Increasingly printers are migrating to suppliers that can act as a one-stop shop for consumables. This trend is set to continue, which is why many companies are acting to improve the scope of their offering, making it ever easier for you to source supplies. Take the acquisition last June of Day International by the Flint Group. The move means Flint can provide a complete range of products for your pressroom. Moreover, all of your needs can be managed via a single point of contact, with sales personnel consulting customers on a regular basis and keeping them informed of new products etc.

Another significant trend in the UK consumables market has been the move towards greater environmental responsibility. In the current climate of spiralling IPA costs, availability and stringent health and safety legislation, as well as environmental issues, today’s printers are coming under increasing pressure to reduce the use of alcohol in the pressroom. Although IPA provides optimum dampening conditions for offset printing, its use also creates considerable disadvantages, thereby requiring the ongoing search for substitutes. Previously, the cost and high flammability of IPA were quoted as its main drawbacks. Nowadays, increasing awareness about the environment has led to a more critical stand with regard to IPA, a volatile organic compound (VOC) which evaporates in the atmosphere. Environmental and health legislation, as well as professional organisations are pressing to replace IPA or at least reduce its use drastically. As for manufacturers of fountain concentrates, they are committed to finding new solutions by developing and marketing products to replace IPA or cut its use.

New fount solutions are becoming available, bringing envionmetal benefits.

Commenting on the situation, Steve Haig, Day International UK sales manager says: “As the largest manufacturer of printing chemicals, we at Day International are conscious of our environmental commitment. Our technical sales team fully understands the pressroom environment application and the various control systems used on press and is committed to working with end-users to ensure the correct choice and application of the Varn range of products to combine performance and economy.

“This drive to continuously improve our product offering has recently led to the formulation of Varn Protector Fount, a one-step alcohol replacement fountain solution tested on all types of sheetfed press which will dramatically reduce the use of alcohol, in many cases eliminating it completely.”

As the need to be green becomes more crucial for printers, with in many cases an environmentally responsive job having become equally as important as price and quality, the type of pressroom chemicals used and associated waste management is becoming more of an issue. For instance, Shoreham-by-sea based HDP has broken new ground in adopting an environmentally responsible approach to the manufacture and disposal of chemicals, solvents and fountain solutions.

Chris Whalley, HDP UK business manager says: “Our desire to be the best at our business rolls out into an objective to be the cleanest. We encourage the use of safer alternatives to basic chemicals and have underpinned this desire with positive action. The HDP waste management scheme offers bespoke environmental solutions for every customer. Good practice begins at home and we have made an absolute commitment to our own waste management programme. Our own consumption of containers has been slashed by 70 percent through the collection, cleaning and re-using of all containers. The returned drums are granulated at the end of their useful life and the residue recycled at the plastic extrusion plant.”

Blanket development
In order to satisfy needs for increase printing efficiency, improved quality and reduced cost-perpage, press designs have evolved with the latest configurations providing higher speeds, less paper waste, and wider print to increase page count. These new designs have also meant the blanket has had to evolve from the flat, fabric-backed product we all recognise into one that is dramatically different in construction and shape. The result has been that the flat blanket has become a cylindrical tube (sleeve) in one design, and, in another design, the fabric-backing has been replaced with an engineered metal backing that attaches like a printing plate.

The goal to reduce the cost-per-page and improve overall print quality that was established in the early 1990s has now been achieved. Matthew Hunt, technical development manager for Duco reports: “While countless improvements and designs have taken place over recent years, the real value of the offset printing blanket is demonstrated in the significant reduction of the printer’s cost-per-page. As blanket life today exceeds 20,000 impressions, increased press speeds and page-count-per-impression approaching 96 pages (up from the 32 pages in the 1980s) it’s easy to see why blanket manufacturers are valued for their innovative contributions and ability to respond to end-user and press manufacturers’ demands.

”If one were to compare pricing of blankets over this time period, the price has not increased significantly compared to the value that has been created. All blanket manufacturers would gladly make that comparison for the printer who tracks life and costper- page. The next level of these advancements will be exhibited at Drupa 2008.”

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