From "Experience Driven" to "Data Driven" – The Wave of Digital and Intelligent Transformation in Publication Printing and Weihai Printing Machinery's Exploration

2026-07-06 0 Leave me a message

On June 12, 2026, a specialised symposium focusing on the high quality development of the publication printing industry convened in Hangzhou, Zhejiang. Jointly initiated by four industry benchmark enterprises – Beijing Wulue Technology Co., Ltd., Zhejiang Printing Group Co., Ltd., Shanghai Yafei Printing Machinery Co., Ltd., and Komori Corporation – the symposium, themed "Breaking the Deadlock, Embracing the New, Winning the Future with Quality – Exploring New Pathways for High Quality Development in Publication Printing," was held with great ceremony. More than one hundred guests from industry associations, media, and leading publication printing enterprises gathered to deliberate on core topics including quality improvement, upgrading, and digital intelligent transformation in the publication printing sector.

The signals conveyed by this symposium were clear and compelling: production management in the printing industry is shifting from "experience driven" to "data driven," and production scheduling is evolving from "rough estimation" to "precise and detailed pre scheduling."

I. APS: The Core System Transforming Production Management Paradigms

During the technical session of the symposium, Fu Shuai, R&D Manager of Beijing Wulue Technology, delivered a presentation titled "Application Practices of APS Advanced Intelligent Production Scheduling System Exclusively for Book and Periodical Printing." From four dimensions – the conceptual essence of APS, functional implementation, management enhancement, and deployment execution – he comprehensively decoded this core system that is reshaping the production management paradigm for book and periodical printing.

APS (Advanced Planning and Scheduling) is an advanced planning and scheduling tool grounded in supply chain management and the Theory of Constraints. Unlike traditional scheduling methods that rely on manual experience and rough estimates, APS simultaneously accounts for multiple finite capacity resource constraints, applies various preset rules, and through complex intelligent mathematical algorithms involving repeated simulation and optimisation, ultimately delivers a relatively optimal detailed production plan.

Chen Junjiang, Chairman of Wulue Technology, revealed at the symposium that as early as ten years ago, Wulue had proactively initiated APS research and development, becoming the first in the industry to build an APS advanced intelligent scheduling system for packaging printing. This system has been in practical deployment at multiple packaging enterprises for over three years. The current collaborative effort with Zhejiang Printing Group to develop a dedicated APS version for book and periodical printing holds significant practical value in filling the technological gap in fine grained scheduling for publication printing and in driving the industry's digital transformation.

Wang Yi, Party Secretary and Chairman of Zhejiang Printing Group, presented a "hardware plus oftware" Zhejiang solution in his address: on the hardware front, through the introduction and co development of high speed, high efficiency intelligent equipment to boost production efficiency; on the software front, focusing on APS advanced scheduling systems as the "key lever of production." He particularly emphasised that an excellent APS system acts as a mirror, breaking down information silos, unblocking bottlenecks, and streamlining production relationships. It not only lays the groundwork for on time order delivery but also provides the prerequisites for the deployment of intelligent equipment such as AGVs (Automated Guided Vehicles).

II. Weihai Printing Machinery: Dual Driven by Management Informatisation and Manufacturing Intelligence

Amidst the industry wide digital and intelligent transformation, Weihai Printing Machinery Co., Ltd. is not merely an equipment provider but also a practitioner of intelligent manufacturing.

Management Informatisation: Comprehensive Application of Modern Management Technologies. Weihai Printing Machinery maintains rigorous internal management, disciplined operations, and seamless information flow. Modern management technologies – including CAD (Computer Aided Design), MRPⅡ (Manufacturing Resource Planning), CAM (Computer Aided Manufacturing), Customer Relationship Management (CRM), and financial management systems – are widely deployed, accelerating the company's modernisation. These systems have enabled information based management across the entire chain, from product design and production planning to manufacturing execution and customer service, laying a robust foundation for higher level intelligent upgrades.

In the process design domain, the company has adopted the XTCAPP system, significantly streamlining the workflow of its process engineering department, reducing the time and errors previously associated with manual process preparation, material and labour hour calculations, and greatly enhancing overall efficiency.

Manufacturing Intelligence: New Base Ushers in a New Chapter of Smart Manufacturing. On the hardware front, Weihai Printing Machinery is equally at the forefront. The company owns more than 200 units of various processing equipment, including over 30 CNC machining centres and other numerically controlled machines, placing its technical facilities at an advanced level among domestic peers.

More importantly, the company is investing nearly RMB 500 million in a new 110,000 m² R&D and manufacturing base, encompassing high precision offset presses, digital printing presses, and advanced packaging machinery. The new facility is designed with environmental sustainability and labour cost reduction as core objectives. According to previously disclosed information, the company is investing RMB 420 million in a modern plant covering 227 mu (approx. 151,000 m²) with a floor area of 110,000 m², integrating office and R&D facilities, production workshops, and staff living amenities. Upon completion, the company's scale and production capacity will be further expanded and enhanced, establishing it as a comprehensive production base for high end offset presses, digital printing presses, and packaging printing machinery.

In terms of product innovation, Weihai Printing Machinery has closely aligned with international technology in recent years, continuously developing new equipment and processes, transforming traditional production methods and infrastructure, and progressively expanding into the fast, on demand, efficient, and personalised digital printing sector. The company has showcased its latest digital printing equipment at industry exhibitions, demonstrating state of the art digital printing production workflows.

III. Trends and Outlook: Digital Intelligent Transformation Is the Inevitable Path for the Printing Industry

Currently, the publication printing industry is entering a period of deep restructuring, with multiple challenges – market volatility, cost pressures, tightening delivery schedules, and quality upgrades – intersecting to propel the industry towards quality enhancement, efficiency improvement, and intelligent transformation. As emphasised at the symposium, efficiency reform is an imperative for printing enterprises to remain competitive in the market. Under the industry's new development landscape, companies must abandon extensive production management models and build efficient production systems.

The transition from "experience driven" to "data driven," and from "rough estimation" to "precise and detailed scheduling," is quietly unfolding across the printing industry. The deployment of APS advanced scheduling systems is not merely an upgrade of technical tools but a fundamental shift in management philosophy.

For Weihai Printing Machinery, over seventy years of technical heritage provide a profound manufacturing foundation for intelligent transformation, while the sustained application of informatisation tools such as CAD, MRPⅡ, and CAM, along with the intelligent construction of its new plant, position the company to seize opportunities in the next wave of industry change. Amidst the tide of digital intelligent transformation in the printing sector, Weihai Printing Machinery is writing its own chapter of transformation, propelled by the dual engines of management informatisation and manufacturing intelligence.