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 Norwegian offset printer implements HIFLEX MIS and JDF between five different vendors' systems and realizes ROI of 1847% . PDC Tangen from Oslo is the first Scandinavian
printer that implemented JDF connectivity. Starting early in 2006, they to date have realized most convincing results of process automation implementation which earned them
the 2007 CIPPI Award in the category "Best cost/benefit realization as a result of process automation implementation". The case story of PDC Tangen revealed impressive
benefits of the JDF implementation: an increase in the turnover by 20% (+ EUR 5.2 Mio / NOK 40,6 / USD 7,17), a productivity increase of 25% on the presses and 15% on the
folding machines. The profit after taxes was improved by almost 900%. Calculated on a five year period, the competitive advantage due to process automation amounts to
EUR 5.180.906 / NOK 40,490,404 / USD 7,131,880 and the investment pays itself back 20 times. The CIP4 Award places the offset printer from the North amongst the world-wide
most successful users of process automation technology. |
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| Photo 1: Production Manager Halvor Borresen and Managing Directort Gaute Hartberg of PDC Tangen (from left) received the CIPPI Award from CIP4 Secretary Stefan Daun
(right) at 17th Oct 2007. Photo 2: The supporting vendors (MBO, Mitsubishi, Kodak, Komori, HIFLEX) were also present and received a certificate on the CIPPI success.
Photo 3: Halvor Borressen proudly presents a printing sheet during the presentation of the conpany and the awarded workflow that followed after the CIPPI Award Presentation. |
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| Right from the start of the JDF project PDC Tangen's primary objective was the integration of all systems and applications for computer integrated manufacturing (CIM).
Halvor Borresen, the company's Production Manager and responsible for automation at the print shop, says: "Prior to the now realized network we had several IT systems in
use that were not connected to each other. This resulted in laborious data processing and a loss of valuable production time," and he resumes: "Our focus therefore lay
in finding a new high-performance system to connect administration and our technical equipment in the prepress, press, and postpress department." Managing Director Gaute
Hartberg adds: "We wanted to increase efficiency and productivity in order to decrease the proportion of the wages in the added-value chain. Since Norway has a very
high level of wages, the step into automation technology, was as a strategic decision." |
| In the first phase, the print shop installed a HIFLEX MIS in 2005 for administrative processing, estimating, job costing, invoicing, and document management.
The JDF project started only a few months later with the integration of the six printing presses from Komori and Mitsubishi. Simultaneously, PDC Tangen established a
world premier: a real-life JDF-integration Mitsubishi/MIS had never been realized before. |
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| The text on the T-shirt says "Quality print operator at PDC Tangen. I'm using JDF." All employees got this T-shirt on the kick-off day PDC Tangen started to use JDF in
full scale production. |
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| In the networked workflow the presses receive job information (e.g. customer name, job number, product designation) and relevant printing parameters (format, paper,
length of run, number of plates and inks) for automatic job creation via JDF from the HIFLEX MIS. JMF feedback from the presses is fed into the MIS. Production data
such as progress on the job (in percent), good sheets and waste, speed, and status of the machine (e.g. idle, set up, preparing, washing, production in progress).
This data is automatically transferred into HIFLEX Scheduling and displayed in the JMF monitor so that the scheduler is always up-to-date about the actual production
status on the machines. |
| The link between HIFLEX and Kodak Prepress followed suit after the link HIFLEX/Press and enabled automatic cost booking (material consumption). Moreover, Kodak
InSite - the Internet portal into the Kodak Prinergy Workflow System - is used by authorized customers for job submission, job-status tracking, and remote proofing or
approval. Information about uploaded files, proofs and approvals is transferred from Prinergy to HIFLEX MIS via JDF. |
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| Illustration of the data exchange between the administration system (HIFLEX MIS) and production via JDF/JMF at PDC Tangen. To date PDC Tangen has used JDF to integrate
six printing presses (37 units from Mitsubishi and Komori), three folding machines (MBO), and prepress (Kodak), which are all networked with a JDF-enabled MIS (HIFLEX MIS). |
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| The next remarkable step in the area of automation technology was realized in June 2007 after PDC Tangen updated Kodak Prinergy 3.0 to ICS compatible. Since then
prepress is capable to receive parameters for automatic imposition (HIFLEX sends job init data as well as JDF StrippingParams to Prinergy). Based on the StrippingParams
from HIFLEX, Kodak chooses the suitable existing Preps template and automatically adds the pages. Due to the new functionalities and highly consist with their targeted
CIM production, PDC Tangen produced the first fully automated order. |
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HIFLEX sends job init data as well as JDF StrippingParams to. Based on these StrippingParams, Kodak chooses the suitable existing Preps template and automatically adds
the pages. This process automation step at PDC Tangen was necessary in order to produce the first fully automated order (June 2007). |
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In June 2007 PDC Tangen produced the first fully automated order:
- HIFLEX sends job init data as well as StrippingParams to Prinergy
- Preps Template is loaded automatically based on the received StrippingParams
- Customer receives email notification and can access JDF created job in Kodak's InSite web portal
- Upload of file by customer
- Data is automatically refined: pre-ripping, normalizing, color matching, trapping
- Using Automated Page Assignment (APA) function in Prinergy the refined pages are automatically placed on the loaded imposition templates.
