Print simulation

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Print process simulation uses interactive simulation software to reproduce the operating conditions of complex multi-colour printing presses that often cost several million dollars. Simulators are available for different printing process technologies (Offset Sheetfed, Heatset and Coldset Web Offset; Flexographic and Gravure Packaging), includes their consumables (like inks, plates, paper and other substrates) and where pertinent, in-line packaging operations (such as folding, cutting, label creation).

A simulation is an approximate imitation of the operation of a process or system; that represents its operation over time.

Rotogravure printing process

Rotogravure is a type of intaglio printing process, which involves engraving the image onto an image carrier. In gravure printing, the image is engraved onto a cylinder because, like offset printing and flexography, it uses a rotary printing press. Once a staple of newspaper photo features, the rotogravure process is still used for commercial printing of magazines, postcards, and corrugated (cardboard) and other product packaging.

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Simulation in education and training

Press operators get ‘hands-on’ experience in quality control and problem solving without the costs, dangers or unstructured training associated with learning on actual presses. A wide variety of printing conditions and problems are covered that are used for training, skills assessment, performance enhancement and process analysis. Simulation is a means of presenting infrequent problems before they happen so that they can be recognized when they do occur. [1] Exercises can evaluate specific competencies and if they are used to solve problems. [2] When possible, simulators training scenarios are linked to industry-standard curricula like PIA, the NAA (Newspaper Association of America) and the Flexographic Technical Association. [3]

Printing simulation

Typical systems include monitoring and cost analysis that allows the training process to correlate with versus the waste, cost and time on a ‘real’ press. [4] The simulators can either be either connected to a press control console (like the 'cockpit' in a flight simulator) or run on standard micro computer hardware with single or multiple screens. Internet-based learning management systems now allow simulation exercises to be made in a one language/location and reviewed in another language by a training supervisor in a different location what is traced is the interaction with the process, not the local name of the controls. [5]

a print simulator integrated into a real press control console, the different screens show (from left to right)
1. the pressroom (access to the machine and environment)
2. the printed copy : high contrast, small display
3. the printed copy: lower contract, large display
4. a real operator interface to a process control system Simulator connected to industrial console.jpg
a print simulator integrated into a real press control console, the different screens show (from left to right)
1. the pressroom (access to the machine and environment)
2. the printed copy : high contrast, small display
3. the printed copy: lower contract, large display
4. a real operator interface to a process control system

As of 2013 it is estimated that over 2000 print simulators are installed worldwide (in 2013). Users include technical schools, universities, printing companies and their suppliers, [6] [7] who find that they cut costs, accelerate training time, and give a more thorough grounding in structured problem solving

Simulators from Sinapse are used alongside real presses in the EuroSkills and WorldSkills competitions to select the best printer. [5] [8] Simulation based training is well adapted for the learning habits of today's world [7]

In 2013 the print simulation cloud-based learning system (DLMS) won a PIA (Printing Industries of America) Intertech Award: [9]
Language-independent, it automatically analysed and compares training results from different countries, in different languages.
This DLMS was used at worldskillsLeipzig 2013 [10] to analyze and compare results from contestants using simulators in 10+ languages.

Related Research Articles

Multimedia is content that uses a combination of different content forms such as text, audio, images, animations, video and interactive content. Multimedia contrasts with media that use only rudimentary computer displays such as text-only or traditional forms of printed or hand-produced material.

Printing process for reproducing text and images using a master form or template

Printing is a process for reproducing text and images using a master form or template. The earliest non-paper products involving printing include cylinder seals and objects such as the Cyrus Cylinder and the Cylinders of Nabonidus. The earliest known form of printing as applied to paper was woodblock printing, which appeared in China before 220 AD. Later developments in printing technology include the movable type invented by Bi Sheng around 1040 AD and the printing press invented by Johannes Gutenberg in the 15th century. The technology of printing played a key role in the development of the Renaissance and the scientific revolution, and laid the material basis for the modern knowledge-based economy and the spread of learning to the masses.

Flexography

Flexography is a form of printing process which utilizes a flexible relief plate. It is essentially a modern version of letterpress which can be used for printing on almost any type of substrate, including plastic, metallic films, cellophane, and paper. It is widely used for printing on the non-porous substrates required for various types of food packaging.

