SMART INK LOGISTICS

The Seven Wastes and Five-S business models show automated ink logistics are vital for lean, responsive print operations
By Maarten Hummelen, Marketing Director GSE Dispensing

At six percent of a printing houses consumable costs, ink expenditure is a fifth of that of substrates. The imperative to reduce waste, however, is of equal importance, not least because of a volatile market in which oil-based raw materials have seen price rises of over 30 percent in the last year. Fortunately, lean management principles can be applied to ink consumption, and help diligent printers unlock value in the process.. Two sets of tools assist in the identification and steady elimination of waste. Focusing on the process, the Seven Wastes identify the causes and consequences of poor logistics control. In addition, practical solutions for eliminating waste in the ink room are found in the Five-S Model. The Seven Wastes Over-production: If there is no means of accurately determining the exact amount of ink for a job, overproduction is needed to prevent short-falls during the production run. With shorter runs to contend with, and the use of complex unique spot colours, it is virtually impossible to prepare the exact amount of colour to the quality accuracy required. It is virtually impossible to manually calculate a the press return leftovers of a unique hue into a new job, without time consuming calculations. It is less costly to put such excesses to waste, so many package printers report losing over a quarter of their stocks to overproduction. In attempting to prevent running out on the job, some printers might order excess amounts of ready-mixed inks from the supplier, at great cost. Inventory costs: Ink inventory costs can spiral out of control easily because of unpredictable demand, a need to hold a more diverse range of colours, and the products relatively short shelf-life. Assets are tied up in excess stock and space needed to hold them. Ink dispensing enables the mixing of all required colours from a limited number of base colours, eliminating the inventory of ready-mixed inks. Furthermore, it allows the reuse and recycle of press-return inks Motion: Time is a raw material, though we have only a finite amount that we can use to add value to our business. This makes motion time another critical factor of business efficiency. In the print room, motion waste results from people or equipment moving or walking more than is required to perform the processing. Lean companies optimize motion patterns to make stocks of substrates, inks, peripheral equipment and spare parts as small as possible. This means minimizing shipments, handling and carrying of inks. A dispensing system near the press removes the logistical delays associated with moving ready-mixed colours from the warehouse. Waiting time: The extent to which machines and people lay idle is a key measure

of inefficiency. Forty percent of the time of a typical job changeover is caused by ink changes and colour adjustments. By relying on manual colour preparation, the risk of delay is increased because of the lengthy process involved. Transportation: Transportation and environmental costs are reduced by acquiring and transporting a few base ink barrels of 200 litre volume, instead of several smaller buckets with ready-mixed inks very frequently. By accurately preparing the required volume and quality of ink close to the press, the resulting waste reduction also minimises discharges of polluted, rejected ink packaging. Over-processing: Over-processing results from poor product, tool or process design. Dispensing the exact quantity to an accuracy of 1 g or less at the right time, means any press-return leftovers can be reused and recycled, before they perish. By mixing the ink in-house, the printer retains more added value and also reduces import duties, taxes and administration. Rework and defects Time spent fixing defects is also a waste of resources. But this is inevitable when no sophisticated ink management system is in operation. With a system that guarantees quality results first time, rejects and the associated press downtime, substrate and manpower loss are less likely. Controlled colour consistency reduces the risk of the costliest error of all, field failures. A reliable management software system makes it possible to show full traceability of inks that have been used and which batch they originate from, even when press return inks are applied. Five S philosophy Where the Seven Wastes help us identify the problem, the 5S philosophy helps provide a route map to greater efficiency. It helps provide a solution for a simpler working environment, reduced waste, and improved quality, efficiency and safety. The five benchmarks of this philosophy - which conveniently start with S in English as well as in Japanese are Sort, Straighten, Shine, Standardise and Sustain. This is an ideal means of implementing lean ink management in the ink room. Seiri (Sort): The instinct to store may have given our ancestors on the savannah a survival advantage hundreds of thousands of years ago, but in a busy environment, holding on to items because they may be useful some day leads to clutter and disorganization. Seiri to sort teaches us to be discerning and break the hoarding habit. Seiri requires the printer to keep necessary ink-room items in easily accessible places, keep less frequently used items in distant areas and discard unnecessary items. The idea is to ensure that everything left at the ink room is related to ink preparation. It keeps the ink room tidy, improves searching and fetching efficiency and clears the space. Seiton (Straighten): This step is all about putting items such as clean buckets, paper for label printing, return inks to its assigned place so it can be accessed easily and quickly. The place for each item should be clearly marked, and each item should be arranged in a manner that promotes efficient work flow. Moreover, items used most often being the most easily accessible, without having to bend to reach them. Seiso (Shine): After the first thorough cleaning after implementing 5S, daily followup cleaning is needed in order to sustain this improvement. It is an effective way

of identifying damage, and equally, helps to build that vital first impression of professionalism in the mind of a visiting prospective customer. Cleaning dispense heads after each shift, and the entire ink room on a weekly basis, should be routine. Spillages should be cleared immediately. Seiketsu (Standardise): Old, bad habits die hard. That is why the aforementioned three S components of sorting, straightening and shining have to be standardized to prevent participants losing momentum, and slipping into the old routine. Adherence is best achieved, if everyone knows their responsibilities, and 3S actions are built into job descriptions for example. Shitsuke (Sustain): Once the new way to operate becomes standardized, they are engrained into the corporate culture through regular review, and the openness to new ideas and improvements in working procedure. Just as corporations are dynamic entities, the internal standards must evolve, adapting to new circumstances. Shitsuke implies that improvement is a continuous, endless process! Automated ink dispensing technology, thanks to the resulting streamlined, organized, logistics process, is essential in answering these challenges. This fast, accurate and all-encompassing method of delivering printing ink to the press - also known as colour on demand - improves quality, reduces stock levels and optimises inventory control, enabling improved margins and a higher quality product also. If the automated system is used to replace an outsourced process, the business is able to offer even more added value, and also reduce import duties and tax payments. The base element of an automated ink logistics workflow comprises a gravimetric dispensing system, featuring a user-friendly interface, linked to several barrels of base inks, ranging from eight to 20. Corrosion-resistant stainless steel valves with optimised fluid dynamic characteristics complete the picture, ensuring fast and accurate dispensing. There are systems suit different ink types or volume requirements. So a label printer, accustomed to mixing 5 kg batches, can gain similar investment return rates as large scale ink users, such as corrugated board converters, where doses may be up to five times greater. Remember that the price is only one cost of ink ownership, and its significance in relation to the numerous, more expensive hidden costs think of transport, duties, waste, warehousing, recalls and administration, to name but a few - is dangerously deceptive. Good management of your ink, from base colour component to finished packaging artwork, is the key to keeping those costs in check. In short, a gravimetric ink dispensing system with the right specification, reliability and support, will ensure print quality and fidelity, control budgets and support the growing level of lean initiatives that are appearing within printing business as the industry becomes allied more closely with manufacturing rather than manual processes.

(ENDS)