As Quality Manager, Hendrik Cabbeke keeps a close eye on production at Roularta Printing. “I am responsible for monitoring quality and for training in the company, and I also work closely with the prepress teams,” Hendrik explains. “Monitoring print production is part of my daily routine, and you will often find me around the presses.”
Close follow-ups
With a fairly busy production schedule, it is vital for the printing presses to experience as little downtime as possible. “We monitor production closely. This way we keep a close eye on the paper, and especially on paper breaks, as this can quickly lead to a downtime of 45 to 60 minutes. These breaks are often the result of a problem with the paper (folds, holes, factory weld, etc.), but it can also have a technical origin. We always look for the actual cause of the problem and provide feedback to our supplier. In the longer term, we also carry out a lot of tests to detect and resolve problems of a more structural nature.”
A day in the life of…
What does the day in the life of a Quality Manager at Roularta Printing look like? “The first thing I do when I get to work is to look at the production reports run on the presses over the past 24 hours. These reports give an accurate record of the problems or quality issues that have occurred. These can be related to paper, but also to difficulties in the printing preparation. At 10 AM, we have our daily production meeting. There, we go over the current printing schedule and, if necessary, we shift orders from one press to another. We do a lot of commercial printing, and it is not unusual for customers to come in to give us their “good to print” approval. Depending on the timing of these visits, we sometimes shift jobs around so that the customer does not have to wait three hours before his order is placed on the press. One of our quality Managers is also available to provide guidance.” Handling complaints is also part of Hendrik’s duties. “We always look at the root cause of complaints and go about it in an objective manner. We typically investigate complaints with a constructive approach and try to learn from them so we can avoid them in the future.”
And what makes working at Roularta Printing so special? “I have been working at Roularta Printing for more than 30 years,” Hendrik shares enthusiastically. “Experiencing, feeling and seeing the printed, tangible end result of my work is extremely satisfying. In addition, as Quality Manager, I get to work with a lot of people and that makes my work very pleasant. There are also new things coming up all the time. Technology is evolving constantly, and we are adapting our way of thinking and working accordingly. Plus, my day is never 100% predictable, and that makes it particularly exciting and varied.”
From heatset to coldset
Hendrik is particularly proud of the switch from heatset to coldset for some of the company’s projects. “Expensive energy prices prompted us to do a test and switch part of our production to coldset. This required a great deal of preparation, but the result has been particularly successful. For example, the newspaper Krant van West-Vlaanderen is already being produced this way; and we will also be using coldset for the weekly paper of a commercial customer. This customer is very satisfied with the printed result.”
Deliver beautiful prints
Hendrik emphasizes that Roularta Printing is first and foremost a first-class printing company. “We want to deliver beautifully printed matter. It may be the case that print runs and volumes are decreasing, but beautifully finished luxury magazines are here to stay. People buy such magazines for the attractive photos and interesting reports, but also for the feel and experience of a physical, tangible product.” In addition, Roularta Printing is part of the Roularta Media Group. “So, we are not a purely commercial printing company that has to rely on a continuous flow of retail orders. We have our own publishing house, and that ensures more stable operations,” Hendrik concludes.
