcome
these problems because the
design of the blanket separates
the cylinder attachment from
the print and web handling
properties of the blanket.
Metal back blankets
also retain their original
performance properties
throughout the life of the
blanket. Jim outlined the
benefits that this delivers
on the press:
• No change in tension
around cylinder
• No lateral movement or
‘hour-glassing’
• Improved durability/lifetime
• Quicker installation (installs
like a plate/no torquing) and
more consistent installation
– no variation between
operators
• No gauge loss – better ink
transfer throughout the life
of the blanket
• No back fabric wicking
• Smaller gap which reduces
gap bounce and allows for
higher press speeds
• Wider formats (4x1 and 6x2
presses)
• Improved print quality with
superior registration, better
control of feed and torque
transfer properties as well
as greater dot fidelity and
print contrast.
Making a metal back
blanket is not as simple as
taking a fabric blanket and
sticking it on a piece of metal,
pointed out Jim; some of the
components are the same but
they have different functions.
The actual metal itself is
stainless steel and it has the
same load bearing function as
the carcass on a conventional
tensioned blanket. It is usually
about 0.20mm thick and
allows for bending like a plate
for easy installation.
Press manufacturers that
currently offer metal back
blankets on their presses
include manroland
(Regioman, Colorman,
Cromoman and Geoman),
KBA (Compacta, Commander,
Prisma, Cortina and
Continent), Goss (Uniliner S)
as well as Mitsubishi
commercial and newspaper
press and Wifag presses.
Altogether there are about
22 different press designs
that can use metal back
blankets including newspaper
and commercial web presses,
directory presses, waterless
presses and even sheetfed
presses. Almost all the press
designs require metal back
blankets with different
physical qualities.
17
SWUG May 2009
SWUG at the Border Mail
Delegates had the opportunity to visit
the nearby Border Mail Printing site at
Wodonga after the conference and
witness first-hand one of the best run
pressrooms in Australia.
1
2
3
4
5
he current site of Border Mail Printing is
in Wodonga, just across the border in
Victoria from where the SWUG
conference was held in Albury. The company
moved to the purpose-built facility there
several years ago having previously occupied
a city centre site in Albury.
At that time, the Border Mail was owned by
the Mott family who had been the proprietors
of the newspaper since its foundation in 1903.
In 2003, Border Mail Printing (BMP) was
established as an independent trade printing
service for newspapers, formed as a joint
venture owned by Border Mail/Mott family,
The Star News group run by Paul Thomas, and
the Independent News Group. BMP was
subsequently bought by Fairfax Media in 2006.
The current site features the revolutionary
Goss UniLiner S press line with five towers
and two folders,
the first Goss
press of its kind
worldwide to
feature a double
width, single
circumference
configuration. It is
capable of
running 80 pages
of back-to-back
colour at a top
speed of 70,000
copies per hour in
straight mode.
7
The unique
configuration was
chosen because of
the flexibility that it delivers to customers in
being able to move up and down in pagination
size in four page sections.
The shaftless press features QuadTech
registration control, Baldwin spray bar
dampening and
blanket washing,
and Megtec reel
stands. The site
handles 300
tonnes of paper
per week for over
2 million tabloid
copies and, apart
from the six-daysa-week Border
Mail, prints a
wide range
of suburban
newspapers and
8
real estate guides.
In prepress, the
company runs
twin Agfa Polaris CTP systems capable of
outputting 50 panorama plates per hour and
between 3,800-4,000 plates per week.
The Müller Martini mailroom features a
Newsliner A inserting system with six station
FlexRoll buffer and two Newsgrip conveyors
with inline trimming.
T
Inside the Border Mail:
6
[1] The Agfa Polaris CTP units.
[2] Inside the press control room.
[3] The five tower Goss Uniliner S press line.
[4] The Megtec reel stands.
[5] The Müller Martini Newsliner A inserter.
[6] Fully-loaded FlexRolls ready for inserting.
[7 & 8] The Goss press in action.
“Five million impressions
without cleaning blankets!”
John Vlaar, Telegraaf Group, Holland –
about there WebCleaner Jetstream installation
“900 cylinders cleaned
by Baldwin Impact ®Global!”
