The present invention relates generally to printing presses and more specifically to a method and system for instantaneously determining total printing fluid volume consumed in a printing press.
Flow meter devices have been used to measure a total ink flow into a press room, which may include one or multiple printing presses.
Additionally, calculation of ink consumption based on job coverage and known ink weights for given ink film thickness have been accomplished. This approach assumes a uniform ink film thickness throughout the print job and thereby is only an estimate of ink volume.
A method for calculating an instantaneous total volume of printing fluid used in a printing press is provided. The method includes inputting parameters of a printing fluid dispenser into a controller, calculating an instantaneous total volume of printing fluid consumed by the printing fluid dispenser and displaying the calculated instantaneous total volume of printing fluid on a human machine interface.
A printing press is also provided. The printing press includes a printing fluid dispenser, a plate cylinder receiving printing fluid from the printing fluid dispenser, a blanket cylinder interacting with the plate cylinder and printing images on a printing substrate, a controller calculating an instantaneous total volume of printing fluid consumed by the printing fluid dispenser and a human machine interface displaying the calculated instantaneous total volume of printing fluid consumed.
The present invention is described below by reference to the following drawings, in which:
a schematically shows a plan view and
Embodiments of the present invention may allow for accurate instantaneous calculations of an actual volume of printing fluid, such as ink or dampening solution, consumed in a printing press during a print job. The printing fluid is generally continuously dispensed from printing fluid dispensers to plate cylinders. Calculating the instantaneous actual volume of printing fluid consumed allows a printing press operator to determine the cost of printing fluid consumed in real time.
Each instantaneous calculation may be used to track ink utilization through a print job or multiple print jobs run on one or more printing presses. Knowing the instantaneous total volume of ink consumed permits an operator of the printing press to calculate instantaneous total accumulated print fluid cost for the present point in the print job and/or an instantaneous total accumulated cost for the present point in the print job. The instantaneous total accumulated cost for the present point in the print job is defined herein as being the instantaneous total accumulated cost of the printing fluid consumed for the print job plus instantaneous additional accumulated print job costs for the present point in the print job, which may include the cost of the printing substrate used up until the present instant of the print job, the labor costs and the electricity costs of operating the printing press. Additionally, knowing the instantaneous total volume of the ink consumed permits an operator of the printing press to evaluate different ink formulations and the cost effectiveness of each ink formulation with respect to a number of different printing substrates onto which the ink is being printed.
For example, in one embodiment, before a print job on a substrate is run, a press operator may print two or more short test runs using two or more different ink formulations to determine the cost effectiveness of the two or more ink formulations relative to each other for the substrate. A certain same number of pages may be printed on the substrate with each ink and a controller may calculate the total instantaneous volume of each ink consumed to print the certain number of pages. The controller may then calculate, using the price of each ink per volume, the cost of each ink to print the entire print job. The printing press operator may then determine, based on the print quality and the cost effectiveness, which ink should be used for the print job. In another embodiment, the controller may include a memory that stores data regarding the total amount of ink consumed at numerous time intervals of previous print jobs. For each print job, the memory may include the substrate and ink formulation used and may include the percentage of the printing plates that were imaged to receive ink. The controller, with or without interaction by the printing press operator, may then compare the instantaneous total accumulated costs for the present point in the print job with the data of one or more previous print jobs and evaluate the cost effectiveness of the ink formulation.
Embodiments of the present invention may be applicable to printing fluid dispensers in the form of open fountain inking units and digital rail inking units. For open fountain units, the method may utilize a width of keys in the fountain unit (“key width,” a constant), an opening distance of each key in the fountain unit (“key opening,” a variable), a rotational speed of a fountain roll of the fountain unit (“fountain roll speed,” a variable) and ink returning to the fountain unit (“ink return,” a constant) to calculate the instantaneous total actual volume of printing fluid emitted from the fountain unit onto the printing substrate. For digital rail fountain units, the method may utilize a diameter of the orifices (“orifice diameter,” a constant), a percentage each orifice is open (“orifice opening percent,” a variable) and a speed of at least one pump of the fountain unit (“pump speed,” a variable) to calculate the instantaneous total actual volume of printing fluid emitted from the fountain unit onto the printing substrate.
The calculation of the instantaneous total volume of printing fluid emitted from the printing fluid dispenser onto the printing substrate may be used to display the instantaneous total volume and/or cost to the printing press operator on a human machine interface, such as a computer screen. The operator may then adjust the supply of ink to find an optimal balance between the print quality of the printed products and the costs of the printing fluid.
Ink cost and volume may be configurable printing press parameters that may be set and adjusted by the printing press operator interacting with the controller through one or more human machine interfaces. These configurable parameters may be adjusted before the print job or advantageously during the print job based on the instantaneous volume and/or cost calculations displayed to the printing press operator.
a schematically shows a plan view and
In embodiments where printing press 10 (
A distance sensor 47 may be provided for each ink key 42 to measure the distance X between the respective key 42 and fountain roll 40 and input the distances X into controller 32 (
In embodiments where printing press 10 (
A opening sensor 70 may be provided for each valve 68 to measure percentage P of time each orifice 66 is open and input the percentages P into controller 32 (
Additionally, controller 32 may receive inputs regarding the amount of substrate printed (e.g., pages printed or a length of substrate printed) and may calculate the volume of ink consumed per unit of substrate. Controller 32 may also receive inputs regarding the amount of substrate that is going to be printed for the entire print job and calculate the expected cost for the entire print job based on the volume of ink consumed per unit of substrate. The additional calculations may then be displayed on HMI 34 for viewing by the printing press operator.
In the preceding specification, the invention has been described with reference to specific exemplary embodiments and examples thereof. It will, however, be evident that various modifications and changes may be made thereto without departing from the broader spirit and scope of invention as set forth in the claims that follow. The specification and drawings are accordingly to be regarded in an illustrative manner rather than a restrictive sense.
Priority is hereby claimed to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/640,891 filed on May 1, 2012, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein.
Number | Date | Country | |
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61640891 | May 2012 | US |