Painotuotteen hinnoittelu kypsillä markkinoilla

Tämä tutkimus tarkastelee hinnoittelua graafisen teollisuuden pk-sektorin kirjapainoissa. Alalla vallitseva markkinatilanne on kiristynyt siirryttäessä kysyntä-/teknologiaelinkaaren kasvujaksolta kypsään vaiheeseen. Tutkimus pyrkii antamaan vastauksen hinnoittelun tarvitsemaan toimintaan tarkastelemalla hinnoittelun ”ongelmien järjestelmää”. Tutkimus on toiminta-analyyttisen metodologian mukaisena tutkimuksena toteutettu case-tutkimus, jossa empirian tutkimusmetodeina ovat kvalitatiiviset puolistruktuuriset teemahaastattelut ja kvantitatiiviset tilastolliset tarkastelut toimialan kehityksestä. Tutkimustuloksina todetaan alalla vallinneen pitkän voimakkaan kannattavuuden jakson muokanneen case-yrityksen hinnoitteluperiaatteita, jotka vastaavat huonosti muuttuneeseen markkinatilanteeseen. Tutkimuksessa esitetään pk-yrittäjien rationaalisuuden ero talousteorioiden edellyttämästä instrumentaalisesta rationaalisuudesta.

Paperin aistinvarainen arviointi

Paperin tärkeiden teknisten ominaisuuksien lisäksi myös paperin aistinvaraiset ominaisuudet ovat nousseet merkittäviksi parametreiksi paperia luonnehdittaessa. Aistinvaraisilla ominaisuuksilla tarkoitetaan ominaisuuksia, jotka ihminen aistii käsitellessään tuotetta. Tällaisia ominaisuuksia ovat esimerkiksi paperin karheus, liukkaus, jäykkyys sekä ääni paperia selattaessa. Paperin aistinvaraiset ominaisuudet luovat lukijalle mielikuvan lukemastaan lehdestä lehden sisällön lisäksi. Tämän työn tavoitteena oli kehittää olemassa olevan aistinvaraisten ominaisuuksien arviointiraadin toimintaa. Arviointimenetelmän tilalle pyrittiin löytämään toinen menetelmä sekä kehittämään uusi tulosten raportointimalli. Työssä käytettiin kahta subjektiivista arviointimenetelmää, parivertailua ja ranking-menetelmää. Tuloksia verrattiin aiemmin käytössä olleen referenssimenetelmän tuloksiin. Näytteistä arvioitiin karheus, liukkaus, tahmeus, jäykkyys, selailtavuus, äänen voimakkuus ja äänen laatu. Näiden lisäksi näytteiden miellyttävyyttä arvioitiin parivertailua käyttäen. Arvioitsijoiden yksimielisyyttä selvitettiin parivertailun yhteydessä. Näytteet olivat painamattomia, mutta painokoneen läpi menneitä lehtiformaattiin taitettuja. Visuaalisissa arvioinneissa käytettiin painettuja näytteitä samasta paperivalikoimasta. Arviointimenetelmien tuloksia vertailtaessa, voidaan menetelmien välillä havaita muutamia eroja. Sekä parivertailussa että ranking-menetelmässä näytteet jakaantuivat lähes kokonaan annetulle arviointiskaalalle, kun referenssimenetelmällä ne kasautuivat hyvin pienelle alueelle. Ranking-menetelmässä näytteet jakautuivat vielä laajemmalle kuin parivertailussa. Parivertailu erotteli näytteet paremmin toisistaan kuin referenssimenetelmä. Ranking-menetelmän ja parivertailun välillä vastaavaa eroa erotuskyvyssä ei havaittu. Tulosten perusteella voidaan sanoa, että parivertailu

