Developed a new integrated workflow solution that improves automation in printing processes including combined offset and digital systems.

Komori Corporation and SCREEN Graphic and Precision Solutions Co., Ltd. (SCREEN GP) have completed development of a new integrated workflow solution that significantly enhances automation in all processes from prepress to printing and through to postpress. Komori and SCREEN GP have already installed the workflow at printing company Mizukami Insatsu Co., Ltd. and are currently performing verification tests.

As client needs continue to diversify, printing companies are being forced to work to ever shorter deadlines. This has created a requirement for more efficient work processes that incorporate both offset and digital systems, making it possible to achieve optimal results for a variety of different needs. Komori and SCREEN GP have answered this call by developing a solution that combines KP-Connect Pro (formerly K-Station 4), Komori’s advanced printing task control software, and EQUIOS 5.0, the latest version of SCREEN GP’s universal workflow platform.

This workflow is being used at the Mizukami Insatsu site to improve automation along a hybrid printing process that includes a PlateRite plate recorder, Lithrone G sheet-fed offset press and Impremia IS29 29 inch sheet-fed UV inkjet digital printing system. These systems will also be linked to postpress devices via JDF, creating a workflow that supports comprehensive integrated control from prepress right through to postpress.

Komori’s KP-Connect Pro (formerly K-Station 4) printing task control software is positioned between the MIS and production site, where it brings transparency to complex process information and allows all operators to share the latest production details. With its direct link to Komori’s production equipment, the software is able to automatically set work instructions and collect precise information on operating results. While it can easily be run from iPads or other tablet devices, its schedule creation/transmission and result collection functions enable sophisticated real-time control of all production devices.

To develop its EQUIOS universal workflow, SCREEN GP drew on its extensive technical knowledge of prepress and printing processes and combined this with its expertise in cutting-edge inkjet technologies. This wealth of results-based experience gave rise to a highly professional technology that offers high-speed processing using the latest RIP core, color management linked to paper information and imposition functions that integrate SCREEN’s full prepress knowhow, allowing it to function as a control center for a wide range of print devices. In short, EQUIOS helps to create an environment in which any printing system can produce outstanding quality, performance and stability even for relatively inexperienced operators.

Komori and SCREEN GP plan to continue their current technical cooperation as they work to provide further optimized solutions to the printing industry’s need to handle increasingly diversified, short-turnaround jobs. Both companies are also fully committed to maintaining their efforts to promote continuing growth of the overall printing industry.