IGAS 2022 Report (2), November 24th (Thu.)

Automated operation plus eco-friendly printing using the RMGT 970PF-8

IGAS 2022 finally kicked off on November 24 (Thu.), and since right after opening we have been welcoming many visitors to the RMGT booth at location No. 2-2 in East Hall 2.

Two demonstrations were given on the RMGT 970PF-8 A1-plus size 8-color convertible perfector: a demonstration of solutions for automated continuous operation plus eco-friendly printing, and a demonstration of Smart Factory solutions by linking with various prepress and postpress systems.

In this report we look at solutions for automated continuous operation plus eco-friendly printing.

The 970 model is a convertible perfector capable of printing on A1-plus size paper. Compared with a B1-size press it greatly reduces costs for both plates and power consumption. And, to help solve the printing industry's labor shortage problem, the 970 model's Smart Assist Printing function enables one-button operation for automatically performing a series of printing from make-ready to production printing.

At IGAS 2022 we demonstrated automatic continuous perfecting of three jobs, each consisting of sixteen A4-size pages, for a total of 48 brochure pages.

In this demonstration, job data was acquired from an MIS via workflow software to automatically preset the press.

After the start of printing, the only operation required is changing the plates for the next job. Printing of the 3 jobs was quickly completed in about 15 minutes. The demonstration highlighted the novel innovations and advanced automation functions of the RMGT 970, which provides high productivity for the multi-variety small-lot work typical of commercial printing.

At the completion of printing, the printed sheet pile was automatically transported by an automated guided vehicle to the adjacent Horizon Inc. booth for folding and binding. An inkjet printer at the press's feeder section printed each sheet with a data matrix code for individual identification. The quality inspection data from the PQS-D printing quality control system is acquired by the binding system, and is collated with the printed sheet data matrix codes read by the binding system's code reader. This enables the binding system to automatically eject defective sheets. The demonstration also highlighted the workflow linkage between the RMGT press and the Horizon binding system.

Environmental considerations are becoming increasingly important to the printing industry. The demonstration on the 970PF-8 highlighted eco-friendly printing using processless plates and biomass ink produced by extracting resin from plant-based material. Visitors to the RMGT booth were able to see how improvements in the performance of various eco-friendly printing supplies expanded the potential for eco-friendly printing.