Computational visual quality of digitally printed images

The problem of understanding how humans perceive the quality of a reproduced image is of interest to researchers of many fields related to vision science and engineering: optics and material physics, image processing (compression and transfer), printing and media technology, and psychology. A measure for visual quality cannot be defined without ambiguity because it is ultimately the subjective opinion of an “end-user” observing the product. The purpose of this thesis is to devise computational methods to estimate the overall visual quality of prints, i.e. a numerical value that combines all the relevant attributes of the perceived image quality. The problem is limited to consider the perceived quality of printed photographs from the viewpoint of a consumer, and moreover, the study focuses only on digital printing methods, such as inkjet and electrophotography. The main contributions of this thesis are two novel methods to estimate the overall visual quality of prints. In the first method, the quality is computed as a visible difference between the reproduced image and the original digital (reference) image, which is assumed to have an ideal quality. The second method utilises instrumental print quality measures, such as colour densities, measured from printed technical test fields, and connects the instrumental measures to the overall quality via subjective attributes, i.e. attributes that directly contribute to the perceived quality, using a Bayesian network. Both approaches were evaluated and verified with real data, and shown to predict well the subjective evaluation results.

Toiminnanohjausjärjestelmä tarrapainolle

Tämä diplomityö on selostus tarraetikettejä valmistavalle yritykselle talon sisäisesti toteutetusta toiminnanohjausjärjestelmän kehitysprojektista. Projektissa luotiin ohjelmisto tukemaan yrityksen keskeisimpiä toimintoja, kuten myyntiä, asiakkuuksien hallintaa, tuotantoa, materiaalihallintoa sekä johdon päätöksentekoa. Työssä tarkastellaan ensin yrityksen menettelytapoja ja valmistusmenetelmiä, ja kerätään niistä konkreettisia vaatimuksia järjestelmälle. Nämä yhdistetään muista tutkimuksista kerättyihin toiminnanohjausjärjestelmien mahdollisuuksiin ja riskeihin sekä laaditaan näistä projektin tavoitteet. Seuraavaksi käydään läpi toteutuksessa tehdyt suunnitteluratkaisut ja niihin johtaneet seikat. Toteutetut toiminnot ja ominaisuudet esitellään perusteluineen. Lopuksi analysoidaan projektin onnistumista peilaten sitä muihin aiheeseen liittyviin tutkimustuloksiin. Käyttöönottoprosessin vaiheet ja siinä esiintyneet ongelmat käydään myös lyhyesti läpi.

Computational Evaluation of Print Unevenness According to Human Vision

Print quality and the printability of paper are very important attributes when modern printing applications are considered. In prints containing images, high print quality is a basic requirement. Tone unevenness and non uniform glossiness of printed products are the most disturbing factors influencing overall print quality. These defects are caused by non ideal interactions of paper, ink and printing devices in high speed printing processes. Since print quality is a perceptive characteristic, the measurement of unevenness according to human vision is a significant problem. In this thesis, the mottling phenomenon is studied. Mottling is a printing defect characterized by a spotty, non uniform appearance in solid printed areas. Print mottle is usually the result of uneven ink lay down or non uniform ink absorption across the paper surface, especially visible in mid tone imagery or areas of uniform color, such as solids and continuous tone screen builds. By using existing knowledge on visual perception and known methods to quantify print tone variation, a new method for print unevenness evaluation is introduced. The method is compared to previous results in the field and is supported by psychometric experiments. Pilot studies are made to estimate the effect of optical paper characteristics prior to printing, on the unevenness of the printed area after printing. Instrumental methods for print unevenness evaluation have been compared and the results of the comparison indicate that the proposed method produces better results in terms of visual evaluation correspondence. The method has been successfully implemented as ail industrial application and is proved to be a reliable substitute to visual expertise.

Influence of plasma modification on surface properties and offset printability of coated paper