Barry Johnson Group Technical Manager News Ltd Australia –
about the 900 ImpactGlobal Blanket Cleaning Systems installed
“Baldwin’s Constant C
technology has ROI of only
two weeks”
Nabil Sahl, Press Manager, Al Jazirah Newspaper, Saudi Arabia –
about the Constant C installation on there existing Dampening System
Baldwin Graphic Equipment
Level 1, 27 Crescent Street, Rozelle, NSW 2039.
PO Box 1234, Rozelle, NSW 2039 Australia.
F^ed[0!,'&(/+++#//-+š;cW_b0fj6XWbZm_d][$Yec$Wk
Read the full story at
www.baldwintech.com
18
SWUG May 2009
From pulp to paper
The visit to the Norske Skog mill at Albury
was a great opportunity for delegates to find
out more about the processes involved in
making newsprint.
he Albury mill is one of three operated by
Norske Skog in Australia and New Zealand and
was officially opened in 1981.
Today it produces about 270,000 tonnes of
newsprint and related publication grades each year,
supplying about 30% of the market in Australia. The
mill employs 250 staff.
Norske Skog itself is a global company with 6,500
employees and 15 mills operating in 12 different
countries. Worldwide, the company is the second
largest producer of standard newsprint grades.
T
1
2
3
4
How paper is made
The tour of the mill covered all aspects of the
newsprint manufacturing process from the
preparation of the basic raw material through to the
paper-making process itself and then the final stages
of preparing and distributing finished reels.
The raw material for the paper comes from two
main sources - wood derived from sustainably
managed plantation forests and recycled paper. The
wood fibre used is radiata pine and no native trees
are used for the purposes of making newsprint.
The mill uses about 400,000 tonnes of logs each
year as well as 50,000 tonnes of wood chips to
provide the virgin pulp that is mixed with the
recycled material. Timber for the mill is taken from
plantation thinnings that occur at regular intervals,
usually after 14 and 22 years, and is material that
would normally not get used. Other sources include
cut-offs from saw mills and other waste products
from the timber industry.
The pine logs are measured, cut and stripped to
create standard-size pieces [1] that are then
converted into wood chips. Bark and other wood
waste, such as sawdust, are used as fuel for a boiler
that makes steam used mainly for drying.
The wood chips are fed into the thermomechanical pulp (TMP) plant to be converted into
pulp. The TMP plant uses steam to soften the chips
and rotating metal plates that mechanically separate
the wood fibres to create pulp.
Recycled magazines and newspaper provide the
other source of raw material. Each year, the facility
recycles around 150,000 tonnes of used paper. In the
paper store, the front loader [2] mixes together
different grades and types of recycled paper like
combining dry ingredients in a recipe. The paper is
then sent to a large pulper that mixes it with recycled
water from the paper machine to create a slurry.
Contaminents such as plastic and metal are filtered
out and chemicals added to help remove the ink.
The mill operates its own de-inking plant [3] that
was commissioned in 1993, the first of its kind in
Australia. Here, the recycled paper that has been
mixed with soap and water is put through a series
of tanks which blow air through the slurry to remove
the ink. The remaining ink residue is then removed
and mixed with other mill waste to create a soil
conditioner that is used on agricultural land
around Albury.
In addition to using the recycled pulp on-site, the
mill also exports around 40,000 tonnes of recycled
fibre to the Boyer mill in Tasmania each year.
When the two types of pulp are ready, they are
5
19
SWUG May 2009
mixed to create a pulp that is roughly 65% virgin
pulp and 35% recycled. Here [4], Svein Aurstad,
general manager of the Albury mill, shows the
porridge-like pulp which is ready to be converted
into newsprint in the paper-making machine [5].
The first stage of the paper-making process,
called forming, introduces the pulp at the ‘wet end’
of the machine and lays it out on a continuous belt
of wire mesh. Excess water is removed to create a
fibre web that runs through the rest of the machine.
Further heating and squeezing transforms the wet
pulp into a smooth, white sheet of paper.
The 8.5 metre wide paper machine travels at
1,550 metres per minute and the whole process
converts a pulp which is 99% water and 1% pulp
into paper which is 92% fibre and 8% moisture in
less than 10 seconds.
If a web break happens, the machine stops
automatically and it takes six minutes to fix. Web
breaks are usually caused by some impurity in the
pulp and, according to Svein Aurstad, one break is
not a worry so long as the lessons learnt are used to
prevent a second one from happening.
