Since moving into our Schuylkill printing facility three years ago, dedicated employees at Philadelphia Newspapers Inc. have maintained an impressive 99.6 percent paster percentage, despite two in-house press cutdowns that narrowed our product width from 54-3/4 inches to 54 inches. Here's their checklist:
Daily: Our facility uses nine Rockwell ColorLiner presses with CT-50 reel tension pasters. Prior to the run, wipe surface-mark sensors and clear them of debris. Wipe all photo eyes on reel stands in use.
Weekly: Inspect each reels' surface-mark and roll-position sensors. Conduct a random or as-needed inspection of disk-brake assemblies on each arm when only one arm of the three is missing pasters. Check disk surfaces, burnish them and scuff up the pucks prior to final assembly. Jog the reel-rotation motor both ways to check for motor-housing movement and verify the transfer-table limit switches.
Every nine weeks: On a rotational cycle, remove one press from service and perform folder maintenance.
Quarterly: Observe and adjust RTP on a running press.
Semi-annually: Clean all RTP slip-ring segments, check all fingers, calibrate surface sensing, inspect electrical connections and power supplies, and inspect the belt-drive motor brush.
Annually: Inspect reel rotation-motor mount and all mechanical connections on the margin motor. Check all paster-brush assemblies, the backlash of folding/cutting cylinder, the collect cam, cam follower and E-Ring, the folding-blade segments, gain rings, halyard clutch, air-valve assembly, pin cam and cam follower. Analyze vibration on all folders, RTP belt-drive systems and main press drive shafts.
To document progress, each week we create a new paster-percentage report. The report differentiates between breaks and failed pasters, and also maintains a running total of "made vs. missed" pasters.
Several times each quarter, or after a dip in paster percentages, supervisors grade paster patterns on chucked or prepped rolls in the reel stands. There are only two grades, A and F, depending on whether the pattern meets specifications outlined in the Rockwell recommendation.
Employees frequently inspect cores to ensure roll-expiration electronics are functioning properly . Members of the production team monitor our waste percentages and ensure proper control measures are followed.
Braun is manager of technical services with Philadelphia Newspapers Inc. E-mail, Brauny22@aol.com; phone, (610) 292-6120; fax, (610) 292-6367.
©1997 Newspaper Association of America. All rights reserved.