The properties of the paper surface play a crucial role in ensuring suitable quality and runnability in various converting and finishing operations, such as printing. Plasma surface modification makes it possible to modify the surface chemistry of paper without altering the bulk material properties. This also makes it possible to investigate the role of the surface chemistry alone on printability without influencing the porous structure of the pigment-coated paper. Since the porous structure of a pigment coating controls both ink setting and optical properties, surface chemical changes created by a plasma modification have a potential to decouple these two effects and to permit a better optimization of them both. The aim of this work was to understand the effects of plasma surface modification on paper properties, and how it influences printability in the sheet-fed offset process. The objective was to broaden the fundamental understanding of the role of surface chemistry on offset printing. The effects of changing the hydrophilicity/ hydrophobicity and the surface chemical composition by plasma activation and plasma coatings on the properties of coated paper and on ink-paper interactions as well as on sheet-fed offset print quality were investigated. In addition, the durability of the plasma surface modification was studied. Nowadays, a typical sheet-fed offset press also contains units for surface finishing, for example UVvarnishing. The role of the surface chemistry on the UV-varnish absorption into highly permeable and porous pigment-coated paper was also investigated. With plasma activation it was possible to increase the surface energy and hydrophilicity of paper. Both polar and dispersion interactions were found to increase, although the change was greater in the polar interactions due to induced oxygen molecular groups. The results indicated that plasma activation takes place particularly in high molecular weight components such as the dispersion chemicals used to stabilize the pigment and latex particles. Surface composition, such as pigment and binder type, was found to influence the response to the plasma activation. The general trend was that pilot-scale treatment modified the surface chemistry without altering the physical coating structure, whereas excessive laboratory-scale treatment increased the surface roughness and reduced the surface strength, which led to micro-picking in printing. It was shown that pilot-scale plasma activation in combination with appropriate ink oils makes it possible to adjust the ink-setting rate. The ink-setting rate decreased with linseed-oil-based inks, probably due to increased acid-base interactions between the polar groups in the oil and the plasma-treated paper surface. With mineral-oil-based inks, the ink setting accelerated due to plasma activation. Hydrophobic plasma coatings were able to reduce or even prevent the absorption of dampening water into pigmentcoated paper, even when the dampening water was applied under the influence of nip pressure. A uniform hydrophobic plasma coating with sufficient chemical affinity with ink gave an improved print quality in terms of higher print density and lower print mottle. It was also shown that a fluorocarbon plasma coating reduced the free wetting of the UV-varnish into the highly permeable and porous pigment coating. However, when the UV-varnish was applied under the influence of nip pressure, which leads to forced wetting, the role of the surface chemical composition seems to be much less. A decay in surface energy and wettability occurred during the first weeks of storage after plasma activation, after which it leveled off. However, the oxygen/carbon elemental ratio did not decrease as a function of time, indicating that ageing could be caused by a re-orientation of polar groups or by a contamination of the surface. The plasma coatings appeared to be more stable when the hydrophobicity was higher, probably due to fewer interactions with oxygen and water vapor in the air.

Voyage pittoresque de Scandinavie. Cahier de vingt-quatre vues, avec descriptions ... : [C. É. Bourgevin Vialart, Count de Saint-Morys].

Author from BnF. - Year of printing from the preface.

Voyage pittoresque de Scandinavie. Cahier de vingt-quatre vues, avec descriptions ... : [C. É. Bourgevin Vialart, Count de Saint-Morys].

Author from BnF. - Year of printing from the preface.

