Achieving Green Intelligent Printing: An Innovation Story
Achieving Green Intelligent Printing: An Innovation Story
In the production workshop of China Coal (Beijing) Printing Co., Ltd., scenes of automation and intelligence are evident: online video recognition of booklets and weighing, automatic stacking by mechanical arms, unmanned transport vehicles shuttling back and forth. "Leveraging high-tech means, from electronic file transmission to product delivery, every stage from plate making, printing, binding, packaging, to transportation has become smarter and more efficient," said Hu Shengnan, General Manager of China Coal (Beijing) Printing Co., Ltd.
In recent years, Beijing printing enterprises have strengthened technological leadership and empowered production processes with multiple new technologies. The "Publishing Service Cloud Platform" independently developed by Beijing Shengtong Printing Co., Ltd. utilizes industrial internet, big data, cloud computing, etc., to achieve intelligent linkage among factories across different regions. By offering one-stop ordering, rapid production capacity allocation, and issuance of production instructions, the company has greatly enhanced the level of intelligent production and operational efficiency. Tang Zhengjun, Vice President of Beijing Shengtong Printing Co., Ltd., explained that color reproduction is one of the key factors affecting print quality. Shengtong employs an ink color preset system, allowing devices to learn the color information of products in advance, reducing process debugging time. Through online closed-loop color monitoring systems and automatic registration systems, color reproduction is more accurate, and rapid quality inspection is achieved through image detection systems.
How can cutting machine blades reduce the number of sharpenings? How can laminating be done without creases? Beijing Ke Xin Printing Co., Ltd. formed a technical innovation team to address technical challenges in production. By simply improving blade sharpening, energy consumption was reduced by 40%, and blade material consumption decreased by about 50%. In addition, the company's printing edge correction equipment, end milling machine workbench angle calibrator, and other achievements have obtained national utility model patents.
In the past, quality inspection of books required manual inspection by quality inspectors, which not only consumed manpower and material resources but also led to errors. To address these issues, China Coal (Beijing) Printing Co., Ltd. initiated the development of the Graphic Text Automatic Inspection project to reduce labor costs while ensuring product qualification. The electronic image collector integrates high-resolution cameras, high-definition fixed-focus lenses, and flashes. It can quickly capture graphic information in the environment of high-speed operation of folding and collating machines and transmit data to processing devices. By distinguishing subtle differences through image comparison and automatically alerting and rejecting defective products, the system minimizes manual intervention.
In addition to being intelligent and efficient, green environmental protection is also a goal pursued by printing enterprises. Wang Yan, Deputy Director of Beijing Printing Industry Product Quality Supervision and Inspection Station, explained: "Green printing refers to compliance with national environmental standards from raw materials, printing processes, to finished products."
Beijing Li Feng Ya Gao Great Wall Printing Co., Ltd. is one of the first batch of enterprises certified for green printing. It significantly saves energy by adopting centralized gas supply and centralized ink supply methods. Among them, the concentrated ink supply method alone can save more than 10% of ink. By applying non-washable plate-making technology, the printing plate can be directly used for printing after coming out of the plate-making machine, eliminating the washing process, saving water, avoiding discharge of developing sewage, and greatly increasing plate-making speed.
To encourage high-quality development of printing enterprises, Beijing has allocated 8 million yuan annually since 2022 to reward outstanding printing enterprises. In 2023, 47 enterprises with outstanding achievements in green development received rewards. Relevant comrades from the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Propaganda Department introduced: "During the '14th Five-Year Plan' period, Beijing will invest 40 million yuan in special funds to support the green development of printing enterprises."