No Wasted Efforts (Web Inspection)

When it comes to the "when" of inspection, Radant believes in-line is the way to go. "Inspection on the rewinder can actually result in more waste because the damage has already been done," he contends. He explains on-press sampling takes about one minute to see 100 percent of the stored image. Once a defect is found, most systems activate a stop circuit or an alarm. Without such a system, it might take an operator several minutes to realize a problem and stop the press. "Depending on the speed of press, you could have just turned out 2,400 sq. ft.-3,600 sq. ft. of waste (in the extra time it took to be detected by manual inspection)," he concludes.