Tilaus-toimitusprosessin kehittäminen eräässä painotalossa

Tämä diplomityö on tehty painotaloon. Yrityksen tilaus-toimitusketjua on kehitetty ennen diplomityötä. Muutoksen kohteena on ollut toimintamallit, laatu, läpäisy ja tuotanto- ja varastotilojen layout, lisäksi koneitakin on uusittu ja korjattu runsaasti. Muutosten yhteydessä henkilöstöä sopeutettiin vastaamaan uutta toimintamallia ja samalla myös johtamisen vastuu jaettiin uudelleen. Diplomityö koostuu kolmesta merkittävästä osasta ja sen tarkoituksena on kuvata sisäiset prosessit ja kehittää valittuja ongelmia. Ensimmäinen osa käsittelee leania ja sen teoriaa. Lisäksi määritellään lean-työkalut, joita työssä hyödynnetään. Toinen osa keskittyy kuvaamaan työn käytännön osuutta, jossa selvitetään prosessin nykytilaa. Suuri osa tätä diplomityötä on työn tutkimista ja sen kuvaamista yksinkertaisilla prosessikuvauksilla. Nykytilan kuvauksessa etsittiin myös ongelmakohtia, joita käytetään osittain tämän työn kehitysprojekteissa. Ongelmakohtien listan avulla voidaan toteuttaa jatkossa jatkuvan parantamisen projekteja. Kolmas osa työstä liittyy valittujen kehitysprojektien toteutukseen. Ensin työssä kuvataan jatkuvan parantamisen projektien työskentelytavat ja perustellaan syyt projektien valintaan. Valinnan jälkeen kuvataan valittujen projektien toteuttaminen ja lopuksi käydään läpi tulokset. Lisäksi yhteenvedossa esitellään työstä syntyvät jatkotoimenpide-ehdotukset. Kehitysprojektien tuloksien perusteella pystyttiin arvioimaan tulevia kehityskohteita ja niihin käytettäviä työkaluja. Koska kyseessä oli pilottiprojekti, oppimista tapahtui paljon ja tulokset saattavat näyttää positiivisimmilta kun kehitystoimintaa jatketaan. Tuloksina syntyivät prosessikuvaukset melkein jokaiseen työvaiheeseen. Tämän lisäksi prosessikuvausten yhteydessä syntyneitä kehitysehdotuksia voidaan pitää tuloksina. Ensimmäinen kehitysprojekteista oli työmääräimen kehittäminen. Työmääräintä muutettiin informatiivisemmaksi, mutta muu parantaminen jäi diplomityön ulkopuolelle. Toinen kehitysprojekti oli varastotuotteiden hallinnan kehittäminen, jossa aloitettiin ennakoida asiakkaan tilauksia ja varastojen arvot saatiin paremmin hallintaan. Tuloksia saavutetaan enemmän, mikäli toimintaa laajennetaan. Viimeisenä kehitysprojektina oli työpisteen toiminnan kehittäminen. Kehittämisessä keskityttiin pohjapiirroksen järkevöittämiseen, työtapojen vakiointiin ja lean-työkalu 5S toteutukseen. Työpisteen tehokkuutta saatiin nostettua jonkun verran, tosin painopiste oli uuden toimintatavan oppimisessa.

Enhancing performance of paper coatings by tailor-made plastic pigments

The paper industry is constantly looking for new ideas for improving paper products while competition and raw material prices are increasing. Many paper products are pigment coated. Coating layer is the top layer of paper, thus by modifying coating pigment also the paper itself can be altered and value added to the final product. In this thesis, synthesis of new plastic and hybrid pigments and their performance in paper and paperboard coating is reported. Two types of plastic pigments were studied: core-shell latexes and solid beads of maleimide copolymers. Core-shell latexes with partially crosslinked hydrophilic polymer core of poly(n-butyl acrylate-co-methacrylic acid) and a hard hydrophobic polystyrene shell were prepared to improve the optical properties of coated paper. In addition, the effect of different crosslinkers was analyzed and the best overall performance was achieved by the use of ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA). Furthermore, the possibility to modify core-shell latex was investigated by introducing a new polymerizable optical brightening agent, 1-[(4-vinylphenoxy)methyl]-4-(2-henylethylenyl)benzene which gave promising results. The prepared core-shell latex pigments performed smoothly also in pilot coating and printing trials. The results demonstrated that by optimizing polymer composition, the optical and surface properties of coated paper can be significantly enhanced. The optimal reaction conditions were established for thermal imidization of poly(styrene-co-maleimide) (SMI) and poly(octadecene-co-maleimide) (OMI) from respective maleic anhydride copolymer precursors and ammonia in a solvent free process. The obtained aqueous dispersions of nanoparticle copolymers exhibited glass transition temperatures (Tg) between 140-170ºC and particle sizes from 50-230 nm. Furthermore, the maleimide copolymers were evaluated in paperboard coating as additional pigments. The maleimide copolymer nanoparticles were partly imbedded into the porous coating structure and therefore the full potential of optical property enhancement for paperboard was not achieved by this method. The possibility to modify maleimide copolymers was also studied. Modifications were carried out via N-substitution by replacing part of the ammonia in the imidization reaction with amines, such as triacetonediamine (TAD), aspartic acid (ASP) and fluorinated amines (2,2,2- trifluoroethylamine, TFEA and 2,2,3,3,4,4,4-heptafluorobuthylamine, HFBA). The obtained functional nanoparticles varied in size between 50-217 nm and their Tg from 150-180ºC. During the coating process the produced plastic pigments exhibited good runnability. No significant improvements were achieved in light stability with TAD modified copolymers whereas nanoparticles modified with aspartic acid and those containing fluorinated groups showed the desired changes in surface properties of the coated paperboard. Finally, reports on preliminary studies with organic-inorganic hybrids are presented. The hybrids prepared by an in situ polymerization reaction consisted of 30 wt% poly(styrene- co-maleimide) (SMI) and high levels of 70 wt% inorganic components of kaolin and/or alumina trihydrate. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) images and characterization by Fourier Transform Infrared Spcetroscopy (FTIR) and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) revealed that the hybrids had conventional composite structure and inorganic components were covered with precipitated SMI nanoparticles attached to the surface via hydrogen bonding. In paper coating, the hybrids had a beneficial effect on increasing gloss levels.

