Cost reduction and quality improvements in the printing industry

Abstract Competitiveness has been the key factor for the survival of the companies. The economic crisis that marked the beginning of this millennium forced the total readjustment of processes and operations which, in some cases, gave origin to deep changes in the organizations. In addition, concerns and consequent environmental constraints have begun to increase. Printing industry was strongly influenced by these factors. This study aims to reduce the use of toxic products and general costs in offset printing process, as well as promote a productivity increase in the printing industry. Because this kind of industry is largely influenced by weather conditions, historical data was collected, allowing to reach the balance between the printing consumables usage and working methodologies, leading to implementing important improvements. At the end of the study, it was possible to observe very good results, increasing the Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) and the Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF) and reducing the Mean Time To Repair (MTTR) relatively to the equipment. The biggest achievement was the massive reduction of the isopropyl alcohol consumption in the offset printing process, increasing the air quality at the facilities, reducing the costs and most of the problems during the printing process.