Is this the right set?
A repeat order for a printed corrugated case with a four colour flexo print comes in. The plate store has a set with the right customer name on the sleeve. But the customer changed the barcode last year, and nobody is sure whether these plates are from before or after the change. The black plate is missing entirely.
The safe thing is to order a new set from the platemaker, and that is what usually happens. It costs time and money, and the store fills up with old plates that nobody dares throw away.
Plates are stored without their history
Plates are filed by customer or job number, often in sleeves hand labelled at the time. The link between a plate set and the artwork version it was made from is not recorded anywhere that is easy to check. Individual colours get separated during mounting and cleaning, and damage is only noticed when the plate is mounted again.
- Plate sleeves are labelled by hand, inconsistently.
- Artwork version is not recorded against the plates.
- Individual colour plates get separated from their set.
- Plate condition and number of runs are not tracked.
- Obsolete plates are never cleared, so the store keeps growing.
What remade plates cost
Unnecessary plate remakes are a direct cost, and they add lead time to repeat jobs that should be the easiest to schedule. Printing from the wrong version is worse: a job run with an outdated barcode or panel means waste, a reprint and an unhappy customer. A cluttered store makes each search slower. And the platemaker's invoices for remakes are rarely analysed, so the pattern goes unnoticed.
Storage space is a cost in its own right. Plate racks full of sets that will never run again take up room that could hold tooling for live work, and the more crowded the store, the longer every search takes.
A plate library we build
- Each plate set is recorded against the job, the customer and the approved artwork version, linking to the proof approval record where there is one.
- Every colour plate in the set is listed with its colour reference, and each sleeve or storage location is labelled with a scannable code.
- When plates are pulled for a job or returned, they are scanned, so location and completeness are known.
- Operators record plate condition after each run, with photos of any damage.
- When a repeat order arrives, the system compares the order's artwork version with the stored set's version and tells planning whether the plates can be used, need checking or must be remade.
- Plate sets linked to superseded artwork are listed for disposal, with the customer's agreement where the plates are theirs.
| Repeat order situation | Decision now | Decision with the library |
|---|---|---|
| Same artwork version, plates good | Often remade to be safe | Reuse, confirmed |
| Artwork changed | Might be missed | Remake flagged with reason |
| One colour plate missing | Found at mounting | Known when the order arrives |
| Plate damaged last run | Found at mounting | Condition note seen in advance |
Plates you can trust
Repeat jobs use stored plates when they are right and remake them only when they need to. Planning knows before the job reaches pre-press. The store is organised around what is current. And the number and reasons for remakes become visible, which is useful when talking to your platemaker and customers about artwork changes.
Is your plate store like this?
- Plates are remade for repeat jobs just to be safe.
- Nobody can easily confirm which artwork version a plate set is.
- Individual colour plates go missing from sets.
- Damaged plates are discovered at mounting.
- The plate store holds many sets for obsolete artwork.