Shinohara 66: Ideal for shorter runs

Eskay’s has installed a Shinohara 66IVH four-colour press. The fully loaded 66IVH press runs at a speed of 17,000 sheets per hour and can handle stocks of upto 400 gsm.

Rakesh S Kinariwala, managing partner at Eskay’s Scanna Graphics, says: "We have evaluated and purchased a Shinohara for its attractive features. We are impressed with the price point to performance ratio. The operation is swift. We are able to complete 17 jobs of 1,000 sheets in 10 hours."

Shinohara is capable of producing a range of multicolour work including brochures and commercial work for a booming market in Nagpur.

Recently, Suba Solutions has installed a brand new Shinohara press at Print Shop in Chennai and Balaji Packaging Industries in Pune.

Primary technologies
The two primary technologies featured in the Shinohara 66 are the Shinohara pre-inking system (SPIS) which provides accurate colour on the next job in fewer sheets, and the Shinohara semi-automatic plate changer (SPC), which removes the need for plate bending and makes the use of standing plates easier.

Naresh says: "The SPIS system increases efficiency and precision. It substantially reduces the time required for the make-ready adjustments before the printing."

Using the information from CIP3 data, SPIS automatically creates the ideal ink film on the ink rollers and then starts printing. It eliminates the need for operators to manually adjust ink keys or to run the press to achieve the proper ink film on the ink rollers.

A new suction belt feeder system ensures the smooth transport of sheets while the new automatic blanket washing system uses either solvent or water cloth. Shinohara’s plate clamping system means that the press can accept both aluminium and polyester plates. At the press operator’s end, the press features a large, colour liquid crystal display touch screen, ensuring all the presses functions are at the operator’s fingertips.

CIP3 station digital capabilities
The Shinohara CIP3 Station uses JDF data and print production format (PPF) files created during pre-press processing to automatically preset ink key apertures. This enables faster makeready and reduces waste.

Naresh says: "With this station, fast optimum ink key presets are achieved."

Shinohara was one of the first members of CIP3, an organisation promoting a standard for communication among printing devices known as the PPF.

Plate and feeder system
Shinohara’s exclusive plate clamp cocking system allows for distortions of upto +/- 0.024 inch (0.6mm) to be corrected on the fly, without affecting bearer-to-bearer contact between the plate and blanket cylinders. Calculations are automatically performed to assure that undue pressure is not placed on the printing plate, regardless of the direction in which it is moved. The cocking operation can be controlled from the operation console.

The Shinohara 66 multicolour has a suction belt in the feeder system that ensures sheets proceed smoothly over the feed board to the printing unit. This feeder assembly and a one-touch brush-and-wheel adjustment system make it easy to adjust for changes in paper size, so throughput is increased.

Operation console
The operation console makes it possible to remotely control ink key, registration, cocking, and other settings from one convenient panel. Optical fibre is used to pass data to the press. Settings can also be saved to either IC memory or on a CD, to reduce setup time in repeat runs. An interactive touch-panel LCD display provides an easy-to-use interface, assisting the operator with information related to inking and paper size, among other things.

Naresh says: "With the use of multiple CPUs, Shinohara has made it possible to control all the different motors in the press simultaneously through the operation console dramatically reducing makeready time."

The operation console also provides bar graphs of ink key apertures besides the touch keys and features a colour PC touch panel. This improves readability, prevents errors and enhances the communication between the operator and the machine.

Special features
Shinohara 66 series can be fitted with a chamber type doctor blade aqueous or aqueous/UV in-line varnish coating system that can be used for spot coating with a convex resin plate. The press can also use IR dryer and cold curing system that enables printing onto plastic as well as a wide variety of papers.