Process integration for the graphic arts workflow

With the current state of the economy being affected with flu-like symptoms, there are positive opportunities and ideas, which can be implemented to speed up the recovery process using process integration. The goal in any print media or bindery and finishing company is to maintain a full schedule of profitable work in every shift of operation.

In today’s competitive marketplace, one of the key trends is an increase in competition as we are all focused on meeting similar goals. Other increasing trends include job complexity due to value-added extras, equipment speeds and automation, customer-supplied material and an increase in colour along with the percentage of ink coverage. Some of the more common decreasing trends include proofing costs, turnaround time, order quantities and operator intervention during make-ready, running time and wash-up operations. To complete the workflow, all of these trends have a logical connection to bindery and finishing operations.

In the graphic arts workflow, there is a cost and time element to all management and manufacturing operations. This article will focus on costs that are not related to order quantity. Regardless of the run length of a job, someone in the company must prepare and process the customer’s order specifications, prepress files and machine settings on the press and finishing equipment. And, regardless of the equipment, the most important aspect of any successful workflow is to communicate with complete and accurate information. I once heard that 70% of all manufacturing errors were due to a lack of information, wrong information and/or miscommunication. I’ve also heard that 90% of all of your problems can be solved with the proper tone of voice. Using complete and accurate information from the initial input of job information through to billing and invoicing will provide the best chances of success. From the perspective of profit, this level of communication will lead to improved scheduling, manufacturing efficiency and financial management of the company.

So, let’s start with finishing. To illustrate the importance of bindery and finishing operations, consider this reality. The bindery is typically the final stage prior to delivery to the customer. Due to the value that has been added to the printed substrate material, correcting an error or dealing with spoilage at this stage becomes the most costly and time-consuming component of the entire graphic arts workflow.

When I talk to owners, operations managers or quality control employees in a bindery and finishing company, one of the most common concerns relates to communication issues with people who work in production: “If they had only discussed these job specifications with us prior to layout, planning and printing, we could have saved the customer a lot of time, money and stress and produced a better looking document in a more efficient manner.”

It’s also important to note that any delays in prepress or printing will often add up and end up on the bindery doorstep with no additional time to process, manufacture and deliver the finished products to the customer. The delivery date stays the same and you never want to have to say that a job was late because the finishing machines did not run fast enough, which is enough to drive anyone around the bend.

To keep up with customer expectations and evolving trends in a tough economic climate, graphic arts professionals must analyze, implement and manage the most efficient methods, machines and people-power for their operation. To ensure that this is accomplished in the most efficient manner, these individuals must have a thorough understanding of any variable that can affect the PDQ of a job: price, delivery and quality. To gain a competitive advantage and increase profitability, smarter companies are “PDQ” (pretty damn quick) in controlling these variables. People in the graphic arts industry who are responsible for communicating job specifications and instructions will largely determine the success or failure of the printed product. A company who practices these policies will have the best chance at serving their current customer base and will gain testimonials of success, which will lead to the development of new business with new customers.

Understanding Process Integration

Maintaining an efficient workflow will allow a graphic arts company to identify and communicate any job-related information in a timely fashion to managers in every department. The decision to invest in a new workflow or upgrade an existing one must be supported by executive management. In either scenario, the analyzing and implementation stages are of utmost importance. A positive solution for one company may simply lead to additional problems for another.

The company must also recognize the importance of proper education and training. A highly trained and motivated employee can do wonders for the success and profitability of a company. These benefits can also be enhanced through cross-training and multi-tasking. Employees who have an understanding of other manufacturing processes and empathy for the responsibilities of their co-workers will more readily share their skills and expertise with each other.

George Bernard Shaw once said “if I have an apple and you have an apple, and we exchange these apples, we still each have one apple. However, if I have an idea and you have an idea, and we exchange these ideas, we will each have two ideas.” The investment in education and training will be more than covered if you consider the long-term benefits of happy employees and happier customers.
Once the new or revamped workflow is in place, continual monitoring will allow employees, mangers and customers to solve problematic situations while improving production efficiencies. In order to improve “buy-in” results, a company must also convey the consequences of not working together. Without clear and comprehensive implementation, a company puts itself at greater risk of failure due to lack of confidence, lower quality output, missed delivery dates and unsatisfied customers.

Measuring Process Integration

In a traditional graphic arts workflow, the specifications, which are captured during the initial stages of the estimate, will be used to develop a manufacturing plan. This information will follow the job through every stage in production and beyond the delivery of the products. After the job has been completed, manufacturing information, such as machine efficiency, labour costs, paper, ink, outside services, shipping and all other consumable items should be gathered for costing, invoicing and precise analysis. Unless the company uses some method of capturing this information accurately and in a timely manner, there will always be the potential for errors and omissions, which in turn will lead to misinformed managerial decisions and lost profit. Every stage of the manufacturing process must be scrutinized with meticulous detail to ensure that all aspects of the manufacturing process can be converted to a process-integrated workflow.

