Suggestions needed

Discussion in '4-Color Offset Presses +' started by Bishal Khatiwada, Feb 11, 2020.

  1. Bishal Khatiwada

    Bishal Khatiwada Member

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    I currently have 3 single color presses 2 heidelbergs and one Indian made, my colour printing jobs have been increasing rapidly and its been hard to make quick turnarounds with my single color machines.I do alot of A4 size printing jobs as well as b5 jobs too, recently i found about rmgt 9 series and it has impressed me alot, also i thought of making a change from heidelberg to another company. So what im trying to ask and get information is, Is Rmgt worth the investment?(since I've been a heidelberg user for a long long time,also the 9series might be cheaper than a heidelberg of the same size)
    Please enlighten me on this thank you.
     
  2. Travis Young

    Travis Young Member

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    What sort of age presses are you looking at?
    If you're looking for something older what about a 4 colour Heidelberg GTO ideally with Varn Kompac dampening system. I know it's only an A3 press but they're very reliable and don't cost huge amounts of money. In my opinion they make ready and achieve colour fairly quickly for an older press, especially with the Varn dampeners. If your job was 5,000 A4 finished copies a 4 colour GTO would nearly be finished by the time an 4 colour MO had made ready.
    The other big benefit is if your work slows down you won't be left with a huge expensive machine to pay for.
    There's no disputing the reliability of old Heidelbergs and for a step up from single colours a few minutes for plate changes and make ready will seem like nothing.
     
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  3. Bishal Khatiwada

    Bishal Khatiwada Member

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    Thank you for your suggestion. But i already have a Sorm and Moe,so going back to small format isnt a better idea as i think. As i am looking to fasten my production with a big format 4color press or a 4color sm74 atleast.
     
  4. Travis Young

    Travis Young Member

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    That's ok just a thought.
    So what sort of run lengths do you average?
    How many impressions would you average in a week?
    Are we talking all 4 colour process work?
    How much money do you have to spend/borrow?
    Once you have a big expensive late model A2 press you seriously need the work to keep it paying or going broke quickly becomes a reality. It can be a chain around your neck if work gets a bit slow.
    I spent three years as a production manager in a shop with a 4 colour MO and a SORMZ and worked as a pressman in another shop with a 4 colour GTO and would have to say for anything under 5000 runs the GTO was much much easier to handle. A good operator can output 40,000 impressions in a shift although I have to admit that's pushing the press quite hard.
    I know it might seem like a step backwards but you did say that a lot of your work is finished to A4.
    A four colour A3 press will put out nearly triple the work that a single colour A2 press will in a day with virtually no headaches.

    Quite often when these questions come up on the forum the next thing people point out is that the decision you make may not only come down to the machine itself but also the availability of local service technicians.
    When you have older Heidelberg presses it's easy to forget just how unreliable some machines are compared to an MO or SORM. I read posts from guys running Ryobis etc and time and time again I think to myself 'thank god I've got a Heidelberg'. Even modern Speedys have a lot of electronics. Our business is in a rural area so that sort of thing scares me. We could lose a week before someone got down here to have a look and I hate to think what it would cost.
     
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  5. Bishal Khatiwada

    Bishal Khatiwada Member

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    The run lengths that i am currently doing in my current machines especially for books is from 5000 to 15000 all 4color,so its a very time taking task for my single color machines, and also i do a lot of short run jobs from 200 sheets to 1000 sheets 4color job thats why i am thinking of a 4color press,

    I agree on your point with the reliability on heidelbergs over other brands because they are the machines that one can invest on without hesitation.
    Regarding A4 size jobs,mosy brochures and flyers and booklets and some books are printed on A4 size but during the calendar season most calendars are printed on b3 size or say 15inchx20inch and most books are b5 size over here thats why i was thinking of investing in a press that can give me both printing, currently i do alot of my a3 printing on my sorm because it has better print quality than moe and is faster

    So, i guess i have opted to go for an used sm74-4 which would be a better choice as a starter in the 4color. I am glad for your suggestions.
     

  6. turbotom1052

    turbotom1052 Senior Member

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    If at all possible I would consider investing in the flexibility of a 5 color over a 4 color machine. The added unit offers you many options that will make life a lot easier. Other than the obvious running of a 5th color there is also the ability to run Varnishes inline. The 5th unit also offers the flexibility to move colors around as needed without the time spent of multi unit wash-ups. It would also give you the ability to keep the 1st printing unit open and use the first unit blanket as a means to clean up crappy paper, by either running it on impression and dusting of the sheet, or even applying a sizing coat to seal the sheet up a bit. You would also have the option to use the 1st unit as a way of cleaning off spray powder when backing up jobs. This will allow you to run the press longer between blanket washes.
     
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