Komori Lithrone Presses

This thread is for general discussion of Komori Lithrone Offset Presses.

Please post:

• interesting information sources on Komori Lithrone presses
• photos that you would be willing to share of Komori Lithrone presses
• videos or animations of Komori Lithrone presses
• overviews or specific parts photos
• diagrams, or any other useful or interesting information that you can share.
• tips & tricks operating a Lithrone press
• your experience operating a Komori Lithrone press

(For specific questions, please start a new thread with a separate detailed title and description.)

 

Komori video at 15k

 

another Komori video

 

Komori S29 run up to 16,500 (granted just for a short while)!

 

About thirteen hundred views of this forum and only a hand full of replys. I'm new, this could be a very informative and interactive forum! I've been a pressmen for a long time. This would have been a great help to me when I was getting started. Don't be afraid to reply,
everybody has an experience. If there is a post I think I can help, I will reply. This can be good. It will take everybody. Don't be shy. It's only printing.

 

I'm with you there bdk. I thought, at last a pressroom forum, but the activity seems very low - posted a few times but i guess there's not much oppoertunity in the working day for pressmen/women to participate or maybe it's because no-one has any issues!

 

Hey guys.

I run a 8-color speedmaster, but fed on a Komori 50" 4-color for a few years. I started drinking.

Our plant had 3 of them, and now replaced them with 4 MAN-roland 50" presses.

The Komori's printed sharp, and the dampening worked well...even while the rest of the press fell apart. We got about 10 years use from them.

 

I have just started working for a company running a 10 color 540SP. It has a roll converter as an addition. A very interesting press to run, I have never run anything sheetfed that would print 5 colors 2 sides before. The main drawback I have noticed so far is fit issues as all the roll stock is short grain. I will post more as I learn it's quirks.

 

So how many guys to run this 10 color press? Shure would be nice being able to have a few extra units kicking around to lay some spot colors down while doing process work. Or what type of work are you doing with it?

 

2 of us run it, quite a handful watching everything by yourself while running at 12000 an hour. We are running straight commercial work, 4 color 2 sides. The 5th units are used for varnish more often than not. I run a lot of covers for books and magazines as we have three web presses in another facility. The color bars are at the rear of the sheet so it has been a bit of a learning curve to do fit while the sheet is upside down while the PQC scans it. Our inking profiles are sent to the press from pre-press and mostly are pretty accurate. An 8 color make ready takes around 45 minutes total.

 

im running one with out a roll and it still doesnt fit well (540sp) dont you love having to open all the gates after it slams down

 

Yep, we lovingly call it a "door party". Anything on 60# & lighter is a definite problem to fit, sheets or roll stock.

 

100# cvr doesnt fit with out streaching the plates. do you step the thickness of your perma packing and blanket packing if so how much or do you just use the program in prepress. hopefully that makes sense

 

Anything over 70# text weight will fit pretty well, I am finding the sheet compensator is best used sparingly when trying to improve fit in the corners on the tail of the sheet. Turn it up too much & it will move the image forward in the center of the sheet, especially the magenta & yellow. We do not have the prepress program to adjust fit to compensate for sheet flair although I wish we did. I will check tomorrow to see how much we are stepping our packing & on which units. I do know our blanket packing is stepped at least 5 thousandths total between the units as we replaced a 2nd unit bottom (love those too lol) that was at 42 tonight. Replaced a top unit blanket the other night & the packing was at 37. On another note, is your sheet scanner a pain in the butt & slow as molasses?

 

it takes about 45 second to one minute to scan both sides of the sheet it slows down pretty bad when saving and exiting the color bar and press and ink screens. we were told to step ours like so

Plate cylinder 1 +.007 2 +.006 3 +.006 4 +.005 5 +.004

blanket cylinder 1 -.001 2 .000 3 .000 4 +.001 5 +.002

those are all over bearer

 

Transitions

doing the opposite myself, coming from a speedmaster to a lithrone thinking about taking up drinking! Big transition. How are those MAN Rolands?

From the Plastic Printer

 

My co-workers really like the MAN's. I don't run one....I like a challenge .
Seems I usually have my hands full with perfecting on my 8 color. We are in the midst of testing new ink and etch/sub. and it seems printing has a few more challenges these days!

As for drinking...those fricken Komori presses got me started

 

Alcohol is best used in the pressman I've found out with over 30 years in the trade.

 

Hay guys,
this is my first post, I worked all over the place as an engineer for Komori UK for about 8 years and have been working freelance for 4 fears now.
have to say I love these machines, yes they need looking after but most of the printers I talk to say they are far easier to opperate than other brands of press.
I will try to log on as often as possible and answer any questions i can.

 

I run a 1040 komori after years of speedmaster cds. Great press but sometimes still miss my old ones. Open to any questions.