SHAPING CAPABILITY IN THE MODERN PRESSROOM – PRINT QUALITY CONTROL

The global print industry is shifting beneath our feet – faster lead times, fewer skilled operators and increasing pressure to minimise waste. As a result, print quality control has become a strategic priority. Troika Systems has always been centred on measurement – repeatable, precise and transparent. But it is the combination of tools and people that drive improvement.

This is why Troika’s educational partnerships have become just as critical as the company’s product development. Troika is working directly with students and educators in universities, technical colleges and research institutes. The aim is to introduce the practical discipline of measurement into print curricula. The goal – preparation, not promotion.

These are not one-off visits. Through Troika’s Educational Partnership Programme, the company now provides equipment, training and curriculum resources to institutions on five continents.

At Marmara University in Istanbul, Turkey, Adrian Buratta recently led sessions with undergraduates studying flexo and gravure production. Within an hour, students were using the AniCAM HD Plus to capture volume and depth readings. These students are preparing to enter the workforce in a region where high-speed, short-run jobs are becoming the norm. As a result, print quality control is no longer optional.

At PVG’s College of Engineering and Technology in India, the situation is similar. Students are hungry for exposure to the technologies that underpin modern, packaging workflows. Troika ran live demonstrations and compared dot shapes under magnification. It also spoke candidly about the link between cell volume variance and print returns. The questions were sharp. The interest was keen.

Clemson University in the US, Brobygrafiska in Sweden and the Institut des arts Graphiques de Montréal in Canada, are among those who have integrated the AniCAM into their teaching. 

In Germany, both the Stuttgart Media University and DFTA are long-standing partners. ITS Angelo Rizzoli in Italy and Siam University in Thailand are also part of the network. The aim across these sites is to give students direct access to the same tools used in live production environments. It is also to give instructors the support they need to teach the subject rigorously.

Another key partner is Swansea University’s Welsh Centre for Printing and Coating. Afterall, in 2007 the centre’s Dr Davide Deganello compared AniCAM measurements with a laboratory interferometer across 12 anilox bands. The results were remarkably close. That early study helped validate the AniCAM’s place in both industrial and scientific settings.

“Troika is focused on achieving the fastest scan times in the industry”

The relationship between education and production is closer than ever. When Buratta visits converters and packaging sites across Europe, Asia and the Americas, he sees many of the same questions being asked. Teams want to understand how component condition impacts downtime. They want to reduce waste, avoid surprises and track performance over time. They want a clearer picture of their process – what went wrong and why, and how soon it might happen again.

The AniCAM HD Plus has a role to play here. It is now installed in more than 100 countries, used by printers, packaging groups, coating specialists and prepress departments. It is used to measure roll and plate conditions with accuracy and consistency. But the value of any tool depends on how it is used. When integrated into maintenance routines, onboarding processes and production checks, the AniCAM becomes more than a diagnostic instrument. It becomes a framework for improvement.

Troika is seeing increasing demand for that framework. Many of its customers now ask for benchmarks tailored to specific substrates, press speeds or ink types. They want reference points that they can apply across shifts and locations. In response, Troika is contributing to ongoing conversations about standardising volume tolerances, plate-condition criteria and print-readiness metrics. It is careful work and depends on collaboration. But it is work worth doing.

Troika’s development reflects these same needs. The new Troika Management System (TMS), launching this year, brings anilox, flexo-plate and gravure-cylinder management into a single system, with real-time tracking across sites. The AniCAM HD Plus already features the company’s quick-change lens system, designed for repeatability and ease of use. Now, Troika is focused on achieving the fastest scan times in the industry. This is part of a broader effort to redefine the capabilities of flexo measurement.

However, none of this matters unless the people using the systems are confident in their use. That is why the focus on education will remain a constant. Whether it is a graduate learning the basics of Flexo QC or a senior operator exploring new workflow efficiencies, the goal is the same – to make measurement a normal part of decision making. No guesswork. No reliance on memory or habit. Just good information in the right hands.

Buratta believes that the future of print belongs to teams who can adapt quickly and adjust precisely. That means investing in capability. It also means sharing knowledge and being generous with learning. If Troika can support that through its technology and partnerships, then the company believes that it is doing something worthwhile.

Troika will be at Labelexpo Europe, 
(16–19 September in Barcelona, Spain) and would be glad to show attendees its latest developments. Visit the company at Stand 3G98, to see the AniCAM HD Plus in action and explore the latest updates. Additionally, visitors will be able to see how Troika is helping printers, educators and researchers push quality forward, one scan at a time.

AniCAM HD is a trademark of Troika Systems Ltd