HP 5500 Manning Levels

[putputtata]

Hi,
Nice quick easy one I think.
Currently at a company running 2 x Indigo 5500's.
Trawled the internet & still hassling our rep but I'm struggling to get an answer.
What is considered the 'best practice' for manning these machines? Is it normal to have 1 operator per machine or can they be run with 1 operator covering both.
Thanks

[MacTwidget]

We have a 5000, a 5500 and a Docutech 6160 that we have manned by a single person.

[putputtata]

Thanks Mac.
Anyone else?
I want to go & beat up my Operations Manager. I can just about bear to have one man to one press. But I want them to be performing finishing ops as well. Especially if they have a long run on.

[RGPW17100]

Definatly one operator for both. If you have a large workflow you may need a dedicated prepress person to allocate the jobs

[jinthebay]

One question PutPut & MacT. Are either one of you now, or have you ever ran an Indigo before?

I ask only because I run one myself and KNOW that yes, there are are times when I could probably run 3 of them at a time. HOWEVER, when things get dicey, it can be more than just a little stressful and chalengeing. If you're concerned about getting quality work off of these machines and about keeping them properly maintained, you may want to rethink this.

[TheProcessIStheproduct]

1 person could run 2 and have time to do a crossword puzzle also, I load mine up and go to lunch, when I comeback it is still clicking aways...

[Craigindigo]

1 person could run 2 and have time to do a crossword puzzle also, I load mine up and go to lunch, when I comeback it is still clicking aways...

And how many times do you come back and a cleaning blade line has developed in the print?

[jinthebay]

1 person could run 2 and have time to do a crossword puzzle also, I load mine up and go to lunch, when I comeback it is still clicking aways...

Or that your impression paper ripped and the machine continued to run, marking the blanket and wasting 100 plus sheets. Not trying to start a fight, but these are some of the things that can and do happen on a regular basis.

You wanted feedback? Here it is.

[TheProcessIStheproduct]

Out to lunch...

on rare occasions the press will be timed out from paper running out, or a jam, but it is good about detecting a sheet travel problem and stopping. If uncoated stock, yes, you can have times when you get cleaning station lines and you eat 100-200 sheets, but this could just as easily happen if you are standing next to the press and doing finishing and not pulling a test sheet every 25 sheets... as far as impression paper tearing off, I have not seen this in about 2 years, back then chalked it up to bad blanket lots, but it really has not been an issue, I don't run the exit roller and I think that really helps also...

[Craigindigo]

1 person could run 2 and have time to do a crossword puzzle also, I load mine up and go to lunch, when I comeback it is still clicking aways...

Could I ask what kind of work you run at your place of employment? (I say this because if you are a small copy shop then quality isn't usually an issue). At a previous company we used to run point of sale tickets which were two colours, This could be easily run on many presses by one person. the work I run now is fine art and vey high quality branded work that has to be exact to:

Average Alpha E of no more than 1.00
Max Alpha E of no more than 5.00

Average Alpha L of 1.00
Max Alpha L of 2.00

Now don't get me wrong if Joe Bloggs the Plumber walks in off the street then yes, he won't care about colour matching, quality etc. But if we sent any work to our customers that wasn't perfect they would up and leave straight to a competitor.

P.s I would worry about saying that you run two machines and sit and do a crossword puzzle, as if any of the management were to read this and you make any mistakes they will be straight on your back ;-)