Moquin Press Optimizes Press Performance with Heidelberg Print Color Management Program

Moquin Press, an $11 million trade printer located in Belmont, CA, reserves the highest praise for Heidelberg’s Print Color Management color consultation program (PCM).

Faced with the rapidly souring economy of recent years, company president Greg Moquin focused his attention on boosting the company’s efficiency and reducing or eliminating waste in all forms. Ultimately, it was Moquin’s implementation of lean manufacturing practices that led directly to its implementation of Print Color Management.

The in-depth color consultation and training program was carried out by Heidelberg PCM specialists on Moquin’s conventional and UV Speedmaster XL 105 and Speedmaster CD 74 presses, each equipped with Heidelberg’s Prinect Image Control spectrophotometric measurement and control system.

“We are a better company today”

“Not only does Heidelberg make the best equipment in the world, but it also offers a variety of professional services to make it run at peak efficiency,” said company president Greg Moquin. “When PCM was explained to us, it made so much sense that we decided to go ahead. I can say without hesitation that we are a better company today for doing it.”

While the advantages of professional color management are well known, the Print Color Management program goes far beyond the standard definition by emphasizing consistency of output on precisely calibrated printing equipment, taking the age and condition of the equipment into account. PCM is also the key to full integration of the press, the color measurement system, and the workflow, and is helpful in any prepress or press department where third-party or Heidelberg solutions are used.

Health check and press optimization

PCM typically begins with a free telephone consultation with a Heidelberg specialist, who designs a program to suit the printer’s specific needs. Next, a comprehensive “Health Check” assesses the basic color reproduction capabilities of the press.  The printed ink film is measured spectrally, and any press conditions causing variations in ink thickness are corrected.

Conducted subsequent to the Health Check, Heidelberg’s Prinect Press Optimization ensures quicker up-to-color and enables accurate, efficient use of color measurement devices by optimizing the color presetting profiles stored in the machine’s control system. Productivity is improved by tuning these profiles to the production conditions in a given print shop. 

Made to order

PCM’s overall goal is to leave the printer with a press that prints to color requirements consistently, and to teach the printer how to maintain these quality improvements. A typical program can take from a few days to a week to carry out. Expedited testing means the press won't be off line any longer than necessary. Staff time is conserved, except for the training. At Moquin, key press and prepress personnel logged two weeks in the classroom, learning the science and methodology of color. In the next phase, Moquin’s operators began working with the presses to apply what they had learned.

The gift that keeps on giving

When it comes to color management, one size does not fit all. Heidelberg’s Print Color Management program is unique for each end user, based on the characteristics and condition of the equipment they operate. PCM pays off in makeready reductions yielding immediate savings in the costs of paper, consumables, and labor.  Many printers who have taken advantage of Heidelberg’s PCM service have seen their makeready waste decline from more than 1,000 sheets to as few as 250 or 300 sheets. Every printer who has applied PCM has realized savings well in excess of the cost of the service.

Greg Moquin agrees. “We are experiencing the full benefit of our PCM training now,” he said. “Based on the results we’re seeing, we would have been crazy not to enlist Heidelberg’s help. Having taken advantage of these services, we can achieve color faster; our consistency is vastly improved; and our waste in time, labor and materials is way, way down. Our productivity is up substantially. Best of all, we keep getting better all the time.  As investments go, this one has been worth every penny and every minute we spent.”