Technology
AI: The Game Changing Quality Control Tool in Print Production
By Ingo Beutler & Dr. Daniel Schmidt
As a leading supplier of innovative tools and services for the packaging industry, Saueressig, part of the SGK family, has an acute understanding of the challenges that our clients and colleagues face daily. Quality control is a key area in which we, as an industry, strive for consistent innovation. We might be at the top of our game, but Saueressig is permanently working to do better and be better.
The challenge of quality control and print production
There is no room for error in print production. Print tools and print runs represent a significant expense for any client, and so the pressure to eliminate mistakes is immense. It’s essential that the tool matches design precisely to avoid the costs associated with re-running.
Until recently, this meant that a quality inspector would manually check printing tools – aiming to identify mismatches or damages. This time-consuming process is still common practice for some of our competitors, and – despite the skills of the professionals taking on the task – there is no guarantee of accuracy. QC is a crucial moment in the print production process and can make or break a printed packaging product. Our clients demand flawless results, and so this inexact process was ripe for overhaul when new technology came to the fore.
Exploding the potential of AI in print quality control
In the 2010s, while artificial intelligence was still just a buzzword, Saueressig identified an opportunity to use innovation to transform print plate inspections. cLynx was launched in 2016 as the first ever AI powered QC technology in print production.
cLynx digitises the process of checking printing tools, completely removing the need for manual quality checking. The tool digitally analyses for micron mismatches, and can find thousands on a single file, each between 0.01mm and 0.05mm. It then builds up a digital model, rationalising the found errors for user friendliness. cLynx distinguishes any irrelevant faults – which could, for example, be dust – from the relevant ones. The end result: a QI is able to easily see true errors, making it quick and simple to identify necessary actions that will guarantee a flawless result.
Learning through use
cLynx learns by doing. Since its launch, we’ve overseen the process of building a catalogue of potential mismatches which have supported us to develop the software. We developed a scanner that takes an image directly from the print tool, not from the printed sample, and the AI tool learns what is different.
cLynx products lead the international marketplace – thanks to the head start Saueressig claimed by harnessing AI at the earliest opportunity, and the extent of our experience and expertise in developing the AI to meet the needs of our clients.
The future of print production
This pace, with rapid improvements and utilisation of AI in print production quality inspection, continues to build. The benefits of the process are vast: inspection and handling costs are a minimum for customers, time is saved in production, internal improved workflow schedules dramatically increase productivity. The future of print production will undoubtedly incorporate developments in AI, and Saueressig will be at the forefront of this new era for print.