Under the name FSS 15, BST eltromat International is presenting a new system for ink fountain control in offset printing. The FSS 15 is the successor to the company's previous ink fountain control systems developed for this printing process. In combination with the AR 4000 register control system for offset and hybrid printing presses, as well as a variety of web video inspection and 100% inspection systems from BST eltromat, the FSS 15 offers offset printers perfect management and quality control of their printing results.

Thanks to the compatibility of the FSS 15 with existing ink fountains and machine interfaces, older BST eltromat solutions for ink fountain control can be replaced by the new system with a minimum of effort. In addition, the format and the interface to the preproduction stage (cipcon) are compatible. As a result, the FSS 15 is not only suitable for new installations, but also an ideal solution for retrofits.

"Given the enormous demand from the offset market, we decided to develop this new ink fountain control system. The FSS 15 ultimately gives our customers the opportunity to migrate to innovative ink fountain control. It offers both great operating convenience and an excellent price-to-performance ratio at the same time," says Karsten Barner, Project Manager Offset Systems at BST eltromat International. "We consistently paid attention to ensuring that our customers can smoothly replace their existing solutions with the new ink fountain control system, without otherwise having to modify their workflow in any way."

Regardless of the printing width and the number of printing units, the FSS 15 ink fountain control system allows simple handling for quick print preparation. In this way, the new system, which is designed to meet the highest demands on color precision, enables offset printers to achieve higher productivity and greater efficiency on the press by minimizing setup times and paper waste. Savings of up to 30% on waste and time can be achieved if the cipcon CIP3 data converter is used for job-specific presetting of the ink zone and ductor profiles.

The FSS 15 features intuitive user prompting via a touch screen interface. The ink gap can be set with an accuracy of one micrometer. The ink zones can conveniently be adjusted singly, in groups, or in their entirety. The function and position of the ink key drives are controlled fully automatically. Moreover, ink profiles for follow-up jobs can easily be defined, and any number of repeat jobs can be saved in the main memory. Above and beyond the standard functions, BST eltromat offers a whole range of different options for the FSS 15 that allow customers to flexibly expand the performance of their ink fountain control system.

For example, BST eltromat supplies finecolor ink fountains with laser-cut precision blades and special seals, and a time-proven mechanism for ink key adjustment, resulting in unrestrictedly reproducible gap widths between ink blade and ink duct roller for all ink zones, and permitting even higher precision in ink adjustment. The finecolor ink fountains are available for various types of printing press and in any required printing width. Other options include variable-inclination desks for print sample evaluation, as well as a ductor roller, ink vibrator and damping unit control system for different machine types.

In the case of retrofitting of existing combination systems for offset printing, the ink fountain control, register control and web video functions can be unhinged individually. Thus, BST eltromat can cater specifically to individual customer requirements regarding technical possibilities and economic efficiency.

For web monitoring and inspection, as well as register control, BST eltromat offers a wide range of solutions that cover practically all the demands of the different printing processes. Offering short setup times, these register controls ensure high register consistency and exact compliance with all register tolerances. They thus guarantee consistently high print quality and reduce waste in every phase of the printing process. For instance, the compact AR 4000 system permits precise register control on offset, hybrid and label-printing machines, among others. The intuitive touch screen interface can be used to reliably set both the color register and the front-to-back register, and also to control additional printing units (such as flexo printing units) or tool stations. The AR 4000 moreover requires only little installation effort. Individual solutions from the BST eltromat product portfolio are available for dynamic control and use in potentially explosive environments (ATEX), such as gravure applications.

BST eltromat likewise covers a wide range of different requirements with its product group of web monitoring and web inspection systems. In this sector, the company again offers a diverse portfolio, ranging from simple video web monitoring systems to high-end quality assurance systems.