Oosterhout, October 2015 – Sanoma, one of Europe’s leading media and educational concerns has plans to modernise one of its printing plants in Finland. The plant aims to modernise the press so that future costs can be minimised whilst optimum levels of support can be maintained. Additional benefits involve improvements to the quality of the product which will be accompanied by optimisation of production costs. It comes as no surprise therefore that Sanomala has opted to collaborate with QIPC – EAE.

Sanoma, one of Europe’s leading media and educational concerns has plans to modernise one of its printing plants in Finland. The business provides information and entertainment for millions of consumers in numerous European countries. In fact, in both Finland and the Netherlands, Sanoma is the leading media concern, with a wide presence across a diversity of platforms. Sanomala is the printing plant based in Finland in the city Vantaa. The age of the current manroland COLORMAN press would suggest that the machine is in need of a retrofit with respect to its operating and control systems. The plant aims to modernise the press so that future costs can be minimised whilst optimum levels of support can be maintained. Additional benefits involve improvements to the quality of the product which will be accompanied by optimisation of production costs. It comes as no surprise therefore that Sanomala has opted to collaborate with QIPC – EAE.  

Sanomala was looking for a Interbus Loop Retrofit, a communication protocol for the press’ control system. Where EAE was able to satisfactorily offer such a retrofit, Sanomapaino’s management opted for EAE in combination with Q.I. Press Controls. By placing this sizeable order, Sanomala is putting great confidence in EAE, which will be responsible for upgrading thirteen towers within a very short space of time. Sanomapaino vice-president / technology, Hannu Saarnilehto, explains that it singled out EAE after making an evaluation of three key requirements for the system: User convenience; technical implementation; and cost-efficiency: “In the first place, as far as ease-of-use was concerned, our operators were overwhelmingly in favour of EAE. Secondly, regarding the implementation process and taking into account potential suppliers, we were unable to identify any areas where one was able to single itself out from the other. So for us, user convenience was the decisive factor. Thirdly, we felt that the cost-efficiencies offered by the system were excellent,” explains Hannu Saarnilehto.  

For its part, Sanomala’s objective was to upgrade the system so that it was able to print effectively for the rest of the press’ life-cycle. Over this period, user costs have to remain low and any future investments small and predictable. Hannu Saarnilehto: “We believe that EAE’s system is an answer to our question, and at the same time provides an environment in which even greater efficiencies can be realised in the future.” Sanomala’s original plan did not include a system from Q.I. Press Controls. Hannu Saarnilehto points out that Sanomala was looking for value-added investment options as part of its procurement process: “The QIPC – EAE coalition was able to provide a solution that brought about production efficiencies for an attractive price.” Sanomala soon came round to the benefits this added value offered and plumped for Q.I. Press Controls’ IDS-3D.  

Sanomala placed the order for a retrofit by EAE on all thirteen towers and for the automation by Q.I. Press Controls for the heatset web on its manroland COLORMAN. EAE will be responsible for implementation of a Complete Press Control Retrofit. EAE will also supply a retrofit for the planning and presetting. The Interbus Loop network will also be partly restructured and modernised by EAE so that components gained as a result can then be used for spare parts. EAE will also install its Print system as a means of comparing the planning and production results. Print will be operationalised for production planning, presetting, tracing and reporting. What’s more, the V.I.P. (Visual Intelligent Plant) management system will be installed, enabling all phases of the print process to be managed using an uniform interface. Q.I. Press Controls will install the IDS-3D colour control with RAS and integrated colour register. As optional extras, the IDS-3D will include the Automatic Ink Mist Shield (AIMS), dampening control, fault detection, inkductor control and front-to-back register control. The outcome of the retrofit and the automation package will be optimised print-runs with minimised waste.  

No additional investment
The combination of a retrofit and automation upgrades from QIPC – EAE forgoes the need for unexpected extra investments in the future. EAE will be carrying out a retrofit on all parts of the machinery which need this. For its part, EAE has reached such an advanced state of technology that it will be possible to reuse various software and hardware components which are already in place on the press. Not only does QIPC – EAE’s efficiency represent a minimum outlay, it will also result in much quicker returns on investment.  

Minimum downtime, greater efficiency
Given the size of the order, it will be difficult to avoid potential operational downtimes for the press. To counteract this, a structured plan of action will be needed to make sure installation goes ahead smoothly and so win over the trust of Sanomala. For this reason, EAE is offering a so-called parallel installation which minimises operational downtime. The turnkey solution and the joint installation phase provide Sanomala engineers with an easy-to-manage working environment, where quick response times can be implemented should these be necessary. What’s more, the heatset web will be fitted with the IDS-3D from Q.I. Press Controls. The colour control and register will guarantee constant high quality and help minimise start-up times. All in all, the installation will bring about reductions in waste and user costs.  

Production reliability for the lifetime of printing presses
QIPC – EAE will optimise the costs incurred by Sanomala without the need for unexpected extra investment. These aspects demonstrate that QIPC – EAE remains focused on the durability of its products and services. All versions of QIPC – EAE hardware components are downward-compatible, thus enabling guaranteed support. In the case of Sanomala, EAE’s own hardware will result in fewer hardware requirements and lower costs (in the future). EAE is also working to update its software at all times, which means that printing presses can continue to work over longer periods of time. Moreover, QIPC – EAE has a keen focus on the newspaper industry. The organisations are constantly evolving so that they are able to meet the needs of the printing industry. Last year, for example, this resulted in the new two-in-one IDS-3D camera and the new EAE control console. QIPC – EAE will continue to provide such innovations for the industry for years to come. Sanomala is aiming to achieve production reliability up to late 2020s or even to 2030s - the products and services of QIPC – EAE will definitely help them realise this goal!  

Not least, this collaboration can be put down to the work of Juha Kankainen, managing director of the Finnish agency JK Automation. Over the years, he has earned his spurs as a loyal and successful agent for Q.I. Press Controls and, more recently, QIPC – EAE. Juha Kankainen can fall back on a wealth of experience in the world of press control systems; his know-how will certainly be instrumental in ensuring successful implementation. During installation at Sanomala, he will play the lynchpin role of project engineer, in particular during the electrical installation, not least in view of the fact that Finnish is his native tongue: this will help communication during the installation phase.  

QIPC – EAE’s contribution over the coming years for Sanomala provides an excellent example of what synergy between the two organisations can bring about. QIPC – EAE is able to draw upon the extensive network of Q.I. Press Controls, fall back categorically on the expertise of EAE, and take advantage of the automation solutions of Q.I. Press Controls. This combination is helping Sanoma to modernise its printing plant in Finland. The investment in QIPC – EAE’s retrofit and automation upgrades is providing Sanomala with increased production reliability and double-quick return-on-investment times.

Hannu Saarnilehto: “We believe that EAE’s system is an answer to our question, and at the same time provides an environment in which even greater efficiencies can be realised in the future.”