At the other end of the machine, the paper is
passed through smoothing rollers and wound onto
giant jumbo rolls [6], each weighing 35 tonnes,
which are then lifted onto winders for conversion
into customer reels [7]. The winders run at 2,500
metres per minute and can produce a set of reels (10
x 810mm and 1 x 405mm) in under 7 minutes.
From there the reels are wrapped and
transported to the store ready for distribution [8].
The store holds up to 4,500 tonnes of paper,
approximately a week’s worth of production. On a
average day, about 850 tonnes of paper is loaded
onto the road trains [9] and distributed to mainly
Sydney and Melbourne. Some also goes to Canberra
and Brisbane while Perth and Adelaide are supplied
by the Boyer mill in Tasmania.
More green paper
In keeping with the SWUG conference theme, the
Albury mill is a good example of the proactive
measures being taken to improve the environmental
performance of the newspaper industry.
6
7
8
9
Paper-making is a very resource intensive process
that uses a lot of water and energy, so Norske Skog
has implemented a number of measures to help
reduce the impact of its activities.
Locally, the Norske Skog mills have reduced the
amount of greenhouse gases produced for each
tonne of paper by about 25% since 1990. On a global
level, Norske Skog has committed to a target of
reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by
2020 compared to 2006.
Water is another important issue, particularly in
an environment such as the Murray River basin
where water is a precious resource. At Albury,
careful water management and reuse has resulted in
the mill being recognised as one of the most
efficient mills of its kind in the world in terms of
water usage and the lowest water user within the
Norske Skog group globally.
The Albury mill has its own effluent treatment
plant and puts its waste water through primary and
secondary treatments before using it to irrigate
nearby plantation forests and pasture.
Making the world a brighter place...
Total Ink Solutions
For more information, contact us on
Telephone: +61 2 9752 1200
Website: www.dic.com.au
Email: [email protected]
20
SWUG May 2009
Have your say...
Engineers session
Question: John Engisch – is
there a good colour for
forklifts from a safety point
of view?
Answer: Bruce Treharne don’t know if there is an
Australian standard for the
colour of forklifts – inspectors
do look at forklifts first, look
at their condition - we get
them repainted regularly and
get reports on their condition.
With input from the
conference floor instead
of a panel of experts, this
year’s engineers sessions
ranged far and wide on
many topics including
Question: APN Print – a lot of
paper dust coming back into
paper, plates and rollers.
Here is a selection of the
questions and answers.
Single width, single
circumference
Question: Murray Bridge what is a good way to avoid
fan out? Using a Goss
Community 4-high with
automatic reelstands.
Answer: Is the water OK? Yes,
using spray bar dampening.
Geoff Austin - people have
come up with all sorts of
suggestions to control fan out,
such as bustle wheels. Tension
is critical, as are blankets and
path rollers – a lot of people
have done a lot different
things with path rollers
over the years.
Change the blankets – had
a problem with one sort of
blanket, changed them and
had no problems.
Check settings on the RTF.
Air bustles will control it but
not cure it.
Scott Carter - start from
scratch and adjust fan out
control in the CTP.
Question: Bill Kemp - pin
tearing still evident in
competition entries, seems
to be tearing on the Goss
Communities a lot more
than they used to be – is
that due to paper weight
or something else?
Answer: Change the pins. Not
due to the grammage, more
likely due to pins or rubbers.
Question: Trevor Channon –
52gsm newsprint seems more
brittle than two years ago,
resulting in more web breaks.
Answer: Steve Cox - will have
to check. Is it the 52gsm or the
45gsm? Slightly different
products, 45gsm is more of a
newsprint stock, will have a
slightly higher moisture
content, 9.2% moisture and
the other will be about 8.5%.
Don’t know why you would
see any differences between
52gsm used some time ago
compared to now.
Geoff Austin - have you
looked at the labels? Is it old
stock? – No, because we have
a fairly quick turnaround.
Port Macquarie – also a
problem with 52gsm, all ½
reels in 405mm broke 3 or 4
times in a run – all the same
stock number and have sent
a fair bit of it back.
Narrabri – had a problem
with 52gsm Norstar – getting
a lot of linting, not breaks.
