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TWST: Can you give us a brief overview and history of MAN Roland?

MAN Roland Inc., the company I head, is the North American division of MAN Roland Druckmaschinen AG, which is the evolution of an entity that began producing printing presses in 1844. Today, the German-based corporation is the world's second largest printing press manufacturer and the world's market leader in web press and newspaper printing technology. In fact, every third newspaper produced in the world is printed on a MAN Roland press. With its main manufacturing facilities in Offenbach and Augsburg, Germany, MAN Roland generates annual sales of EUR 2 billion. Exports account for 80% of that figure. MAN Roland produces web and sheetfed offset presses as well as digital printing systems for commercial printers, newspaper printers, publishers, packaging producers, quick printers and in-plant shops. The company is a subsidiary of MAN Aktiengesellschaft, Munich. The MAN group is one of Europe's leading suppliers of capital goods, with 77,000 employees whose expertise ranges from commercial vehicle manufacturing to engineering. Its annual sales total EUR 16 billion.

TWST: Can you talk about your range of products/services in the imaging field?

We entered the imaging field with one purpose in mind: to develop the world’s first offset printing press that does not require printing plates. To someone outside our industry that may not sound like a very ambitious goal, so let me provide some historical perspective. In 1440, Johannes Gutenberg invented moveable type and the first commercial printing press. Advancements were made over the centuries, but it wasn’t until 1906 that the offset printing, which uses printing plates as its means for transferring an image into print, became commercially viable. The printing plate is the weak link in the offset process. It needs to be meticulously imaged or “burned.” It has to be chemically processed in most cases before it can be used. It has to be attached to the printing press with a degree of precision that would put a diamond cutter to shame. And it must be disposed of safely. But there’s more: All of those challenges multiply when you consider that the average four-color printing job requires four printing plates. So our goal in creating DICOweb was to eliminate printing plates entirely from the offset process. We achieved that objective by developing a press that images itself directly from digital files, then automatically de-images itself, so it’s ready for the next job within minutes. That level of responsiveness is particularly well suited to the type of shorter-run work that is becoming the norm in the printing industry, due to such trends as target marketing.

TWST: Can you talk about your paper handling systems and digital imaging products?

As its name indicates DICOweb is a web-fed press. That means its paper supply is configured in rolls rather than flat sheets. There are several advantages to that configuration: Paper can be fed to the press faster and more efficiently. It makes it easier to print both sides of the sheet simultaneously. Web rolls are easier to handle and load than stacked sheets. And web paper tends to be less expensive than paper that has been pre-cut into sheets. The one drawback to the web configuration is that web presses are traditionally thought of as high-volume systems, whereas DICOweb is suitable for short-, medium- and high-volume work. So having the word “web” in its name has led to some confusion in the printing community. In fact DICOweb is ideal for sheetfed printers who are looking for a way to differentiate themselves in their marketplace. To make sure we are clear on this issue, let me give you a more detailed description of our self-imaging system. DICO stands for digital changeover, and the press lives up to its name, capable of speeding from job-to-job in less than 12 minutes. Only two of those minutes are required for imaging the press. An exclusive MAN Roland design utilizes laser imaging heads developed by Creo and a patented thermoplastic transfer medium to apply the job directly to the DICOweb’s image carrying cylinders. Then when the print run is completed, the image is automatically erased to ready the cylinders for the next project. DICOweb’s unique ability to image, erase and re-image jobs results in significant productivity gains for the printer who uses the new system. The DICOweb is, as the name says, more of a digital changeover device than a press, since the printer actually earns his money with efficient changeovers. DICOweb’s plateless design allowed MAN Roland engineers to incorporate many of the industry’s latest mechanical developments into the system. For instance, the press is powered by digitally controlled motors that drive its print units directly, eliminating the need for external shafts and gear trains. Also: DICOweb’s imaging and blanket cylinders are crafted as tubular sleeves. That allows the pressman to change them quickly and easily when different configurations are required. But more importantly, the advanced mechanical features improve printing performance. With a seamless cylinder, you have eliminated from the device the greatest enemy of quality and speed, and the greatest limit on print quality — vibration. DICOweb’s modular nature also helps preserve the printer’s investment in the system. Down the road, DICOweb-equipped plants will be able to switch to different cutoff sizes and even different print processes to better accommodate their customers’ needs. MAN Roland researchers are already studying the development of ferroelectric image carrying cylinders that incorporate the principle of “memory ceramics.” That would give DICOweb the ability to swap-out variable data elements within an image on the fly, while retaining the main fixed elements of the job. The advancement would cut down on the time and expense of re-RIPping entire pages to produce one-to-one and variable data products.

TWST: Which markets do you cover? US? Europe?

MAN Roland produces its products in Germany and distributes them worldwide. Together with its subsidiaries, the MAN Roland Group employs 10,570 people around the world. Its global network of 140 sales and service partners covers 224 countries.