MATERIALS STORAGE AND BUILDING

Printing company startes vary in size and functions depending on the size of the company. However many printers have three storage areas, which may be located or entirely separately.

Production store :- This accomodates all the materials that are used in the production of the
printed work, but are not sold to the customer. e.g. processing chemicals and printing blankets.

Inflammable-goods store Direct-materials store :- This store contains all the materials that are directly sold to the
customer, or that await allocation to a particular customer, for example paper, board and other substrates. The direct-materials area may be further divided into preproduction storage and postproduction storage. Preproduction stores accommodate all the materials awaiting production, whether they have already been sold a customer or are held in stock awaiting allocation. In this case, there should be careful segregation of the materials awaiting production and those in work that has been completed and stored, even when they are stored in the same area. This is particularly important when materials are preprinted and then stored to be used at a later date, for example numbered receipt and order pads, folders and covers. Printers warehouse and materials storage for small-to-medium companies is often siturated within or very close to the production area. In larger companies, storage can be in detached buildings, which may be purpose-built. The great majority of printers do not have air conditioned and temperature controlled storage areas and their conditions of materials storage are much the same as those for production.

Advantages :- The advantages of detached materials storage are as fellows : It is usually purpose-built or adapted to suit a specific purpose. This allows better layout and provision for materials movement and storage. There is improved materials control and therefore less slippage and wastage.

There is improved security for valuable materials.

Disadvantages :- The disadvantages of deteached stores are follows: They usually entail extra movement of materials. Sudden temperature and humidity changes can be experienced during transportation to production and this can affect performance or mean that conditioning time is requires. They can entail extra expediture. For the majority of printers, who have materials storage areas within the companys premises, the situation is different. If the storage area is on one level, and it is sufficiently segregated to allow the efficient cotrol of all materials, any major disadvantage in companies with detached storage areas are not immediately obvious. However, if the material storage area is open to production staff and there is easy access to various control of excess use and wastage. Also, staff who are able to use materials on a semiforce basis will not take account of the cost of materials used in production. Another advantages of materials stores that are adjacent to production area is reduced cost of movement. However the space available for storage become even more important if materials are to be restricted from encroaching onto production space and frustrating efficient production. Even if it at first appears that no real alternative exists, efforts should still be made to reorganize and to create an area dedicated to storage. The use of ground-level storage allows greater weight to be accommodated, with less concern being necessary for weight limits chan when multilevel and rack stores are used. All materials used for printing should be protected from extrems of temperature and humidity. This requirement is particularly important for photographic film, paper, board, plates and inks. Wides varieties will almost certainly result in reduced sheff life. All paper and substrates should be stored on wooden pallets insulated from the floor, film, plates etc. are best stored in numbered racks. Adequate gangways between pallets and racks are essential if the time taken to locate and retrieve materials is to be minimized.

Certain chemicals used in origination processes and printing-press operation are regarded as dangerous. These chemicals must be stored in secure areas and usually in metal fire-proff cabinets. There will be restriction on the quantity of these chemicals that can be stored in any one place at any one time in the UK, depending on the size of the company and the health and safety at work etc.