Ballarat – also had
problems with web breaks
with 52gsm on half webs,
not 810mm reels.
Steve Cox - every roll that
you get will have its own roll
number, check the roll number
and contact the sales office.
Linting in 52gsm Norstar is
sometimes due to press setup, water etc – we do have
people around who are quite
happy to help you find the
best way to run it if you are
having issues with it.
Emphasised importance of
recording roll numbers and
keeping the evidence. The
52gsm newsprint will not be
made after end of March – all
moving to 48gsm newsprint.
Bruce Burgess - regarding
Aspex stock – if any problems
definitely need the reel
number, it’s like a car rego.
Question: Graham Ryan (Agfa)
– online ordering of spare
parts– is it what people want?
Answer: Anthony Payne - the
more stuff that can go online
for ordering, the better –
we’ve been pushing MAN
for years to get an online
ordering system up, Ferag
have got one that works very
well – we want to be able
to see what parts are available,
whether they are in Australia
or overseas, also what they
are going to cost exactly sometimes the freight costs
more than the part.
Goss has one too and KBA –
the Goss one is built into the
press control.
Question: Shane Brooks,
Launceston – recently
upgraded from 6 to 8 towers
and changed to a Universal
folder – up to 6 webs it cuts
well but not with 7 and 8
webs – it leaves a very rough
cut and small streamers.
Newsagents are complaining.
Answer: Pack it back and use
creasing – make the top of the
anvil level with the former.
Question: Murray Bridge – on
the angle bar when running a
half web, is there any way to
seal it other than tape? Need
to block off other holes but
any way of doing it easier?
Answer: PVC cover works
well – tape down over cover –
hard to avoid using tape, a
pain but necessary.
Are split bars available so
that it’s possible to turn off
one half?
Anthony Payne - any
holes at the edge that are
not used can be blocked up
with araldite – other thing
you can do is put some
sponge rubber on the inside
of the PVC cover.
Plastic cover can also be
held on with Velcro.
Question: Shepparton News –
problem with the QuadTech
auto registration taking a few
hundred copies to come back
into rego on the half web.
Answer: Scott Carter to look
into it.
Shane Brooks - try moving
the diamonds down the page
slightly so camera can find
rego mark – had the same
problem and that fixed it.
the ink – what do you do with
old ink – can you re-use it?
Answer: Geoff Austin - at
Gold Coast, used to collect it
in a drum and send it back to
Flint for recycling.
Mark Gooding - no
successful way to filter and
re-use it so used as a fuel for
Geelong Cement.
Ian Johns - can’t be filtered
or re-used – waste is a bit of
an issue.
Steve Packham - paper fibre
is about 20 microns long and
4 to 4.5 microns wide, so if the
zero point on the ink keys is
set higher than that, the paper
fibres will not pass through.
In my opinion, the zero point
on the ink keys on the
Manugraph press aren’t right
– saw a similar thing at
Yandina on the KBA - need
to make zero point wider than
20 microns.
Scott Carter - open up
blades and clean them out once
a week to prevent build up.
Single width,
double
circumference
Question: Update on turbo
water trays.
Answer: John Ostler manroland have new turbo
water trays currently being
trialled at Mandurah – fibre
glass – available for sale.
Causes – condensation with
chilled water. Option - sticking
foam to bottom of trays,
standard operation in
commercial presses.
Success of trial in
Mandurah? Greg Haley –
trays working perfectly, had
to be modified slightly.
Neil Rose – with foam,
adhesive does come away due
to cold and condensation,
trying to get foam to stick is
difficult while wrapping
around does not work. Got to
seal as much as possible.
John Ostler - PMP have
done likewise for a long time
using similar materials.
Greg Haley - for longevity
you do need to clean as
adhesive losses application.
Dave Davies - at Beresfield
they love their solution (trays).
Gluing on foam etc versus
fibreglass trays - trays much
better – harder, more durable.
New towers that came out
two years ago came equipped
with trays.
Question: North Richmond’s
prepress wants to run
Autotron marks on every
plate but when they do that,
the Presstech marks get
confused between high and
low copy. Been into menu setup, looked into two marks
(rather than one mark).
Works OK on coldset but
heatset moves from high to
low and registration keeps
moving around.
