There’s chasing dollars, and there’s false economy. James Ackland’s SWUG address drew a line between the two.
The “big and understandable” focus on reducing costs to maintain competitiveness affects both consumers and suppliers, says the associate technical director of consumables manufacturer DS Chemport.

But he says what seems obvious “at a superficial level” – reducing ink for example, by buying from a supplier whose price is 20 per cent less – is not the answer. “The problem is that the accounts department are not responsible for putting the ink onto the paper in such a manner that it is actually readable to the public,” he says. And he recalls the case of a “bargain” container load of Chinese newsprint which turned out to be yellow.

“Much of the problem lies in the process of lithography,” Ackland says. “No other printing process comes close in terms of complexity and interaction of consumables to produce the printed result.

“As well as ink and paper, we introduce blankets, rollers, fount, washes, roller conditioners, water, biocides, flushing agents, printing plates. And if that is not enough we can then add another layer of consumables to the preparation of the plates prior to printing.”

At SWUG, Ackland postulates a single-width colour newspaper plant with a throughput of 700 tonnes of 40-55 gsm newsprint a month… of which you might guess there would be a few represented in the conference room.
Whether you consider consumables by weight or dollar value, paper remains the most significant at 70-80 per cent of costs. But he says, “These consumables don’t operate in isolation. They all interact with and influence each other to a greater or lesser degree.”

Even spending 20 per cent more on fountain solution – either by buying a more expensive solution, or by using more of it – could deliver a saving estimated at $640 a month if it led to a reduction in paper consumption of just 0.2 per cent; if that reduction was 0.5 per cent, the monthly saving would be $2950.

The figures point to the importance of each component in the consumables mix. Given that, Ackland urges regular monitoring and ‘health checks’ – including the use of conductivity meters – to ensure fount concentration is at optimal levels.

“All suppliers will provide control charts to help inform the printer what their fount concentration is,” he says. “Once you have found the optimum level, it’s easy to set up a checking system to ensure it stays there.”

Microbes – a common contaminant in fount circuits – can neutralise fount acids and consume the synthetic gums in the fount system and so, like pH drift, can also result in higher paper wasted due to poor print quality. Ackland says the best way to measure the presence of microbes is to use a dip-slide or get water samples tested by an outside lab. But while both options usually take time and money, indicative tests – such as checking pH for an upward shift, or simply smelling the tank – can show up a potential problem.

As well as these ‘direct costs’ associated with the fount, some indirect costs can also have a significant bearing.

• Fount which is too acid or has too much etch can affect plate wear, and with plates the fourth greatest consumable cost, this can be significant;

• Cylinder corrosion can lead to major costs if it makes replacement necessary; Ackland says modern founts have corrosion protection chemistry incorporated, but the complex science which operates on specific metals “adds significantly to the cost of the fount”;

• Benchmarking, although time consuming, can be a useful exercise. “From time to time your inputs will change including paper, ink, fount, plates and blankets, and all of these can have an impact on the optimum settings for the press – especially ink/water balance,” Ackland says. “Getting the water curves just right is extremely important in getting the best value for money out of your press.”

• Maintenance “should be obvious and significant”, but is often pushed to the bottom of the priority ladder because it takes manpower and time.” Apart from the controls mentioned earlier, this is the most important thing that you can do to save costs,” he says. “This is counter-intuitive, because it is a case of spending money (and time) to save money. But it does work and it works significantly.”

Ackland urges pressroom managers to understand and control those inputs that can assist you to get better mileage from paper. “Develop ways of measuring and quantifying the influence of other consumables such as fount on your paper usage, and control your consumables by measuring and monitoring,” he says.

“There are opportunities to reduce press room consumable costs, but obvious cost reductions, such as fewer dollars per litre, don’t necessarily lead to real savings.”

• Adapted from a presentation to Australian SWUG.