As the trend for quicker turnaround time continues to climb, technological enhancements relating to machine speeds in the pressroom, bindery and finishing departments have kept pace with most customer expectations. If a company is considering the purchase of any equipment or management information software application, it is critically important to ensure that the new or upgraded “whatever it is,” is compliant with your existing workflow and is capable of expansion for the future. The whole idea behind process integration is to link as many processes as possible to the entire value chain of products and services. Productivity improvements can become more efficient and more profitable with each additional component added to the workflow.

To understand the benefits of process integration, information technology specialists, managers and production employees should consider the entire range of “data types” in the graphic arts workflow (“JDF”, Kühn & Grell, 2005, pp. 5-9).

1. Content Data – traditional paper and electronic media, and data formats such as the Portable Document Format (PDF).

2. Master Data – repetitive customer and supplier information, human resources, equipment and production structure.

3. Job Data – identifies the job and customer name and number.

4. Production Data – defines the production process between different software applications and machines.

5. Control Data – includes calibration curves, ICC profiles, printing unit selection, ink/dampening balance, anti-setoff powder, etc.

6. Operating and Machine Data – information regarding scheduling, job status, utilization and availability.

7. Quality Data – required information to ensure predefined quality standards, repeatability, densitometry and photospectral information.

This range of data types clearly indicates the sophistication and complexity of job specifications, which need to be integrated throughout the entire graphic arts workflow. Process integration lends itself very well to information technologies, which allow the data to be used in the evaluation and management of production efficiencies. Here again, the importance of education and training comes into play. Even though a management information system is capable of producing vital production and financial details, the person who reads the reports must be able to makes sense of them and be able to translate the information into strategic decisions. Production managers and machine operators are responsible for recording job information, such as production time and material usage. These individuals may enter data based on human judgment and in some situations, second-hand sources, which can be highly subjective and fundamentally flawed.

One of the most challenging aspects of workflow management is dealing with alterations to job specifications, especially after the job has entered into production. When a customer requests an alteration to the original job specs, project managers should evaluate the impact of the change on every other production stage. For example, what is the impact of special ink colours or coating applications on paper selection? What is the impact on foil stamping and embossing if the document will now pass through a digital device for inkjet or laser personalization? Or perhaps, an alteration to final trim size of a document on binding and finishing operations? As the printed piece travels through each stage in production, value is continually being added to the final product.

As mentioned earlier, everyone must understand that errors and defects, which are discovered in later stages of manufacturing, become increasingly expensive and time consuming to repair, or reprint. It has been noted that production downtime and material spoilage are the two largest causes of lost profit. To reduce or eliminate these root causes, implementing or moving towards a process-integrated workflow will ensure the greatest likelihood of success and profit.

Colour Consistency, Accuracy and Perception

A process-integrated workflow can significantly reduce colour subjectivity on behalf of press operators, production managers and, of course, the client, who has the ultimate say regarding the approval of colour reproduction. A press operator controls the colour consistency and accuracy, while the production manager facilitates the dialogue of colour reproduction instructions between the client who pays the bills and the press operator. We need to keep in mind, a job is in production because a client has awarded a contract to produce a certain number of copies at an agreed upon price and quality level. As another important reminder, the proof should be thought of as a communication tool between the customer and provider. Everyone in the graphic arts industry has access to quality control targets and instruments that can assist in the measurement and reproduction of colour proofs and printed products.

There are many factors that can influence the final coloring result along the way from the digital draft to the printed sheet. These can include dot gain resulting from a new range of inks, a different grade of paper or a printing plate with altered ink trapping performance. Or the customer may deliver data and proofs that leave the printer struggling with colour specifications that are often difficult to achieve on press (Prinect Color Solutions, Heidelberg).

Colour standards, which are embedded into job specifications, assist in the consistency and accuracy of reproduction and shorten the overall proofing cycle time. Accurate one-off proofs can also reduce make-ready spoilage while building the confidence level of all involved personnel. A process-integrated workflow facilitates measurement, monitoring and calibration of the tools and instruments used in colour management. Variables associated with proofing and imaging devices, lithographic and digital printing machines, inks, toners, chemicals, papers/substrates and production climatic conditions can be controlled and managed to ensure high-quality repeatable results. Process-integration also provides information relating to operator skills and technical expertise, which can be used by managers to assess workplace efficiency and on-the-fly performance. In terms of colour accuracy and quality control, process-integrated specifications can help manage subjectivity in viewer perception, colour tolerances and reproduction standards.

