Fred Rostalski, an Engineer at Bobst Bielefeld GmbH, received the Bobst Inventor Award for the “Method for determining print parameters of a print machine and test stand” (Smart GPS 2.0), which was granted in 2021.
Led by Sigrid Wagner, Group IP Director, the award was launched in 2020, making Rostalski the third person to have received the Bobst Inventor Award, after Nick Copeland in 2020, and Matthieu Richard last April.
The annual award is sponsored by CEO Jean-Pascal and aims to thank recipients for their contributions to a strong Bobst intellectual property portfolio through quality inventions, and to increase the awareness on the importance of IP.
Inventions by contracted Bobst employees and awarded a patent for the first time in 2021, were considered, with the winner adjudged to have had the greatest impact, in terms of commercial value for Bobst and its customers, technical advantages, and scope of marketability.
Rostalski’s invention uses high-resolution camera scans to determine information about the cliché relief and ultimately improve the quality of pad printed products. The invention allows the print image to be visualized in advance and pre-setting parameters for the press to be determined, tested and corrected.
Through this invention, the work of pre-setting the print image and correction of the printing parameters is front loaded into the plate mounting process, thus reportedly reducing press cycle times for pre-setting, and in-turn enabling greater longevity in run times.