Avaliação de três tipos de estrutura de colchão e três níveis de resina fenólica na produção de chapas de partículas orientadas - OSB

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a influência da estrutura do colchão e de diferentes concentrações de adesivo nas propriedades de chapas de partículas orientadas (strands), contendo 50% de partículas de Eucalyptus grandis e 50% de Pinus elliottii. Foram avaliados três tipos de estruturas. Em uma das estruturas as partículas foram distribuídas em camadas indistintas. Uma segunda estrutura foi constituída de 50% de partículas de eucalipto no miolo do colchão e 25% de pinus em cada face. A terceira estrutura foi formada por 50% de madeira de pinus no miolo e 25% de eucalipto nas faces. Cada uma dessas estruturas foi aglutinada com 4, 6 ou 8% de sólidos resinosos em relação ao peso seco das partículas de um adesivo fenólico com viscosidade de 350 cps, pH 12,15 e 47,63% de sólidos. Para os nove tratamentos foram feitas três repetições, totalizando 27 chapas. As chapas foram submetidas aos testes de flexão estática, ligação interna, arranque de parafuso, inchamento em espessura e absorção de água, obedecendo aos critérios da norma ASTM D 1037 - 91. De modo geral os painéis feitos com 8% de adesivo apresentaram melhores resultados que os demais. Para a maioria das propriedades mecânicas, inclusive para os painéis fabricados com 4% de resina, obtiveram-se resultados superiores àqueles estabelecidos pela Norma CSA O437-93. Contudo, nenhum tratamento produziu chapas com inchamento em espessura inferior ao valor máximo permitido por aquela norma. Não se verificou diferença estatística, ocasionada pela estrutura de colchão, entre todas as propriedades avaliadas.

Propriedades de resistência e rigidez da madeira juvenil e adulta de Pinus taeda L.

O objetivo do presente trabalho foi o estudo da variabilidade das propriedades de resistência e rigidez à flexão estática e à densidade aparente (12%) entre a madeira juvenil e adulta de Pinus taeda L., de 37 anos de idade, procedente do Horto Florestal de Manduri, Estado de São Paulo. Na primeira parte do trabalho foram determinadas a região de madeira juvenil, a região de transição e a região de madeira adulta, por meio de estudos anatômicos (comprimento dos traqueídes axiais), segundo as recomendações das normas ABNT e IAWA. Os resultados mostraram que a região de madeira juvenil dessa espécie ocorre aproximadamente até o 18º anel de crescimento. Na segunda parte do trabalho foram analisados a resistência (módulo de ruptura - MOR) à flexão, o módulo de elasticidade (MOE) nessa mesma solicitação e a densidade aparente (12%) para as madeiras juvenil e adulta. Os resultados mostraram que o MOE e o MOR da madeira juvenil foram menores e mais variáveis que aqueles obtidos para madeira adulta. A densidade apresentou a mesma tendência observada nas propriedades avaliadas no ensaio de flexão estática.

Avaliação de algumas propriedades da madeira de Eucalyptus grandis, Eucalyptus saligna e Pinus elliottii

