Three Jobs, One Four-Colour Press, and a Five-Day Deadline
On Monday at 9 a.m. a Kanpur commercial shop has one 19 x 26 in four-colour sheet-fed offset press, one guillotine and one perfect binder. Three jobs are confirmed. Job A: 12,000 copies of a 16-page A4 catalogue, 4/4 on 130 gsm coated art paper, saddle-stitched, delivery Friday 6 p.m.; the client will approve a contract proof only at 4 p.m. Monday. Job B: 3,000 eight-page A4 folders, 1/1 on 100 gsm maplitho, delivery Wednesday noon. Job C: 800 four-page invitations, 4/0 plus a gold foil band, delivery Thursday 10 a.m.; foiling is done by an outside vendor who needs two working days. The press is down with a feeder and gripper fault; the spare arrives Tuesday 11 a.m. Plate output takes four hours and the platemaker is free. Make-ready is 250 sheets per form. Coated paper for Job A is in stock; 100 gsm maplitho arrives Tuesday 2 p.m. The shop works one eight-hour shift, with overtime possible only on Tuesday and Wednesday.
1. Build a production sequence from Monday to Friday and state what you would outsource, reschedule or renegotiate. Show the reasoning behind the order.
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The press is unavailable until Tuesday 11 a.m., so Monday is prepress and outsourcing day. Job C must be released to the foiler on Monday because foiling needs two working days and the delivery is Thursday 10 a.m.; its 800 sheets must therefore be printed on Tuesday before the foiler's Wednesday slot, or earlier if possible. Job B is 1/1 and due Wednesday noon, but its paper arrives Tuesday 2 p.m., so the realistic press window is Tuesday 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Job A has four forms; at 12,250 impressions per form it is about 49,000 impressions, roughly seven hours at 7,000 iph, plus four make-readies. It cannot start before the 4 p.m. proof approval because plates follow approval.
Sequence: Monday, output C plates and print if any press capacity exists; otherwise send C to a trade printer by 10 a.m. Tuesday 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., run C; 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., run B. Wednesday and Thursday, run A; Friday morning, bind A and deliver by 5 p.m. Outsource B only if the press repair slips past Tuesday noon, because B's late paper makes it the biggest schedule risk. Renegotiate A only if proof approval slips; tell the client that late approval moves delivery to Monday.
2. Job A has heavy ink coverage on 130 gsm coated paper and will be stacked after printing. What set-off and drying controls would you specify, and how would you verify them before binding?
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Set-off is ink transferring from a printed sheet to the back of the next sheet in the pile. The controls must address ink film, water, powder and pile conditions together. First, run to the approved solid ink densities rather than 'as heavy as possible'; over-inking is the main cause of set-off. Keep fountain solution at the ink maker's pH and conductivity, and minimise water so the ink is not emulsified. Use anti-set-off spray powder at the lowest setting that prevents marking: too much powder causes hickeys, rough solids and blanket contamination. Keep piles low, use IR or hot-air drying if available, split large piles, and do not stack freshly printed sheets under heavy loads. If the job is still tacky, interleave or use a faster-setting ink rather than simply adding powder.
Verification: pull sheets from the middle and bottom of each pile after two hours and inspect the reverse for ink transfer; run a rub test with a standard weight and cloth; check density against the OK sheet. Hold the piles overnight before backing up or binding, and record the result on the job ticket. If set-off appears, reprint the affected sheets rather than trimming away the evidence.
3. What would you tell client A at 10 a.m. Monday about the proof and the Friday deadline?
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Call the client before 10 a.m. rather than waiting for a complaint. Confirm three facts: the press repair is scheduled for Tuesday 11 a.m., the 130 gsm coated paper is in stock, and plate output takes four hours after proof approval. Offer a PDF soft proof by noon Monday and a contract proof at 4 p.m. as agreed, so the client can compare images and text early. State clearly that Friday 5 p.m. delivery depends on signed proof approval by 5 p.m. Monday and no further alterations; if approval slips to Tuesday, the press window moves and delivery becomes Monday. Put this dependency in writing by email, with the agreed proof time and the delivery consequence.
Do not promise Friday unconditionally. Also warn that a late approval compresses drying and binding time, which increases set-off risk and may force a partial delivery. If the client refuses to accept the condition, offer a Monday delivery at the original price or a Friday delivery with overtime charged separately. The aim is to make the schedule risk visible and to get a written decision, not to hide the press breakdown.