PRODPP227 – Operate digital printing machines

Overview

Digital printing machines are now found everywhere – in homes, in offices and in commercial printing businesses.

They range from small ink-jet printers that can be held in the hand to large-format poster printers and high-speed document machines that can print in black and white and, increasingly, colour.

This standard is for people who operate digital printing machines in a production environment – where there is a customer, either internal or external, for whom work is produced and a person whose job it is to produce print on the digital machine(s).

Performance criteria

You must be able to:

Prepare digital printing machines for production

1. check that you have complete job details
2. check that you have enough materials of the right type to complete the work
3. report to your manager straight away, if the material provided is not of the right type or is insufficient
4. identify the exact post-printing requirements required for the job
5. check that the machine and your work area are safe and ready for production in accordance with organisational procedures
6. use the correct settings to download or print the digital job file(s) to the digital printing machine
7. check that images are complete, colour accurate, free from contamination or other faults, and in register
8. check that the fonts, substrates, imposition, scaling and orientation comply with job requirements
9. select any duplexing or finishing options as per job requirements
10. make adjustments to machine settings or print download settings to achieve the required job specification and quality standards
11. report when specification or quality standards cannot be met in accordance with organisational procedures

Run digital printing machines

12. run digital printing machines in a safe and efficient manner at the required speed in accordance with organisational procedures
13. check there are sufficient supplies of materials and consumables throughout the run
14. check at regular intervals that print outputs meets job specifications
15. check at regular intervals that quality of the image and finishing accuracy satisfy required quality standards
16. record accurate production and quality assurance details in accordance with organisational procedures
17. follow the procedure for the removal of waste
18. stack work in a safe way, using the approved method

Assist in fault finding and correction

19. identify faults which affect the quality of the image, produce a shortfall in output or create risks to health and safety in accordance with organisational procedures
20. identify and correct machine faults which it is your job to correct in accordance with organisational procedures
21. report faults which are not your job to correct or are not corrected by the action you take in accordance with organisational procedures
22. give help in a constructive way to colleagues who are correcting faults on your machine
23. check that the machine is safe to operate, once faults are corrected, in accordance with organisational procedures

Knowledge and understanding

You need to know and understand

1. the law as it affects printing: copyright and ownership of images, forgery, data protection, obscenity, incitement
2. ethical issues relevant to printing: confidentiality
3. your duties and responsibilities for health and safety as defined by any specific legislation covering your job role
4. manufacturer's health and safety requirements relevant to your job
5. how to stop a machine in the event of an emergency
6. how to safely handle customer material
7. computer system security and virus protection
8. the secure methods of archiving digital and conventional artwork
9. how to communicate with colleagues, customers and suppliers/service engineers
10. workplace objectives, priorities, standards and procedures
11. the range of work carried out in the workplace
12. how to identify and assess printing options
13. the stages in the printing process from pre-press to printed product
14. how to maximise productivity
15. the principles of digital printing
16. embedded information
17. file management procedures
18. the causes and treatment of common faults: raw material faults, processing faults, machine faults
19. the operation of digital printing machinery
20. the range of printing machines you need to operate and what they are used for
21. instructions and processes and how to access them
22. how to set, operate and close machinery
23. recording and reporting procedures
24. product labelling procedures
25. any specific environmental legislation that covers processes in your company
26. the control of pollution
27. techniques for controlling quality
28. equipment for controlling quality in digital printing
29. sources of information
30. the types and characteristics of paper, board and other commonly used substrates
31. the types and characteristics of inks, toners and coatings
32. how to maintain the quality of materials during storage and handling
33. the principal activities involved with machine cleaning, lubrication and maintenance
34. roles and responsibilities for cleaning, lubrication and maintenance
35. machine faults and how they can be rectified
36. the maintenance plans for machines which you operate
37. which components wear or become degraded over time
38. the choice and use of suitable cleaning agents and lubricants
39. the principal types of proof and their role in the printing process

Scope/range

Given the vast range of digital printing machines, the operator should be capable of running the machine competently under supervision in a commercial or production environment.

Keywords: digital, print, pre-press, machines