O objetivo deste trabalho foi determinar o rendimento em madeira serrada, bem como a massa específica, contração volumétrica, resistência à flexão estática, resistência à compressão paralela, qualidade da linha de cola e trabalhabilidade das madeiras de Eucalyptus grandis, Eucalyptus saligna e Pinus elliottii. Foram colhidas três árvores de cada uma destas espécies, com idades aproximadas de 50, 40 e 40 anos, respectivamente. De cada árvore foram retiradas três toras, sendo uma na base, uma no meio e uma no topo do fuste. Foram analisadas as variações em algumas propriedades, no sentido medula-casca e no sentido longitudinal. Os resultados mostraram que todas as propriedades físicas e mecânicas variaram dentro da árvore nos sentidos radial e longitudinal. A densidade básica e as resistências à flexão e à compressão aumentaram na direção medula-casca, enquanto a contração volumétrica diminuiu. Portanto, para obtenção de madeiras mais densas, mais estáveis e com maior resistência à flexão e à compressão, é necessária a colheita de árvores mais velhas. Observou-se ainda que as toras da porção média do fuste, de modo geral, apresentaram menores valores para todas as propriedades determinadas do que as da base e do topo. A resistência da linha de cola e a porcentagem de falha na madeira para madeira juvenil e adulta apresentaram pouca diferença em todas as posições no fuste. No ensaio de confecção de espiga e furação para espiga, todas as espécies apresentaram resultados satisfatórios, sem ocorrência de defeitos.

Measuring Processes of a New Packaging Solutions with the Balanced Scorecard, case DigiCup

The aim of this study was to create a Balanced Scorecard to the DigiCup solution. The first goal was to create process descriptions to the few critical processes. The second goal was to define appropriate measurements, according to customer survey as well as following the Balanced Scorecard process description, to manage the critical success factors. The overall goal of this study was to create a performance measurement system for the solution which guides the operation towards continuous improvement. This study was conducted by using both qualitative and quantitative methods, and the analysis was done by using a case study method. The material was gathered from the current customers, the management and the employees using structured, semi-structured and open group and individual interviews. The current customers were divided into retailers and direct customers of the DigiCup solution. The questions which the customers were asked were related to the information about interviewee, company, business strategy, market, satisfaction survey and future requirements. The management defined the strategy and took part in specifying the perspectives, objectives and measurements to the Balanced Scorecard of the DigiCup solution. The employees participated into the choosing of the metrics. The material consisted from altogether sixteen interviews. At the beginning of the study the product development, the order-delivery as well as the printing processes was chosen to be the critical processes of the DigiCup solution. These processes were concentrated on already in the literature review while trying to find the characteristics of these processes as well as the critical success factors and the appropriate measurements, which could be utilized when creating the Balanced Scorecard to the DigiCup solution according to the customer survey. The appropriate perspectives, objectives and measurements were found to the DigiCup solution. The chosen measures works as a basis for the development of IT-reporting tool. As a conclusion it can be stated that when discussing a new business, where the objectives are changing according to which development’s phases the company is in, the measurement should be updated often enough.

Painéis de partículas aglomeradas de madeira de Pinus elliottii Engelm., poliestireno (PS) e polietileno tereftalato (PET)

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar as propriedades de painéis fabricados com partículas de madeira, poliestireno (PS) e polietileno tereftalato (PET). Foram utilizadas três proporções, em relação à massa seca de madeira, de poliestireno (0, 25 e 50%) e duas proporções de PET/PS (5/20 e 10/40%), combinadas com 50, 75 ou 100% de partículas de madeira de Pinus elliottii. Os painéis foram produzidos com adesivos à base de uréia-formaldeído ou de fenol-formaldeído, em três teores (0, 4 ou 6%) e três níveis de solução de poliestireno em tolueno (0 , 4 e 6%), todos calculados em relação à massa seca total dos painéis. Foram produzidos painéis de aproximadamente 400 x 400 x 10 mm, em camada única, com densidade aproximada de 0,6 g/cm³. Determinou-se a resistência dos painéis à tração perpendicular à superfície, à flexão estática (módulos de ruptura (MOR) e elasticidade (MOE)), ao arrancamento de parafusos, bem como a absorção de água e o inchamento em espessura, após 24 horas de imersão. Todas as propriedades mecânicas dos painéis foram superiores às exigidas pela norma ANSI/A 208.1-1993. Contudo, todos os painéis absorveram água em valores superiores àqueles normalmente observados em painéis comerciais. Apesar disto, o inchamento em espessura foi compatível com o dos painéis de partículas de madeira existentes no mercado. Os painéis nos quais se aplicou a solução de poliestireno foram, de modo geral, os que apresentaram os melhores valores para todas as propriedades.