Moderna Printing – in tune with the times

New construction and upgrade of machinery requires matching illumination

Along the E313, in the Belgian town of Paal Beringen, the Moderna Printing building stands out day and night. And rightly so, because inside, a three-shift team takes care of a gigantic amount of printed matter 24 hours a day, five days a week. The possibilities are very diverse, from advertising brochures and glossy magazines to sleekly designed travel brochures. Moderna Printing recently invested in an expansion. By building a new hall and with new state-of-the-art machinery the company focuses on an improved fulfilment of their customers’ wishes. The lighting, of course, could not be neglected. itsme Breemes was engaged to offer some customised lighting advice. 

Brand-new offices, a company cafeteria, a fitness room where you and your colleagues can blow off steam and, of course, a new hall for printing machines. “In fact, we are talking about a completely new printing office”, says Jo Sneyers, general technical manager at Moderna Printing. “We also renewed our machinery, so that we now have the latest technology at our disposal. And we placed new paper extraction systems and a new cooling system.”

An important aspect of Moderna’s corporate vision is to keep its carbon footprint as small as possible. This is done, among other things, by investing in machines that guarantee a minimal loss of paper and through solar panels on the roof of the production halls. In addition, the air for the production department’s heating systems and air conditioning are recovered completely via the cooling systems and heaters of the printing presses. The choice for the transition of conventional TL fixtures to LED lighting in the existing part of the building fit in nicely with all this. For the new building, LED was of course a certainty.
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Knowing what to expect

For lighting advice, Jo invited regular partner itsme Breemes from whom they have been buying nearly all of their electrical equipment for years. He explains that he regularly puts technical issues to them. “They come by to monitor the situation and subsequently start looking for the right solutions. That leaves me to make a selection. Our technical services department consists of three persons, including myself. So for us this is a huge relief with regard to time as well as peace of mind.” Robert Koloszewski, technical and commercial representative at itsme Breemes, explains how they operated. “Together, we first defined the parameters. In this case flexibility and future-proofing were important for Moderna Printing. In addition to energy efficiency, of course. On the basis of the architectural plans and a lighting study by Philips, we developed a lighting plan. In order to ascertain the light intensity, we measured the light in a few different places. We then determined the desired number of lux per area, with the legal norm in mind. It was with these data that we set out to work.” Such a lighting plan is designed using a digital program that calculates the number of light fixtures in an easy way, according to the requirements. In this way, the positioning for optimal lighting results can also be determined in advance. “As an effect, everybody knows what is coming. And on top of that, on commissioning Jo can simply check whether the implementation is done according to the previous agreements.”

 “itsme Breemes looks for the best solutions. That gives peace of mind”

The illumination of the printing office runs in phases. The new hall is nearly ready. Five Philips Maxos Fusion light lines were installed with 27 luminaires. Together, they account for a total energy consumption of 2400 watts. To give an idea: the energy consumption of conventional lighting is almost twice as high. And what is more, LED lasts up to 50,000 burning hours, where TLs have to be replaced after 16,000 to 18,000 burning hours. This makes a huge difference in the amount of man hours and therefore in the costs of maintenance that Jo and his team have to spend on replacing the lamps. 
 

Just benefits

​​​​​​​The installation of the new lighting system also ticks another box: flexibility. “If, for instance, a machine is added, we just move the lighting by two metres. It only takes us 20 minutes to do that ourselves”, says Jo. And what about the third parameter, future-proofing? He explains that the lighting system can be linked to a personal computer equipped with a building management system that switches the lighting on or off automatically. Or you can control the lighting from your own home. And there are different light zones that can be controlled individually. With that, Moderna is ready for the future. But there is more, says Jo: “We will be able to receive customers in a nicely lit room, which has a much more professional appearance. And, moreover, our new machines stand out very well. “And, not unimportant either, colleagues tell Jo that they feel more energetic after a long day’s work. “The improved lighting levels reduce fatigue. I get regular signals that at the end of the day people leave for home feeling energetic. You may not be aware of it, but good lighting reduces mental stress during the day. And that is a very important point.”  

“A nicely lit room has a much more professional appearance”

Jo and Robert look back on a very smooth implementation with hardly any problems. The only thing was that the lighting in a certain zone switched on spontaneously. “It turned out that a new machine gave off heat which sensors interpreted as someone entering the room”, says Jo. Together with the supplier of the sensors, BEG Luxomat, a solution was quickly found. When this solution is implemented, the project will be finished. That is, this particular phase. “Next, we will work on the exterior lighting. We are situated along a motorway, which means that as a company it isn’t bad to be an eye-catcher. But it will still be a challenge to get the control just right. We have to take many things into account.” Robert puts him at ease: “Together with our partner Philips, we will find a solution.”


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One-stop shop for printed matter

Moderna goes for the complete picture: everything, from graphic design to printing and post-processing, at a single address. The Moderna printing team consists of 85 employees, who together offer a broad range of printing services, such as advertising brochures, television directories, catalogues and travel brochures. Their expertise, however, is with higher-circulation magazines requiring a high-grade final quality in printed matter.
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