- Customer checks refined data using InSite and gives approval to pages and forms.
- Prepress operator receives email message that pages and forms are approved and then triggers plate exposure. (First manual process since order was launched)
- PPF file is generated upon plate exposure and forwarded to the press systems
- PPF is automatically picked-up and assigned to signature data in the press systems' server
- JDF for press presetting is sent from HIFLEX Scheduling to the press management system
- JDF for postpress presetting is sent from HIFLEX Scheduling to the postpress management system
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| At the same time with the Kodak upgrade the three MBO folding machines were integrated into the network. HIFLEX MIS system now transfers administrative data
(job number, customer name, dates, print run, etc.) and technical data (e.g. number, type and position of folds, folding catalog, and details about side or head
alignment) directly to the MBO Datamanager for automatic make-ready. MBO sends JMF feedback about the progress on the job, speed, good sheets and waste to the
HIFLEX Scheduling application. |
| Transparency at PDC Tangen is further assured through the HIFLEX JMF Production Monitor. All jobs that are produced on the networked press and postpress machines are
monitored in the HIFLEX JMF monitor with a "Printing" tab showing all presses, and a "Finishing" tab showing the bindery machines. Thereby, the scheduler and all
authorized staff can always and in real-time see the status of the machines. |
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| Screenshot from HIFLEX JMF Production Monitor PDC Tangen uses for press and postpress machines. All jobs that are produced on the machines are monitored in the
HIFLEX JMF monitor ("Printing" tab shows all presses, "Finishing" tab shows the bindery machines). The scheduler and all authorized staff can always and in
real-time see the status of the machines: Kjører = "In Progress" and Stoppet = "Stopped" (also available: Vasking = "Clean Up"
and Innstilling = "Make-ready"). |
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| PDC Tangen's CIM plan works out: today, the information flow from the administration system (HIFLEX MIS) into production (Kodak prepress, Komori and Mitsubishi presses,
MBO folders) is an integrated, cross-vendor solution. 10 of 11 machines are integrated into the JDF workflow with the remaining machine - the Muller Martini Saddle Stitcher -
very soon to be integrated. But PDC Tangen still has clear plans of the future. One of them is the implementation of "hand's-off production" (without any manual interference)
with the integration of HIFLEX eBusiness. |
| Overview: Results of Process Automation Implementation
You will find the detailled cost-benefit-analysis of the awarded installation in the linked PDF:
ROI of the JDF Implementation at PDC Tangen |
| "The results of the JDF projects with HIFLEX have exceeded our expectations by far," says Halvor Borressen, and goes on by explaining: "Additionally, automated order
handling also improved customer responsiveness a lot. Since implementation of process automation technology we won noticeably more customers than we did before."
In 2005 the company won 25 new customers, in 2006 40 and by mid-year 2007 there were already 45 new customers. Halvor comments: "We are convinced that our advantage
in combining new technology with our already implemented management information system has increased our ability to handle new types of customers." |
| The CIPPI Awards are picked from all submitted applications by the CIPPI Award Review Panel. This panel consists of the non-voting chair and five judges that are selected by
the CIP4 Board of Directors for their understanding of the subject area and standing in the industry. The Review Panel's comments: "The strategy of PDC is crystal clear,
and they prove it can work: In the geographies where labor cost is high, full automation helps to decrease the share of labor costs on added value. PDC Tangen has set up
high standards of fully automated print production and demonstrates that a printing company can still be very competitive in 2007." |
| Family run PDC Tangen, founded in 1968, developed to one of the largest offset printers in Norway today. Whereas sales and design office is situated directly in Oslo,
production facilities are located in Aurskog (50 kilometers outside of Oslo). |
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| The product portfolio includes books (50%, especially school books), periodicals, catalogues, and brochures. Services include print production as well as web publishing. |
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| PDC Tangen is a full service offset printer with 110 employees to date (35 of them working with page production). Prepress operations are managed with Kodak InSite and
Kodak's PDF Workflow System, and plates are exposed on a Kodak CTP plate setter 3244 and a Kodak CTP Magnus. Production is done on 39 printing units in size 3, 4 and 6
from different vendors such as Komori and Mitsubishi, as well as Heidelberg. 37 units (Komori, Mitsubishi) are connected to HIFLEX MIS via JDF. After building a new hall
beginning of 2006, a post press department with three MBO folding machines (also JDF connected to HIFLEX MIS) and one Muller Martini saddlestitcher were included into the
line of services. |
| www.pdctangen.no |
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