Auto-splicing is designed to enhance productivity, but production lines are only as fast as their slowest component. In this context, the debate between near-line and inline finishing is critical for printing companies. Sean Smyth, print and packaging analyst, shares his insights on this discussion.
Since the turn of the century there have been significant developments in printing and finishing technology, aimed to reduce the time and cost of print production. At drupa this year many exhibitors demonstrated complete production systems, combining print and finishing in automated operations. There were integrated single pass systems and near-line finishing with robots picking up sheets, moving work in progress and finished products around many stands.
An on-going debate amongst print manufacturers is the relative benefits of integrated single pass printing and separate print and finishing. Some label presses combine printing and finishing to deliver reels of die-cut and embellished labels in a single pass. Commercial web offset presses will have auto splicing and an adjustable folder to deliver sections of various paginations that can be bundled automatically for binding in one pass. The pros and cons are highlighted in the table.
| Issue | Inline Finishing | Near-Line Finishing |
| Time to market | Fastest, no dead time and one set-up. | Multiple set-ups, serial methodology involves waiting for previous step to complete before starting. |
| Labour utilisation | One full-time crew required. | Labour needed for each stage. Different steps may take different times so labour will be flexed. |
| Labour skills | High levels of automation to make operation simple. | Trained operators needed for each piece of equipment. |
| Complexity | More complex, set up may be longer than individual operations but just one is needed. Any breakdown means no production until problem is fixed. | Usually faster set up but multiple steps are necessary taking time and waste each time. Breakdown of one machine does not affect other processes. |
| Equipment utilisation | One machine runs. | Print and finishing usually run at different speeds meaning not all will be fully utilised. |
| Cost | Usually lower than buying separate components. | Cost of individual equipment plus the space required including WIP storage. |
| Floor space | Single line will occupy larger area than a press, less than the area required for separate print and finishing lines. | Area needed for each piece of equipment, also space required for work in progress for input and output at each stage. |
Individual companies will have their preferred methodology but whichever method is chosen it is imperative that users take steps to optimise their efficiency. Single-pass integrated print manufacture has been common for applications where the format of the products are fairly standard, for example books (and photobooks), cards and mailings but the latest systems now provide much broader flexibility.
Reducing the multiple disparate stages of print and finishing
With near-line finishing several stages will be required in manufacturing a printed product or pack. Many print providers are exploring ways of reducing the multiple disparate stages of print and finishing. They want to switch from a serial methodology to parallel methods in an integrated process that is highly automated, significantly reducing the elapsed time of production and simplifying manufacturing. In high volume sheetfed litho many users attach roll-fed paper delivery such as Heidelberg’s CutStar feed with a sheeter in front of the press to minimise operators having to load paper stacks into the press. With auto-splicing the press can use lower cost paper than for sheets, and run continuously for hours with only a couple of splice preparations needed. This helps minimise downtime on important, expensive pieces of equipment. Then robots can take the printed sheets into the next stage of production immediately for cutting and folding.
Continuous book production
A significant trend has been for sheetfed commercial print companies to invest in web inkjet as the level of quality has improved. They will use reels, many opting for continuous infeeds to eliminate manual changeover time, with printing and some levels of inline finishing with slitting, perforating and cutting to deliver sheets or blocks for the final stage of production. This approach is most developed in book manufacture, where an inkjet press can be linked to a sophisticated finishing line to deliver finished sections or book blocks ready for casing in or perfect binding. The approach allows continuous production of varying sizes and paginations with no set-up waste, printing continuing even when a different paper is automatically spliced into the line. This compares with analogue printing and binding, needing individual impositions, platemaking, press make-ready, printing, (storing), folding, (storing), collating, gathering and binding. Any discrepancy in the number of sections available results in waste, and binding cannot start until all sections have been printed. The more efficient digital method means lower paper waste and unproductive press time, needing one operator to run the complete line, printing thousands of books in a shift. Adjustments of pagination and format changes are made on-the-fly, a buffer station ensures the inkjet press will continue printing at its full rated speed. Such systems allow book printers to make a different offer to their customers, providing print on demand for short to medium runs, allowing publishers to reduce their stocks and consequent cash tied up, helping to reduce publishing risk. For the book manufacturer the process has changed from a number of serial processes to a single operation of parallel processes, reducing the time and personnel involved in manufacture.
Reasons for integrated systems
There are compelling reasons to consider the integrated systems. In 2024 many print suppliers are suffering from skilled labour shortages and do not have enough people to print, to embellish, to cut and finish in separate operations. There is the sustainability angle of a single set-up and process delivering the exact quantity required, not to mention the costs of waste in multiple set-ups. So one operator running all the manufacturing stations at the same time maximises individual output. And the technology is developing, AI is helping to increase autonomous running on presses as all the leading vendors work to reduce changeover times and reducing waste. The days of automatic manufacture and “Dark running” are approaching.
Further manufacturing efficiency comes from the combination of upstream order processing, file, prepress and workflow to feed a press that is integrated with downstream specialist finishing equipment, either on-line or off-line. For books both are required for the text and cover. This approach is being investigated for more products, with packaging showing good prospects with digital finishing, and digital control of analogue print finishing and embellishment.
Future general commercial print manufacturing
More print suppliers are looking for efficiency gains, avoiding any dead time as work in progress is stacked on pallets waiting for the next stage of production to be ready before commencing. With automation there may be a printed barcode read by a finishing machine to set up and perform the operation as it is presented. Integrating print and finishing is well suited to smaller runs and many finishing equipment suppliers offer custom solutions. These help speed jobs through print manufacture, and may be linked to the despatch operation of logistics companies.
At drupa this year, the focus was toward automating and then controlling print manufacture. While the exhibition floor is not a production site this drupa certainly showed the direction that the industry is moving toward, where fully automated production cells combining print and finishing will become common. This is becoming increasingly necessary as relatively low value short runs are growing in the mix of most commercial print and packaging companies.
