| Harland
Simon in Complete Control at Berkshire Press
When the new
Goss Colorliner® press starts to roll later this summer
in Reading, Harland Simon's PRIMA system will be at the very
heart of the production process. Not only are the Milton Keynes
based company supplying the press control and management system
for the new press, they will also be heavily involved in the
plate room and even in the pagination department with their
revolutionary ColorWare
system.
The press itself
will be controlled by the latest generation of PRIMA control
system - a product first launched in 1990. Gone, now, are
the in-house PLCs which were the core of the original systems,
to be replaced by standard Siemens equipment bringing with
it improved performance and reliability. This is perhaps the
most obvious sign of a change of emphasis from Harland Simon,
from manufacturer and developer to systems integrator and
application specialist.
The control system
will include three new PRIMA
5000 control desks, a development of the popular PRIMA
4000. The 5000 makes good use of the new technology with much
improved diagnostic facilities and a re-vamped user interface.
Sitting above
all of the new press hall equipment will be arguably the most
sophisticated press management system in the newspaper business.
Harland Simon has added some exciting new modules to their
industry acclaimed PRIMA range of computer products, spreading
their influence on production into plate making and product
planning.
The PRIMA system
will now interface directly with the new Agfa CTP line to
provide it with plate position details and will also receive
from it image data files. These files will be used not only
for presetting the press, but also to provide high quality
image proofs.
Perhaps the most
significant development is the interaction between the PRIMA
system and the Miles 33 Futureproof page planning system.
Harland Simon has developed a module called ColorWare that
they believe is unique within the industry. It takes into
account the capabilities of the press and the customer's preferred
production methods to show in real-time everywhere that colour
can be placed in a product. Once a colour page is booked,
the system instantly recalculates the remaining possibilities.
At Reading, ColorWare will be installed as the 'back-end'
of the Miles 33 system, meaning that Berkshire Press will
be able to maximise and optimise their colour page potential.
The order for
Berkshire Press was placed with Harland Simon in May 2000.
It came at the start of a busy year for the company which
saw turnover and profits rise noticeably on the back of improvements
in technology and an increased emphasis on project management.
The future looks bright, too, with significant order input
now coming from its American operation, Harland Simon is well-placed
for the coming wave of newspaper investment.
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For more information, please
contact sales@harlandsimon.com |