Answer: Steve Farrell Autotron has capability to
do two sets of marks per
revolution, doesn’t know why
there would be difference
between coldset and heatset
but will talk to engineers.
Could be something to do
with encoder, might be able to
change the ratio or check the
ratio is the same between
heatset and coldset.
Bob Lauder - presets were
just put on low and leaving
off high, but when it goes
through the RIP it blocks the
system up. Other sites run on
two pages but different length
of time the equipment has
been in place and been added
to at different stages means
that it is not necessarily
comparable to other sites.
Michael Gee - spoke to
David Jump, he suggested
that taking one of the black
marks off may work.
Question: Age Print Centre
has been experiencing breaks
on fractionals, particularly half
webs, happens on any unit
at differing times (no pattern
of commonality).
Answer: John Ostler – no
double width, double
circumference expert at
SWUG, will take it to
manroland and get back.
Also happening at Perth as
well, with KBA press.
21
SWUG May 2009
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Is it time to combine the two
engineering sessions at the
next conference? Send us
your feedback.
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There is no replacement for
manual cleaning.
Greg Haley - maintenance
is critical, they do a tower a
week, cycle is one a month.
Dave Hedges - similar cycle
– (due to number of towers)
about once every 6 weeks.
Peter Morgan - doing it
individually, has improved the
cycle between cleans.
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Question: Dave Davies – saw
plate lines at some of the
plants he visited elsewhere in
the world – an ongoing
problem in Australia too.
Answer: Koni Neuhofer - yes,
it is going to be a problem.
Contributing factors include
emulsified ink, fountain
solution, maintenance - does
not believe it is the coating
on the plate.
Bill Shortland - it is exposed
plate (coating on the edge of
plate) - goes with use of
dilution fluid.
Appears to be hard for the
manufacturers to rectify.
Bob Lockley – needs to be
raised with the plate
manufacturers, everyone gets
it, and pressure needs to be
put on the manufacturers.
Question: Mark George received a report from
Germany about cleaning of
turbos - machine has had
problems with uneven
dampening (cleaning).
Answer: Mark Collins - have
been down that track, still
Question: Dave Hedges - ink
optimisation on Uniset 70,
at what stage do others save
the product to achieve the
optimisation? Have been
told about 8 different ways
to do this.
Answer: Greg Haley - when
you get good copy, that’s
when you do it.
Bob Lauder - generally at
around 5,000 copies at speed.
Dave Hedges - save at good
copy/at 5,000/during the
run/at the end of the run (all
some of the times he has been
told). Have had a continual
problem with identifying
when is the best time to save,
sounds like everyone is doing
different things which
indicates there is no optimum
time defined.
Gary Owens - saves at full
press speed at 10,000 copies,
and it has been great.
Jean-Claude (Goss) - on
the Goss press, run at least
at 30,000.
Bill Shortland - optimising
at make-ready speed as
opposed to flat out should not
matter as long as no changes
are being made.
manroland and Goss to
check into standard operating
procedure and see what else is
being done around the world.
waiting for turbo auto clean
to work properly.
Dave Davies - they clean
them by hand and have no
issue - cheese grater roller
bright & shiny.
Bill Shortland - cleaning
by hand.
Ron Brown - has the
machine and it works like a
charm (out of the press).
Bob Lauder - have a turbo
washer but mainly dismantle
front half and then do some
hand cleaning as well as going
into the machine for cleaning.
same plates on the new units
are fine – just slipping on the
older towers.
John Ostler - will check
with Germany if they are
experiencing this elsewhere on
similarly older presses.
$$
Question: Ron Brown – used
to get a lot of wear with the
former boards, lots of different
stocks wear around the nose.
manroland replaced the
former boards, doing testing
at present on another board
and may replace again.
Answer: Bob Lockley – do you
also get it on the Uniset 70s?
Bob Lauder – yes, they have
replaced a few, some stocks of
paper wear it out quicker as
they’re abrasive.
Kersten Frotscher manroland currently
designing for a fit between
the original sideframes and
the formers, similar to the
commercial equipment. Doing
a test at present in Germany
in June/July this year, new
design might be available
August/September this year.
