case study
To help pressroom personnel work smarter, not harder, Rohrer chose X-Rite's new technology to keep its Komori presses running efficiently and with high quality.
As the company services some of the world's most familiar brands, such as Energizer, Stanley, Black & Decker, and 3M, Rohrer knew that the colors printed on packaging needed to be accurate.
When consumers reach for a product from a store shelf based on the look of the packaging, they instinctively “judge the book by its cover”; therefore, the colors need to be consistent, vibrant and match the brand colors. Whether or not it makes sense to do so, consumers do take a color difference on packaging as an instant warning that the product may be old, out of date, or manufactured at the "end of batch". Everyone picks up products that look new and fresh in packaging, and avoids products that don't look the same.
A study conducted by Pantone, a leader in the color industry, shows that more than two-thirds of consumers consider the color of packaging before making a purchase, and more than half don't reach for the first product on the shelf. If its packaging appears to be somewhat faded.
With so many factors at stake, Rohrer invests heavily in technology to keep abreast of new technologies so that packaging color always meets the specifications required by customers, regardless of whether the packaging material is printed at its headquarters or in Waugh, Ohio. Manufacturing facility in Buford, Georgia, or other facilities in Huntley, Illinois, and Mesa, Arizona. Rohrer asked Komori America and X-Rite professionals to upgrade the automatic ribbon scanning capabilities on five of its Komori presses, considering the rugged machines for the production of folding cartons, envelopes, leaflets, plastic thermoforming Printed material for blister and blister packs.
"There's no doubt that our clients expect the highest level of brand color consistency from us," says Scott Slater, Rohrer's director of operations. “While we use LSD (lights, mids, darks) as a control point, the industry is getting more demanding; measuring full spectral data and running on L*a*b* values is becoming more common.”
The Komori PDC-SII system, which uses X-Rite's improved hardware and color measurement software, "gives us the ability to measure the full spectrum of data while also analyzing the density levels of the colors," Slater said. There has been a noticeable change in performance.” Over 2,500 PDC-SIIs are in operation in North America, scanning ribbons on printed sheets and measuring density, dot gain, color and color difference, then displaying the measurements in an easy-to-understand format on the on the monitor. The system has a function to feed back to the press the required adjustment calculated from the density value whenever the density changes during the printing process. Since the PDC-SII supports the newer spectral reading function, this is very effective when measuring special colors.
According to Richard Cline, Rohrer's color manager, pressroom personnel who have used the upgraded PDC-SII report that the new system "scans sheets and responds much faster than the old PDCS. It can save and retrieve spectral data (not just density data"). ), allowing us to have a better starting point when re-running, which helps to shorten the preparation time and improve the consistency between run batches." Cline said that Rohrer used the spectra generated by the PDC-SII upgrade The data helps create ink key presets. “This helps our press operators get closer to a good confirmation point when starting a new job,” he said. "For re-run jobs, the system's improved storage space allows us to save more run data, giving us the opportunity to retrieve previous run data, get colors faster, and use fewer proofs."
Another advantage of the system is the embedded X-Rite Graphics Arts Standard (XRGA) for Graphics Arts instruments, Cline said. XRGA enables companies to enjoy high-quality data exchange across workflows using different instruments and software, which is critical as Rohrer decides where to run jobs based on press availability and logistics.
With upgrades implemented over the past year, there wasn't enough time to develop an accurate ROI report, Slater said. But he added, “Clearly, the upgrade has helped to reduce the concerns expressed by customers about printing deviation and color value.” Valuable information.
Customer satisfaction is Rohrer's main driving force. Founded in 1973, the company is a recognized leader in the blister/skin printed packaging and thermoformed packaging markets. By offering a comprehensive service under one structure, including everything from creating packaging prototypes to printing paperboard, Rohrer seeks to save customers money and reduce time-to-market, Slater said. Rohrer has the ability to go from the initial concept of a project to the finished product to achieve the best quality and maximum manufacturability for customers.
"We're focused on continuous improvement in craftsmanship and quality," Slater said. “We feel we need to invest in solutions that benefit our internal and external customers, and we work hard to maintain our technical expertise because innovation breeds success.”