Educational games are games explicitly designed with educational purposes, or which have incidental or secondary educational value. All types of games may be used in an educational environment. Also Educational games are games that are designed to help people to learn about certain subjects, expand concepts, reinforce development, understand a historical event or culture, or assist them in learning a skill as they play. Game types include board, card, and video games. An educational game is a game designed to teach humans about a specific subject and to teach them a skill. As educators, governments, and parents realize the psychological need and benefits of gaming have on learning, this educational tool has become mainstream. Games are interactive play that teach us goals, rules, adaptation, problem solving, interaction, all represented as a story. They satisfy our fundamental need to learn by providing enjoyment, passionate involvement, structure, motivation, ego gratification, adrenaline, creativity, social interaction and emotion in the game itself while the learning takes place.

A simulation video game describes a diverse super-category of video games, generally designed to closely simulate real world activities.

Digital printing method of printing

Digital printing refers to methods of printing from a digital-based image directly to a variety of media. It usually refers to professional printing where small-run jobs from desktop publishing and other digital sources are printed using large-format and/or high-volume laser or inkjet printers. Digital printing has a higher cost per page than more traditional offset printing methods, but this price is usually offset by avoiding the cost of all the technical steps required to make printing plates. It also allows for on-demand printing, short turnaround time, and even a modification of the image used for each impression. The savings in labor and the ever-increasing capability of digital presses means that digital printing is reaching the point where it can match or supersede offset printing technology's ability to produce larger print runs of several thousand sheets at a low price.

Offset printing printing technique where an inked image is transferred from plate to printing surface via a rubber blanket

Offset printing is a commonly used printing technique in which the inked image is transferred from a plate to a rubber blanket, then to the printing surface. When used in combination with the lithographic process, which is based on the repulsion of oil and water, the offset technique employs a flat (planographic) image carrier. Ink rollers transfer ink to the image areas of the image carrier, while a water roller applies a water-based film to the non-image areas.

Neural network software is used to simulate, research, develop, and apply artificial neural networks, software concepts adapted from biological neural networks, and in some cases, a wider array of adaptive systems such as artificial intelligence and machine learning.

An animated narrative vignette (ANV) is an instructional technology used to motivate and facilitate role-playing, problem solving, and discussion. Teachers develop the ANVs to present in class or in online training. Students might also create them in experiential learning exercises. They provide computer animation representations of teachable situations that encourage critical thinking and may also provide an instrument for assessing attitudes and behaviors. Vignettes have been used to teach mathematics and science, management skills, problem solving, and character education.

Computer to film

Computer to film (CTF) is a print workflow involving printing from a computer straight to film through an imagesetter. Designs are typically created in Adobe Illustrator or CorelDRAW, however they can also be produced in AutoCAD, Inkscape and many other vector based CAD, design and desktop publishing software packages.

Simulation software is based on the process of modeling a real phenomenon with a set of mathematical formulas. It is, essentially, a program that allows the user to observe an operation through simulation without actually performing that operation. Simulation software is used widely to design equipment so that the final product will be as close to design specs as possible without expensive in process modification. Simulation software with real-time response is often used in gaming, but it also has important industrial applications. When the penalty for improper operation is costly, such as airplane pilots, nuclear power plant operators, or chemical plant operators, a mock up of the actual control panel is connected to a real-time simulation of the physical response, giving valuable training experience without fear of a disastrous outcome.

Medical simulation

Medical simulation, or more broadly, healthcare simulation, is a branch of simulation related to education and training in medical fields of various industries. Simulations can be held in the classroom, in situational environments, or in spaces built specifically for simulation practice. It can involve simulated human patients - artificial, human or a combination of the two, educational documents with detailed simulated animations, casualty assessment in homeland security and military situations, emergency response, and support virtual health functions with holographic simulation. In the past, its main purpose was to train medical professionals to reduce error during surgery, prescription, crisis interventions, and general practice. Combined with methods in debriefing, it is now also used to train students in anatomy, physiology, and communication during their schooling.

