Silber Druck in Lohfelden near Kassel is one of the most renowned printers in the business when it comes to the fast completion of brochure print runs. Tonnes of paper are – literally – moved through the company’s enormous production centre every day. With three new Rapida long perfectors, the Silber family is well equipped to remain competitive on the fiercely contested print market. But what makes the ecologically oriented print centre so special?

One of the largest brochure printers in the country is Silber Druck. The company, which meanwhile has a staff of more than 100, is based in Lohfelden. According to joint managing director Wolfgang Silber, 99.9 per cent of the production run by Silber Druck is accounted for by brochures, magazines, catalogues and other periodicals, whether saddle-stitched or with perfect bindings. Up to 1 million sheets are often printed on any given day – working around the clock – and a good 9,000 tonnes of paper are used over the course of the year. It is not every day that you encounter such systematic specialisation. Most print companies have a rather more diversified portfolio.

Printing and more

The press line-up used to handle this production volume comprises a Rapida 106-8SW4 SPC, a Rapida 106-10+L SW5 SPC ALV2 and a Rapida 106-8+L SW4 SPC ALV2 with Complete Workflow. To adequately accommodate not only these presses, but also the recent major upgrade to the finishing department, the company has more than 7,000m² (75,350sq.ft) of production space available. This was achieved by adding an extension to the existing premises, primarily as installation space for a range of post-press machines. The longest Rapida used at Silber Druck is a Rapida 106-10+L SW5 SPC ALV2 (delivered at the end of 2018). It is configured with the Light-weight Speed package (for a maximum capacity of up to 18,000sph) and a 2.4m (7.9ft) extended delivery. A camera system is used for sheet travel monitoring, and other equipment features include DriveTronic SPC, DriveTronic PlateIdent and Flying JobChange. An ErgoTronic console with wallscreen, QualiTronic ColorControl, QualiTronic LiveView (realtime visualisation of every printed sheet), QualiTronic ICR (inline register control) and QualiTronic PDFCheck (sheet inspection), together with an online link to LogoTronic Professional with its maintenance manager and information cockpit (displaying of performance data), are the distinguishing features of the systems used to maintain print quality. At Silber Druck, what is referred to as the digital job docket is practically ubiquitous, whether at the printing presses or the various post-press machines, whether for gang formes (fourpage and eight-page products, covers, etc.) or for single jobs.

With three Rapida long perfectors, joint managing director Wolfgang Silber (r) and production control manager Christian Mergard are well equipped for the fiercely contested print market

Considerable post-press power

But what would the extremely high printing capacity be without corresponding post-press capabilities? Three combination folders with six crease lines, two buckle folders with ten crease lines and one combination folder with nine crease lines cover the company’s everyday folding needs. Three stitchers, namely two full gatherer-stitchers and one booklet stitcher for smaller jobs (four pages), along with a perfect binding machine (16 stations, 24 grippers) perform binding. Cutting, film wrapping and paper drilling machines are also available. The jobs, which are produced almost exclusively in sheetfed offset, vary from 300 to 200,000 sheets and more, with the average run length totalling between 3,000 and 5,000 sheets. The number of offset printing plates used each day is no less impressive: at least 2,000 (for which three Magnus 800 platesetters from Kodak are available). It is often the case that jobs are received one day and can (must) be shipped back to the customer on the next day – and that sometimes with a five-figure run length. Finishing requirements are outsourced to a dependable external provider in the local East Westphalia region.

Ideas and solutions

When Wolfgang Silber is asked about unique selling points and recipes for success, his answer is short and succinct: “We only do the things we’re good at! At the same time you have to be the cost leader – and to achieve that, you need to get your products through the print centre as quickly as possible by the technically optimum route.” Furthermore: “We work with extremely short delivery times and very fast decision-making channels. For the majority of our customers, we know precisely what they want and what they do not want, and can therefore see matters from their perspective,” says Wolfgang Silber. “The moment a customer places an order, he receives a link for the data upload,” adds production control manager Christian Mergard. An Optimus MIS used together with Koenig & Bauer’s LogoTronic platform ensures trouble-free data communication across all process steps. The order processing staff know precisely how the work is progressing at any given moment, and can intervene in the job at any point they need to. The MIS therefore renders the entire workflow transparent

The three sheetfed offset presses run at full capacity around the clock