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Irish parliament counts cost of €1m printer error
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-50563977
An inquiry has begun into how staff at the Irish parliament spent more than €1m (£857,000) on a printer that was too big to fit into the building.
The printer, measuring 2.1m (6ft 8in) high and 1.9m (6ft 2 in) wide, was bought last year at a cost of €808,000.
When officials realised it would not fit, they spent an additional €236,000 tearing down walls and embedding structural steel to house the machine.
The printer was placed in storage at a cost of €2,000 a month during the work.
Irish Govt Blows €1M On Mega-Printer Too Big For Parliament's Doors
Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:
Officials failed to ensure there was at least 3.1 metres in height clearance to get the thing in, according to the Irish Times. In reality, there just wasn't enough space. The state-of-the-art printer is described in press reports as being 2.1 metres high and 1.9 metres wide, so either there's confusion over the measurements or you need more than 3 metres to negotiate it in.
By the time the government realized its mistake, it was too late to return the printer as the contract had already been signed. So instead, officials had to "tear down walls and embed structural steel" to fit the contraption, according to RTE on Tuesday.
But that’s not the only havoc the printer has caused. Some employees are refusing to be trained on how to use the machine, sticking a metaphorical middle finger to the government in a bid to negotiate a pay rise for using the new equipment.
What’s more, the IT department is hesitant to grant access to the printer, making it difficult to print documents from official government computers.
(Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Friday November 29 2019, @01:52AM (1 child)
I don't think they're talking about the 4 colour Komori you're meaning here, although your point about the space is a good one.
The IT department is not going to be giving people access to an offset press, and training is usually an 8,000 apprenticeship.
(Score: 2) by deimtee on Friday November 29 2019, @03:06AM
Bit more digging, and many places are saying its a rebadged GL29, which is a half sheet (720x540mm) press. Most pictures of that though show five stations, so either they are not counting the UV or the GL429 loses one, which might explain the extra 4 in the model no.
Offset presses have changed a lot in the last decade or two. Competition from digital presses has forced them to be faster, cleaner and easier to use. The last big 10-colour I was watching run monitored every sheet as it went through. So much as a blemish on the paper and that sheet was diverted to the waste stack without slowing the printing at all. A few in series and the machine would stop and call for help. Colour was continuously monitored, the machine compared what was coming out with the PDF and adjusted itself to match. Washup is push a button. Plate change is load them in a holder and push a button. The plates are coded so the machine knows if you put the plates in the wrong station.
You still need to be a trade printer to use one, but IT absolutely needs to be involved in the setup.
If you cough while drinking cheap red wine it really cleans out your sinuses.