How to Compare Corrugated Press Throughput: Converting m/min to m²/h

Reading the throughput line is an unavoidable step when buying a corrugated digital press, yet the first question many buyers have is simple: why do some spec sheets quote metres per minute while others quote square metres per hour? Can the two numbers be compared directly? This guide explains where each unit comes from, how to convert between them, and the traps to avoid, so the spec sheet becomes a usable selection tool.

Why Throughput Specs Do Not Use the Same Unit

Leaf through a few spec sheets for corrugated digital presses and you will notice the throughput line is not written the same way. The difference is not arbitrary — it follows the imaging method. On a single-pass press the printheads span the full print width and the board is finished in one trip through, so throughput is naturally quoted as a feed speed. On a scanning press the heads traverse back and forth to build the image line by line, so throughput is quoted as the area covered per hour. Comparing the raw numbers without converting the units leads to wrong conclusions.

What Each Unit Actually Measures

Metres per minute (m/min) is line speed in the feed direction. On its own it says little about output: at 30 m/min, a 900 mm-wide press and a 1,200 mm-wide press cover very different areas every hour. Square metres per hour (m²/h) is the printing area completed per hour, with the width already folded in. Taking the presses listed on this site as examples:

• Single-pass: the RS1800-HPA3 is rated at 10–30 m/min (33–98 ft/min); the RS2500-E36S at 106 m/min (348 ft/min) — both excluding feed time.
• Scanning: the RS2500-E8 and RS2500-E16 are rated at up to 600 m²/h (6,458 sq ft/h); the RS2500-R16UV at up to 400 m²/h (4,306 sq ft/h) — feed time excluded.
• Colour-plus-white configuration: rated at 100–300 m²/h (1,076–3,229 sq ft/h) in colour + white mode, because the same sheet takes a white underlayer before the colour pass.

The Conversion: Line Speed × Effective Width × 60

Converting line speed to area throughput is a single step: m²/h = effective print width in metres × line speed in m/min × 60. The RS1800-HPA3, at 900 mm (35.4 in) wide and 10–30 m/min, works out to roughly 540–1,620 m²/h (5,800–17,400 sq ft/h) at rated values. The RS2500-E36S, running 106 m/min across 1,200 mm (47.2 in), works out to about 7,600 m²/h (81,800 sq ft/h). Side by side, the same label "high-speed" can mean an area output several times larger on a wide single-pass press than on a narrow one. Stare at the m/min figure alone and you will over- or under-estimate what the machine actually delivers.

The conversion also runs in reverse. Take the square metres of print surface you need per day, divide by your effective working hours to get the required m²/h, then divide by the width of the press you are considering — the result is the line speed that press would have to sustain. Compare it with the rated speed and you know whether your production plan sits comfortably inside the capacity of the machine or runs tight.

Dual-Mode Presses: Two Units on One Frame

The RS2500-E16SM offers both scanning and high-speed direct-output modes, so its spec sheet carries two throughput figures: 600–1,200 m²/h (6,458–12,917 sq ft/h) in scanning mode, and 30–60 m/min (98–197 ft/min) in direct mode over an effective image area of 512 × 2,400 mm (20.2 × 94.5 in), feed time excluded. The unit follows the mode: steady, high-volume standard work runs in scanning mode and is scheduled by area; urgent jobs switch to direct mode and are scheduled by line speed. Read both figures against the ratio of steady to urgent work in your own order book, rather than picking whichever number looks bigger.

What Sits Between Rated and Real Throughput

• Feed time: every m²/h rating here excludes feed time. Sheets inside the auto-feed window (up to 2,500 × 1,350 mm / 98.4 × 53.1 in, which the official FAQ describes as covering about 90% of standard orders) run a very different pace from manual feeding of over-length board.
• Coverage and quality mode: on scanning presses, real throughput varies with ink coverage and the resolution mode selected; ink-heavy, full-coverage layouts land below the top of the rated band.
• Finishing modules: the RS1900-E16 preprint press is rated at 80–160 m²/h (861–1,722 sq ft/h), and the pace shifts again when the laminating and cutting modules are engaged.
• Changeover frequency: a digital changeover is a file switch with no plates to wash, but frequent job changes still consume pace — shops running dense small orders should budget that time into daily output.

Match the Rating to Your Order Mix

Once the units are aligned, selection comes back to the order book. Plants running mostly shipping cartons on long runs should focus on the line-speed-and-width combination of single-pass presses. Work built on many sizes, large formats and fine graphics points to the m²/h and resolution figures of wide-format scanning presses. Dark substrates that need a white underlayer point to the colour-plus-white configuration. Paper-based preprint that should come off one machine printed, laminated and cut points to the RS1900-E16 — noting that it runs grey-back board, white card, coated paper and art paper rather than corrugated; for corrugated board choose the RS1800 or RS2500 series.

Turn the Arithmetic Into a Buying Tool

A throughput rating is the starting point of a purchase decision, not the end of it. Lay out the unfolded size of your typical box, daily volume and changeover frequency, compare them against the converted figures for each machine, and weigh ink type, resolution and converting steps alongside. When a workload is hard to pin down on paper, send sample board and let a trial run confirm the pace. For configuration options and pricing, contact an advisor.