PRINTSIM: Training Simulator for Offset Printing

The simulation technique is a useful alternative to practical training. The newest computer technology has made it possible to develop training simulators for smaller processes, too. The Graphic Arts Laboratory of the Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT/GRA) has launched a project to develop a training simulator with the capability of imitating offset printing processes, in connection with a modern control system. Printers, graphic arts students, and scientists may familiarize themselves with process behavior and its control without being dependent on a large printing machine and the materials involved in offset printing. The system was first used to train printers in March 1986. The first prototype is capable of simulating the behavior of heatset and newspaper presses, with their control systems. The system will also be connected with the TAPA web offset press. This paper gives a general description of the PRINTSIM system, its mathematical models, hardware and software structures, and principles of utilization.