Analyzing Process Integration

To analyze process integration, one must always be aware of every variable that can affect workflow efficiency. Once these factors are uncovered and understood, managers and production employees will be in a better position to appreciate the tangible benefits of a process-integrated workflow. Most workplace employees in this economic climate are encouraged and motivated to apply their skills and technical knowledge to maximize savings in time and materials. The analysis of any significant change to a production workflow must include clearly written goals and objectives in a logical and easy-to-understand format. The person(s) with the responsibility of analyzing a process-integrated workflow must also have a vision of how the system will operate after any changes have been implemented.

To properly analyze the education and training requirements, human resources managers must work together with production management staff to document the current level of expertise of all individuals who may be affected by a process-integrated workflow.

This should also include customers and any outside suppliers who are part of the manufacturing value chain. Management will need to identify what their employees are expected to know or be able to do after the education and training has been completed. Key personnel should be consulted for their input and expertise of how to handle any other non-tangible issues or company-wide concerns. Analyzing what has been happening will create an appreciation of the need to improve, or identify what should be maintained. Analyzing the current situation will reveal any bottlenecks and/or inefficiencies. Analyzing a future vision will create a sense of urgency to move forward and will catalyze the elimination of burdens from the past.

When analyzing organizational procedures and workplace practices, graphic arts companies must be critically honest with their assessment of workflow efficiency. Any faults or defects in the system, which are identified during these assessments, should be viewed as an opportunity to improve workflow procedures and methods of operation. A thorough workflow analysis will reveal obstacles and objections, which can then be resolved and converted into new opportunities for the company.

Implementing Process Integration

When considering the implementing of a process-integrated workflow, the company must first understand their existing production workflow including prepress, printing, bindery and specialty finishing, as well as all software applications. The size of the company and number of employees will largely determine the transition time required to upgrade or implement a process-integrated workflow.

Depending on the current state of existing hardware/software technologies, the transition time may take between one to five years or longer. For example, if a piece of equipment is paid for and is outdated, the decision to invest in its replacement will be relatively straightforward. If another piece of equipment was recently purchased and is performing efficiently, there may be several years before its ultimate demise. With a process-integrated workflow, a company can choose to implement new hardware/software components one step at a time, which will reduce the roadblocks associated with large-scale expansions and capital expenditures.

During the implementation stage, vendors and manufacturers of equipment hardware/software applications must work together as partners to ensure stress-free process-integration. Most professional people who have important responsibilities will support the implementation stage if they understand how process-integration can improve their own personal efficiencies. The graphic arts company must also be able to integrate their management information system (MIS) that currently exists or is being considered. Implementing a process-integrated workflow that is easy to use will greatly enhance its success and will lay a solid foundation for future expansion.

During the implementation stages, the company should have contingency plans in place to ensure an uninterrupted flow of products and services.

Managing Process Integration

A major contributing factor to profitability is the ability to produce a job in the most efficient manner without incurring significant downtime or spoilage. If job specifications can be captured and used to preset machine components and configurations, a company can reduce the amount of time required to setup and adjust each machine. Preflighting files and presetting machines will allow operators to shorten the length of time between jobs, which translates into improved production efficiencies and less spoilage. With evolving trends towards shorter run lengths and tighter delivery date requirements, a company can expect to produce additional jobs in a shorter period of time with greater consistency. A process-integrated workflow will allow all managers and production employees with login privileges to access and if necessary, modify job specifications and manufacturing instructions. This includes completed jobs, current jobs and jobs that have just been entered into the system waiting for approval to proceed.

The production of commercial print media documents by offset lithography or digital technologies requires materials such as paper, ink, toner, plates, blankets and other consumables. The availability of these materials in a timely manner plays a significant role in the overall manufacturing efficiency and profitability.

In a traditional workflow, the absence of one component can bring the entire manufacturing operation to a virtual standstill. This not only delays the production of the current job, but all other jobs scheduled for that machine or workstation. The coordination of materials and consumables using process-integration technologies can drastically improve productivity in all stages of the workflow.

Conclusions

To ensure maximum success and profitability for your company, any new workflow procedures must be carefully analyzed, implemented and managed with diligence and integrity. Once the commitment has been made to move forward, future company goals should focus on continual improvement.

References:

Kühn, W., Grell, M., “JDF”, Springer-Verlag Berlin, 2005
http://www.heidelberg.com/www/html/en/content/overview1/prinect/topics
http://www.heidelberg.com/www/html/en/content/articles/prinect/general/r…
Special thanks to Rebecca Appleyard, Account Coordinator, Schawk.