Editor’s note: Newspapers & Technology, in conjunction with the Post Press Federation and Perfect Pallets Inc., each month publishes a question-and-answer column aimed at postproduction issues. Topics and associated responses originate from the Federation’s free online forum. Membership information and other details about the Federation, sponsored and managed by Perfect Pallets, can be found at www.perfectpallets.postpress.com.

Topic: All-in-one stackers

Q: I have a little literature on all-in-one stackers. They are engineered to stack, wrap and strap all at once. I’m a bit leery of putting all my eggs in one basket. Just wondering if anyone is dealing with these and your opinions on reliability. I can see using something like this in concert with an insert machine but I really am hard-pressed to see it on a pressline.

Reply: I have experience with (GMA Inc.) Combistacks, which I would recommend for anyone putting out a medium to large FSI. There is no comparison in bundle quality. It didn’t come easy, though; we did go through a lot of (tough) runs until GMA got the right software/hardware fix.

Follow-up: We have selected the Quipp (Systems Inc.) Packman for our stacker/bottomwrap/strapper. Due to space limitations, we need an all-in-one. And the stackers will be handling both inserter delivery and press delivery. What I did like about the Packmans was that the strapper section can be removed and placed on either side, and you can deliver out of the Packmans without strapping (we stack down a lot of products for insertion later).

 

Topic: Packaging duties

Q: I would appreciate some input on what department the person responsible for creating the packaging manifests for inserting production reports to: advertising, packaging/distribution or circulation? Is this person’s work area located in your production facility? Also, is this the same person in your operation who is responsible for preprint packaging designation (bundle #1 or bundle #2, etc.) machine assignments, etc.

Reply: At our paper, the mailroom takes all the advertising information (inserts, ZIP code requirements, home delivery/single copy, etc.) and produces the needed paperwork for the data entry into our inserters. Mailroom decides which inserts run in which package and in which hoppers. A dayshift and nightshift office person creates the daily zoning sheets for the machine operators to program the inserters before the run. I create the Sunday sheets for our comic prepacks. The comic prepack draws are updated each week with the previous week’s Sunday draws. The daily numbers are pure for that day’s run right off the truck manifest.

Follow-up: At The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Wash.), all of the insert planning, package report production and post-insertion reporting is done by packaging center personnel located in the packaging center and reporting to packaging center supervision. We have several people trained on our planning software (Prima) and other administrative duties like assigning work orders and personnel to specific machines, so we have ample redundancy. The carrier manifests are prepared by the computer services department from information supplied by the circulation department.

Follow-up: We have one person who works with the advertising department and is responsible for documenting all products we receive for our inserting operations. We have two people whose sole responsibilities are to create insert packages according to zoning needs and to plan for the running and manning of the insert machines, but they are also responsible for the tracking the machines’ efficiencies. We update our circulation numbers on a month-to-month basis. We also have a distribution sheet that we prepare for distribution of the finished packages to the field. We have the drivers verify their loads and sign off on them before leaving the dock.

Follow-up: In Sacramento (The Bee), the packaging center has nearly all of this responsibility. An advertising division representative, using a homegrown order-entry system, handles preprint reservations. Our finance/planning group, working with circulation, creates a draw file for each publication. The package planning, cart tags run sequence and machine assignment are all controlled from within the packaging center. After the package planning is complete, packaging sends an e-mail with the various bundle sizes off to our IT group, which incorporates that information into the carrier mail and truck manifests. A final draw file is sent back to us the morning prior (to distribution), and is used to coordinate final distribution and print counts.

Topic: Sticky notes

Q: Our ad department is pushing us to get adhesive label equipment. Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Reply: At The Honolulu Advertiser, we run Accraply Inc. equipment and it runs really well. We had bugs to work out at first, but haven’t had problems since our start-up. The key was changing the sensors to those manufactured by Denex. Maintaining the machines is also important and ordering the labels from the right label maker is also key. We’ve had good luck using product from NewsNotes Advertising.

Follow-up: We also use Accraply machines at The Fort Worth (Texas) Star-Telegram. At first, we had problems with low page-count pieces, but we have now adjusted to where we run those relatively trouble-free. We have stuck them on more than 500,000 TMC pieces off an insert machine as well.

Topic: Circular inserts

Q: Is anybody inserting circular pieces through your machines, and if so how successful are you? We have a potential advertiser that wants us to insert a 9.5-inch diameter pizza insert on card stock. It is perfectly round and there are no flat edges. We have (GMA SLS2000) machines and it looks like our small product feeders will work but (the advertiser) can’t supply us with enough samples to test. I surely don’t want to pull out the scissors and make my own samples. Does anybody have any experience with pieces like this?

Reply: I think your best shot might be to set a single piece in the head to see how it looks. As long as it sets over the suckers and can be drawn down to the grippers without the lift hook catching it, the feeder won’t care what shape it is. The catch will be if the card stock is too stiff; then the tilt of the feeder plate may need to be raised to compensate for that.

Topic: 2299 slowdown

Q: We have a (Goss International Corp.) 2299 inserter that, after running for about an hour or so, will slow down and then speed back up without any intervention. We may get five slowdowns in one shift and none in the next three. Any ideas?

Reply: We had the exact same problem with our (Goss) 632, and it plagued us for over a year. We found the solution to the problem totally by accident while troubleshooting an issue with the e-stops. Check all of the wiring connections and relays that control stop buttons/jog buttons and e-stops. When checking the wiring connections, you need to pull on the wires to make sure they are tight. When we initially checked all of the wiring, we missed one wire because it appeared to be tight. Guess which wire was causing the problem? We also found a bad stop relay in the same circuit. Since making the repairs, we had zero reoccurrence.

Follow-up: We’ve had that problem a few times with our 2299. I took all the covers off the two motors and cleaned them out good with air. We haven’t had the problem lately and it’s been more than a year. I try to clean them every other month.