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Quebecor World, one of the world’s largest printing companies with a truly unique service offering, maintains over 160 production plants located in 17 different countries. It also handles business operations for Quebecor World in the Nordic countries and Russia, offering customers Northern Europe’s most effective and extensive printing resources. The company’s production plant includes Helprint in Mikkeli; its gravure printing division, Sörmlands Grafiska in Katrineholm; its heatset-offset unit and Danagårds Grafiska in Odeshög represents its sheet offset printing plant.
The Helprint printing facility has four gravure machines, with the Nordic countries and Russia as its home markets. Producing gravure-printed magazines, sales catalogues and printed advertising products for its customers, the gravure production method is commonly used in high-quantity, four-colour printing jobs.
Managing director, Harri Sundell, explains: “Known under a different name, the company was first established in 1956. Through various changes and mergers, Helprint was finally founded in 1975. Four years later, the company moved from Helsinki to Mikkeli and following its rapid development, we changed our focus, in 1984, from etching to engraving in the prepress area.”
He continues: “We generally print magazines, catalogues and main orders, with over 80 per cent of our production being exported. Our biggest export markets are Sweden and Russia, though we’re also in other Nordic countries, Denmark, Norway and the UK. We have recently ventured into new markets in small quantities including the German market and are actively seeking more opportunities.”
Due to its high quality, gravure printing is well suited to high-circulation or high volume print work and is perfect for printing catalogues and advertising products. In gravure printing, changeable cylinders are used as the printing blanks and eight cylinders are required for producing four-colour, two-sided prints. The content being printed is electromechanically engraved on the cylinder surface in varying depths. These ‘recesses’ hold the printing ink and transfer it to the paper at nip contact. Gravure printing cylinders are coated with copper, into which the engraving machine diamonds engrave the print content. Prior to printing, the engraved cylinders are coated with chrome, which gives them a durable finish and several million printed copies can be produced uninterrupted using the same cylinder.
Gravure prepress involves content processing and printing cylinder preparation. The print content can be either in digital form or as an offset screen print film – film content is scanned and converted into a digital form, which is then edited by computer into a format that can be understood by the engraving machine. Before the print content is engraved into the cylinder, a test engraving is made to assure the quality of the copper coating and condition of the engraving diamonds where adjustments to the cylinders can still be made, for example, to alter the colouring of the printed products.
Harri highlights the company’s recent investment: “Last September we invested in new presses and also expanded our plant. The press was moved from Sweden to Finland and it was necessary to make some changes to our building, which is why we created more space in the factory. We also bought a rotogravure press as well as some equipment for the prepress area such as engraving machines and also bindery equipment. This has all benefited the company, as we have been able to increase our production by about 30 per cent in comparison to last year.”
There are fore rotogravure machines in the print plants and the maximum web width of each machine is 245cm. These machines can be used for a wide variety of printed products, ranging from A5 to A3, while still keeping paper waste to a minimum. Two of its printing machines are capable of printing tabloid-size products, with print runs ranging from 100,000 to ten million and, depending on the product being printed, the speed varies from 30,000 to 180,000 pieces per hour. Two of Helprint’s printing machines are equipped with a flexo print-based auxiliary printing unit, which easily allows for variations in the printed products by, for example, printing varying merchant logos without stopping the machine. As a printing method, gravure is simple and its print quality is easy to control. However, today’s high production speeds require the use of automatic equipment to continuously maintain product quality and production efficiency at an optimal level that is ultimately dependent on the print operator’s professional skill, which is maintained by means of, for example, continuous training. Harri states: “We strongly believe that it is as vital to invest in our workforce and offer them comprehensive training in order to ensure we have the most skilled employees working for us.”
Helprint employs two after-press methods – on-machine stream feed cutting lines and off-machine after-press. If the product can be printed in a single run, it can also be completely finished using the on-machine stream feed cutting line, where the product is ‘cut clean’, bundled, strapped and palleted – all performed automatically. If the product requires additional post-press due to, for example, the number of pages or use of inserts, it is assembled at the bindery, the post-press department.
Wanting to assure the quality of its products, the company established, implemented and developed a quality management system based on the ISO 9001 standard. High quality requires an investment in planning and expertise and this applies to the products’ technical execution and material deliveries, schedules and customer service, with a goal to complete every print commission comprehensively, on schedule and flawlessly the first time round. Harri comments: “Despite being a very tough market, the printing industry is a good industry to be in. The company remains successful through difficult times by deploying some simple rules – ensure products are always of high quality, delivered on time and with the right prices - this is really the secret to our success. We also ensure customer satisfaction with a questionnaire as well as our customer service and maintaining a close connection with our customers at all times.”
Concluding, Harri states: “We have undergone some significant investments recently and have no further plans to invest, but what is more important to us is ensuring that our customers always have what is promised. This means working together with our people, communicating and educating them to be productive, yet cost effective.”
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