Printing with the touch of a button

A true innovation in newspaper changeover technology has captured the graphic arts’ most coveted prize. manroland’s autoprint APL (AutomaticPlateLoading) is the recipient of a 2011 InterTech™ Technology Award from the Printing Industries of America.

autoprint, manroland’s family of products dedicated to One-Touch Printing, applies modern operating concepts, substantially reducing makeready processes with APL, as well as utilizing ClosedLoop technologies, constituting manroland’s One Touch vision. Or to put it in other words: the vision of automated printing is becoming a reality, and manroland is leading the way.

autoprint APL utilizes a combination of technologies to reduce plate-hanging time dramatically on newspaper presses. A robotic arm automatically fed the plates, the plates are all loaded onto the cylinder simultaneously, and the entire process is completely automated. Unlike standard newspaper makeready systems, which can take up to 30 minutes, autoprint APL can reduce this time down to a mere three minutes − a 90 percent reduction in makeready time.

The judges for the InterTech Technology Awards seek out the very best in printing advancements. Only applications that are truly innovative and likely to have a significant impact on the printing industry are chosen. “manroland autoprint APL’s combination of robotics and automation to quickly change plates on newspaper presses is unquestionably innovative and responds perfectly to the trend to shorter runs and more targeted editions,” said Mark Bohan, Vice President, Technology and Research, Printing Industries of America and chair of the InterTech Technology Awards.

The InterTech™ star, a symbol of technological innovation and excellence, will be presented before an audience of industry leaders during the 2011 Printing Industries of America Premier Print Awards and InterTech Technology Awards Gala, September 11, in Chicago, Illinois.