An instructional simulation, also called an educational simulation, is a simulation of some type of reality but which also includes instructional elements that help a learner explore, navigate or obtain more information about that system or environment that cannot generally be acquired from mere experimentation. Instructional simulations are typically goal oriented and focus learners on specific facts, concepts, or applications of the system or environment. Today, most universities make lifelong learning possible by offering a virtual learning environment (VLE). Not only can users access learning at different times in their lives, but they can also immerse themselves in learning without physically moving to a learning facility, or interact face to face with an instructor in real time. Such VLEs vary widely in interactivity and scope. For example, there are virtual classes, virtual labs, virtual programs, virtual library, virtual training, etc. Researchers have classified VLE in 4 types:

Live, Virtual, & Constructive (LVC) Simulation is a broadly used taxonomy for classifying Models and Simulation (M&S). However, categorizing a simulation as a live, virtual, or constructive environment is problematic since there is no clear division between these categories. The degree of human participation in a simulation is infinitely variable, as is the degree of equipment realism. The categorization of simulations also lacks a category for simulated people working real equipment.

A contract proof usually serves as an agreement between customer and printer and as a color reference guide for adjusting the press before the final press run. Most contract proofs are a prepress proof.

Continuous Simulation refers to a computer model of a physical system that continuously tracks system response according to a set of equations typically involving differential equations.

In business, training simulation is a virtual medium through which various types of skills can be acquired. Training simulations can be used in a variety of genres; however they are most commonly used in corporate situations to improve business awareness and management skills. They are also common in academic environments as an integrated part of a business or management course.

Project team builder is a project management simulation tool developed for training and teaching the concepts of project management and for improving project decision making. A number of published books and academic papers are based on the PTB and its predecessors. The PTB won the Project Management Institute Professional Development Product of the Year Award. The PTB is used in universities and business organizations around the world. The simulator is based on an approach that separates the simulation engine from the scenario editor and allows each user to simulate any project. The simulation engine simulates the dynamic stochastic nature of modern projects. The design of the PTB supports the system engineering approach to Problem solving as each scenario presents the requirements, the alternatives that can be selected and the constraints imposed on the solution. The user has to trade off the cost, schedule, risk, and benefits to the stake holders and to find a feasible, robust, good solution for the scenario. The solution is then simulated by the simulation engine while the trainee exercises monitoring and control throughout the execution. A planned project can be simulated using Monte Carlo simulation. This is done in automatic mode and shows the probability to finish the project at any time period or at any cost. Furthermore, based on the Monte Carlo simulation the probability of each activity to be on the critical path is estimated. The Monte Carlo analysis supports risk analysis and decision making. Another characteristic of the simulator is the ability to save points in the history of each run for future analysis or even for testing a different solution from any of the points saved.

A surgery simulator is computer technology developed to simulate surgical procedures for the purpose of training medical professionals, without the need of a patient, cadaver or animal. The concept goes back to the 1980s with video games, but only in the 1990s with three-dimensional graphics and the 2000s with the use of motion sensors for realistic movements has the technology been able to simulate the real situation. The most common type of surgery taught through this method is laparoscopic surgery, although it has also been used to do a trial run before other kinds of procedures.

References

  1. Herman, Peter; Grimaldi, Laurent; Carl, Gerd (September 19–23, 2011). Development of knowledge and press-test based Heatset training simulator (abstract). 43rd annual conference of the International Circle of Educational Institutes for Graphic Arts, Technology and Management. Norrköping Sweden: International Circle of Teaching Institute for Polygraphic industry . Retrieved March 8, 2013.External link in |publisher= (help)
  2. "Useful as Training Assistants, Print Simulators taking off in print shops everywhere".
  3. Flexographic Technical Association
  4. "Press simulation shows wide variety of uses at Transcontinental Mexico". 9 Mar 2011. Retrieved 8 Mar 2013.
  5. 1 2 WorldSkills International
  6. "Confronting the skills problem". Print & Paper Online Magazine . Apr 2004. p. 247.External link in |publisher= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help)
  7. 1 2 "Training Generation Y to Work". Wall Street Journal. 4 Mar 2007. Retrieved 8 Mar 2013.
  8. Sinapse Print Training Simulators & Software
  9. "Innovative Technologies Earn 2013 InterTech™ Award". www.printing.org. Archived from the original on 2013-08-18.
  10. Sinapse Print Simulators (23 July 2013). "WSL 2013 Print Media Technology" via YouTube.