Houston Chronicle cuts ink waste by 61%
Posted by Simon Day on May 21, 2009 at 1:01 PM
The Houston Chronicle has employed use of a Goss Metro press with digital inking, in order to reduce ink waste by 61 percent, Goss International announced in a press release.
Before the digital outfit, ink waste totalled an average of 5,500 kgs per week. Now ink waste is at an average of 1,927 kgs per week. Black ink waste was reduced the most, at 68 percent, and magenta rounded out the bottom end with a 46 percent reduction.
Before the digital outfit, ink waste totalled an average of 5,500 kgs per week. Now ink waste is at an average of 1,927 kgs per week. Black ink waste was reduced the most, at 68 percent, and magenta rounded out the bottom end with a 46 percent reduction.
The conversion to digital ink also allowed for a press downtime reduction of 16 percent and a 23 percent increase in paper rolls per Web break, according to Goss.
"Ink may not be the most expensive element in offset printing, but its impact on quality, productivity and waste is immense," Michael Daniel, director of printing, said in the release.
The conversion is part of continuing development at the Chronicle to improve efficiency initiated in 2005, when general manager Matt Oliver set formal baselines for newsprint and ink waste and began tracking print productivity, using a technique called "Six Sigma."
"We used Six Sigma because it has the ability to detect critical issues that lead to lost revenue, identify our failures in meeting customer expectations and expose the 'Hidden Factory' at the Houston Chronicle," Daniel is quoted by the Goss news release as saying. "The Hidden Factory runs in the background of every organisation. It fixes problems and corrects mistakes but never addresses underlying causes."
Ragy Isaac, quality director for Goss International, said that by analysing data it was found that better control of the ink output process could "improve print density, ink/water balance and waste levels."
The 61 percent savings across 19 weeks exceeded the Chronicle's expectations and have been celebrated by newspaper, Daniel told Goss.
"Ink may not be the most expensive element in offset printing, but its impact on quality, productivity and waste is immense," Michael Daniel, director of printing, said in the release.
The conversion is part of continuing development at the Chronicle to improve efficiency initiated in 2005, when general manager Matt Oliver set formal baselines for newsprint and ink waste and began tracking print productivity, using a technique called "Six Sigma."
"We used Six Sigma because it has the ability to detect critical issues that lead to lost revenue, identify our failures in meeting customer expectations and expose the 'Hidden Factory' at the Houston Chronicle," Daniel is quoted by the Goss news release as saying. "The Hidden Factory runs in the background of every organisation. It fixes problems and corrects mistakes but never addresses underlying causes."
Ragy Isaac, quality director for Goss International, said that by analysing data it was found that better control of the ink output process could "improve print density, ink/water balance and waste levels."
The 61 percent savings across 19 weeks exceeded the Chronicle's expectations and have been celebrated by newspaper, Daniel told Goss.
0 TrackBacks
Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry: Houston Chronicle cuts ink waste by 61%.
TrackBack URL for this entry: http://www.editorsweblog.org/mt/mt-tb.cgi/18230
Leave a comment