Question: Bill Shortland –
Canberra has 4 towers – 3 are
13 years old, one is newer on three older towers, tail
edge of the plate is slipping
out during plating up - is it
possible to test the gap in
the plate cylinders, is there
a tool to do this?
Answer: Kersten Frotscher - as
this is a double width, double
circumference press, will ask
Peter di Rijike this and get
back to Bill.
Jon Clarke - same plates
through both plate benders,
Mark George - have had
some success at Westgate with
a brush roller, it seems to
improve performance.
22
SWUG May 2009
Hats the way to do it
Hats off to Norske Skog for the country and western
entertainment on the Saturday night which left all
the SWUG delegates feeling as if they were home on
the range (left). But it wasn’t only cowboy hats that
proved to be popular, however, as Mark Gooding
demonstrated in becoming the first delegate to fold
a pressman’s hat (below left) and win a $100
voucher from Bruce Burgess (right) for his skill.
Above, Angelo Cirillo from Shepparton Newsprinters (left) collected the Flint Australia Shield for
best coldset commercial publication from Mark Gooding of Flint Australia (centre) and SWUG
president, Bob Lockley (right).
Right, Winner of this year’s SWUG Apprentice of the Year award was Hesm Noureddin from
Murray Bridge, the second time in three years the winning apprentice has come from that site.
The standard of entrants this year was very high with James Johnstone of Capital Fine Print and
Sarah Weldon from the Border Mail also being highly commended.
Tony Mowbray, below, was an inspirational speaker
on the final morning with his account of sailing in
the infamous 1998 Sydney to Hobart race as well
as his solo unassisted voyage around the world
which lasted 181 days at sea.
While the SWUG delegates were hard at work, the partners were enjoying a relaxed
lunch and taking in the local sights (above). Quite by chance, their guide came dressed
for the occasion wearing a jacket that looked as if it had been tailor-made for a
newspaper production conference (right).
23
SWUG May 2009
SWUG
SITES
SWUG is published by Agricultural Publishers Pty Ltd 159 Bells Line of Road North Richmond NSW 2754
1985 - 2009
The roll call of sites for
the SWUG conference
since 1985.
Publisher: Bob Lockley Advertising: Anita White Editor: Simon Enticknap
SWUG is published twice a year and distributed free to qualified members of the printing industry.
Contributions can be sent to: c/o The Editor, SWUG, PO Box 212, Newtown, NSW 2042 email [email protected]
No portion in full or part of this publication may be reproduced without the express permission of the publisher in writing.
1985
The Gold Coast Bulletin,
Queensland
1986
The Gold Coast Bulletin,
Queensland
1987
Messenger Press, South Australia
1988
Manly Daily, New South Wales
1989
Leader Newspapers, Victoria
1990
Rural Press North Richmond,
New South Wales
1991
Canweb, ACT
1992
Mackay Mercury, Queensland
1993
Because performance is profit
Launceston Examiner, Tasmania
1994
Rural Press North Richmond,
New South Wales
1995
Queensland Times, Ipswich,
Queensland
1996
Torch Newspapers, Bankstown,
New South Wales
1997
The Gold Coast Bulletin,
Queensland
You'll find us
where it matters most…
1998/99
Bendigo Advertiser, Victoria
2000
Launceston Examiner, Tasmania
2001
Fairfax Regional Printers, Newcastle,
New South Wales
2002
Sunshine Coast Daily,
Maroochydore, Queensland
2003
Daily Advertiser, Wagga Wagga,
New South Wales
2004
The Gold Coast Bulletin,
Queensland
2005
The Ballarat Courier, Victoria
Rollers
Blankets
Pressroom chemicals
Balanced system solutions
Head Office
Unit 9/4 Gladstone Road
Castle Hill NSW 2154
+61 (2) 9659 2722
Branches
Victoria
Queensland
2006
Murray Valley Standard,
South Australia
National Free call: 1800 204 102
2007
Sunshine Coast Daily, Yandina,
Queensland
2009
Norske Skog mill/Border Mail, Albury,
New South Wales
www.boettcher.de
Where ink meets paper, that's where you'll find
Böttcher. Our products are at the heart of the printing
process. They ensure the quality and consistency of
your product, day after day, night after night.
"We have the tools that help you
survive and thrive"
Brissett congratulates SWUG
on a great 2009 Conference
Advance
through
technology
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