After purchasing the first WST OBC4-60 Barcode reading system back in Aug/2011 (we reported the intensive testing from systems of all leading suppliers) the CPI daughter in Ulm, Germany, Ebner & Spiegel has now added this system to all other remaining gathering machines from MM and Kolbus.
The CPI group is the number 1 in manufacturing monochrome books in Europe. Today the group consists of 17 printers around Europe. Concentrating on hardcover and softcover products Ebner & Spiegel one of the most efficient printers in this group employs 400 people and produces around 70 Million books on a yearly base. The group has invested 13 Million Euros in new technology around the printing and binding over the last years.
Josef Oswald the technical director of CPI Ebner & Spiegel and his team had one more goal next to the task of perfect barcode reading. “How do we create a barcode or how do we realize sending the barcode automatically to the gathering machine on which the code will be running on the product, while seeking a 100% reliable system.”
The great team work between Ebner & Spiegel and WST Systemtechnik was the basic to achieve these goals.
The barcode is automatically generated in the prepress department and will be sent as a package to the desired gathering machine. Once the operator activates the work order by scanning the internal order number of the job, the WST System knows which signatures need to be on the machine. Therefore, set-up errors are eliminated and belong to the past. Furthermore, the system will automatically create a production report after the job is finished and save it to the CPI-server.
“A 100% quality control solution and verification for the end customer will be guaranteed.” Dr. Mathias Enk, technical director and development WST Systemtechnik.
Josef Oswald has come to the final statement: “Now we can fully trust the error free production when it comes to gather signatures.”
The WST systems consist of:
· WST pre-stage connection via Ethernet
· 19” AV-Server-Center with connection to the customer network for data collection, preparation and analysis
· 3 decentralize OBC4-60 Type PPC with Touchscreen on 3 gathering machines (two Muller Martini and one Kolbus for an overall of 100 stations)
· 3 barcode hand scanners to scan the job number in order to activate the data from the AV-Server
· WST-Remote-Service
“The WST solution included everything we asked for. Our operators love the system and its simplicity.” Josef Oswald