Adam Dewitz reminded me that the original version of our “10 minute calculator” was about estimating the cost of paper changes on continuous presses. We looked at how avoiding a single paper change per shift could save a bunch of downtime and dollars over the course of the year. But how do you do that? One way is to standardize papers as much as possible, but even standard papers reach the end of their roll – or not.
“Old school web offset era auto-splicing roll unwinders work just fine on continuous inkjet too,” says Adam. Hunkeler introduced a version as part of its platform at Hunkeler Innovation Days in 2019 (we miss you HID!) Contiweb and Tecnau are also known for their inkjet-focused solutions that keep fast presses up and running.
Consider that downtime due to roll changeover can last 10-20 minutes. High speed inkjet presses can run through roll in an hour or even less. In addition to downtime, splicing reduces paper waste from ramp up. How much can you save? I don’t know, but our calculator can tell you. Maybe you will find that 10 minutes could save you $100,000. The faster your press, and the more shifts you run, the higher that savings number is likely to be.