July 15, 2010
futureproof: easy adaptation to changing market conditions

For Plan B. Or C or D ...

Also being prepared for unforeseen developments: that’s what futureproof is all about. This of course has nothing to do with clairvoyance, but instead with thorough preparation. In order to reduce investment costs for upgrades at a later time, with futureproof all necessary preparation for a wide range of additional equipment can be integrated in a press specified today. This enables you to invest now in a press for 2015. Make the future calculable.

Printing companies have to make investment decisions for presses intended to produce for between four years and sometimes ten years or more. In earlier times, it was primarily economic upturns and downturns that made investment planning difficult. This is still the case, but these days there is yet another factor to consider: changing demand structures in the marketplace. These changes are product-related (e.g. an increased volume of print enhancement) and production-related (e.g. run length changes). Companies must react to both otherwise there is a threat of plant underutilization. This is where the new futureproof concept offers a solution. With futureproof, customers who purchase a new manroland sheetfed offset press receive an assurance that they can add retrofits within five years and thus respond to changes in demand. The customer selects retrofit options from a catalog containing items that have increased in number over the years and will be expanded even further.

An extensive catalog of options for sheetfed printing systems
The futureproof concept focuses on optional equipment from the QuickChange and Inline series, as well as general automation equipment. QuickChange solutions reduce makeready time and, when buying a new press, customers can choose from more than ten options depending on their job structure. Should the job structure change by the time a customer wants to have the options retrofitted, other QuickChange products can be installed. The Inline equipment series are grouped for three main functions: print enhancement such as cold foil transfer; quality control such as full-sheet inspection; and reducing operating costs with the reel-to-sheet feeder for example. From technical aspects, futureproof comprises a wide range of mechanical and electrical preparation work, which is a prerequisite for trouble-free retrofits of the new equipment in a manner that saves time and resources. Because the five-year clause for retrofits applies to the press and not the owner, futureproof is transferable to a new owner which increases press resale value.

futureproof also for webfed printing systems
futureproof also enables web offset printers to plan retrofits when purchasing a new press and then installing them later. This permits them to adapt their presses to changing market conditions and thus safeguard productivity and economy over the long term.

The main features that make newspaper printing systems futureproof:

• APL (AutomaticPlateLoading): faster plate changing enables more editions to be produced in the future
• InlineControl Systems: to protect and expand one’s business through consistently high quality
• Variable web widths: manroland offers a host of possibilities that enable customers to produce other formats in the future
• Hybrid configurations: gain new markets and orders through the possibility to also print on coated paper

• APL: retrofittable for the shortest changeover times
• InlineControl Systems: color balance for brilliant quality and CutCon plus for precise cut-off register and less paper waste
• SoftProof TC: fast proofing at the control console saves time, costs and effort