New plate production systems for the contract printer of Le Figaro in Paris deliver plates on demand.

German integrator marks-3zet took responsibility for the upgrade L’Imprimerie in suburban Tremblay-en-France, which also included Kodak platesetters and Nela logistics, service a ten-tower waterless press.

The site – the northernmost within French contract print group Riccobono Imprimeurs – prints newspapers in both Berliner and half Berliner format, including daily Le Figaro and business magazine Les Echos from the Le Monde Group, as well as other periodicals, on a triple-wide KBA Cortina press.

Demands for tighter editorial deadlines had added to pressure on the existing three platemaking lines – already equipped with fully automated sorting facilities – bringing total throughput to 260 double plates an hour. With platesetters no longer able to handle the volume, L’Imprimerie chief executive Wilfried Souchet and chief technical officer Gilles Déchamps opted to replace the two slowest systems… a project which had to be completed without interrupting production.

The project team from turnkey contractor marks-3zet had experience of similar projects before the business unit was acquired from Illies Graphik last year. Two Kodak Generation News platesetters and two marks-3zet MWP 863 plate processors – both the fastest in their class – were delivered in December. The lines were as at a nearby location, before being exchanged on separate days before lunchtime, with production ramped up the same afternoon.

The new plate lines now permit a throughput of 375 double plates per hour, and with. Nela logistics –including PlateFlow software –plates are produced precisely on demand. Interfaces to page workflow and tracking system have also been integrated, along with a status communication function for all plate production components.

Déchamps says the project has been a complete success, thanks to the expertise of the general contractor: “Efficient production and cascaded job handling for ideal availability have been seamlessly integrated in our daily job processes on the KBA Cortina

Pictured: The marks-3zet plate logistics in Tremblay

On our homepage: Gilles Déchamps with one of the plate lines