wide format korean thing

[beermonster]

ok - so i was in our canteen last wednesday, sipping a coffee - the Chairman of the company walks in, and I said hello (he wasnt even going to speak to me)

then he informs me....

"we are getting a digital press and you and the MD are going to an exhibition tomorrow to place an order"

me: :shocked: wtf?

him: yes - we have an order to print these display boards on 5mm thick foam boards - several thousand, and your dept will be running it - oh - and we've bought that ctp unit you recommended and viewed as well (yippee!)

so - went to exhibition - not a digital press as such - its a korean monster, its a wide format inkjet UV printer - and you can put any bloody thing through it - doors, vinyl, board, squirells - anything that will fit!

so - we have 2 weeks until delivery, during which a special room to house aforementioned "not a digital press" thing and ctp unit will be built. my pre-press colleague (with 20 yrs experience) that i have trained over the past year HAS to run it and we are to start delivering these boards in three weeks time. needless to say he's a little grumpy at the job change - which will come hand in hand with running speed targets etc etc

lovely.

[beermonster]

doh.

i forgot to ask if anyone has had any experience, good or otherwise, of Onyx RIP or ColorPrint RIP both i think from Wasatch?

any info very gratefully received - ta

[gnubler]

and you can put any bloody thing through it - doors, vinyl, board, squirells - anything that will fit!

So does that mean I can get a full backside impression of Paris Hilton? Squirrel in the front, whore on the back.

[jimking]

That's the new thing now for pre-press folks. You'll become a printer one day. When that day happens to me that'll be the day I split for good.

[jezza]

What exhibition was that beer?

[beermonster]

yeah i guess so gnub - and the furs already in place? <snork> - i hope squirells are ok with a little UV curing?

yeah jim - thats how my co-worker is feeling. i expected him to resign yesterday - i really did - but he's going to have a go, even if its just to add to his cv. then it'll be down to me - as usual.

jez it was sign and print at NEC last week - not massive like Ipex, and geared towards signage - which it seems is where my Chairman is heading......because its "tough" out there in the world of litho print- ya know i'm really SICK of sales, even before they actually SAY anything, qualifying how "tough" it is out there......well someone is busy, the work IS there - it's hardly a justifiable reason just because it's "tough" - thats just a lame place to hide.

i'm pretty fecked off today - and it's only 9am!

[beermonster]

so - the result of this new piece of kit

well - since we are now combining our CAD room with my studio - thats 2 departments i'm going to run - and now wallop - this new "wide format signage" department that i'm running

no hint of wages going up in pro
Chairman actually said to me the other day "its time to make the studio sweat" <thats sweat as in graft - now sweat as in nice> - which is maddenning
and there we have it

[jezza]

that sucks mate

[hagar_uk]

ok - so i was in our canteen last wednesday, sipping a coffee - the Chairman of the company walks in, and I said hello (he wasnt even going to speak to me)

then he informs me....

"we are getting a digital press and you and the MD are going to an exhibition tomorrow to place an order"

me: :shocked: wtf?

him: yes - we have an order to print these display boards on 5mm thick foam boards - several thousand, and your dept will be running it - oh - and we've bought that ctp unit you recommended and viewed as well (yippee!)

What CTP system did you go for in the end? if you don't mind me asking?

[beermonster]

hagar

managed to get a 4yr old screen 800II, single autoloader, bridge and stacker - 27k plates, full laser power on all lasers, 6mth warranty, negotiated a free gum unit and a more compact stacker - INSTALLED for about 40k. excellent machine, solid as a rock.

pointy - yep am in good ol U of K - the machine is an apollo UV 160 (or Apollo 16 as its been named)

http://www.planetdigital.eu/html/printers.html

dunno about magnetics - we'll start with the flexiboard first - and see how we go. its an opportunity to learn some new skills, which i'm always for, but quite a big increase in responibility and pressure for me - which i'm always against!

[beermonster]

well we are up and running.

4 people trained on it - and this afternoon three of em are not here - so its press minder beer reporting for duty!

the lads were cracking out 16 boards an hour - chairman wanders over -"we need 25 an hour"

the machine cant physically do it....so much for that then - but did they listen to me? no....

[jezza]

Best of luck mate

[beermonster]

man o man o man!!

static electricity issues in the board

boards expanding due to heat

scuffing due to "flexing" of boards - not helped by UV lamp heat

pressminder screwing everthing up and protesting he "never touched nuffink".......then fessing up he pressed just about everything.....

lovely

[jezza]

Sounds like it's going about as expected  :wink:

[beermonster]

ahh its all fun

the boards are held by guard bars - thing is they need to "expand" a little (and the uv heat doesnt help> but the guard bars stop the expansion - so you get a blister or bubble effect (ok exaggerated - but it is a bubble) so the board bubbles a little and then gets scuffed along the underside of the printheads, then the board exits the rear guardbar and that pressure is released, the board goes flat again - but is longer - which creates what looks like misregister print.

solution: run with no guard bars so board stays flat and is put under no pressure - solved......until it simply got too hot and bars or not it scuffed everythng

still - they should have built the room for it before installing it - we are effectively running this thing in a warehouse - dust everywhere - no temperature control etc etc

fun fun fun

lets not talk about static - makes my hair stand on end just thinking about it :wink: