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KODAK MAGNUS Q800 Platesetter Helps Chesapeake Maintain Quality

To maintain its high quality print production, Chesapeake’s Polish site in Bialystok has installed KODAK MAGNUS Q800 Platesetter exposing KODAK TRILLIAN SP Thermal Plates.

The new solution at the operation, which also works with national and international brands as well as microprint-secured medicine packaging for leading pharmaceutical companies, has helped increase efficiency, production security and expand market opportunities.

Continual expansion

Chesapeake Bialystok is one of several printing sites in the Chesapeake group – a leading supplier of packaging, labels and commercial printing. Established during the era of political and economic change in Poland in the beginning of the 90’s, Chesapeake Bialystok’s former owner had a vision of a company delivering high quality products. Soon his offer was expanded with wet glue, highly processed labels that quickly became a dominant product on the Polish market for high percentage spirits.

 

Magdalena Michalska

The company then introduced IML plastic labels and premium cardboard packaging production and was the first printing house in Europe to implement UV photocuring for ink, enabling it to gain a competitive edge. It later expanded its offer with self-adhesive labels, leaflets and high quality rigid packaging.

Creating a Competitive Advantage

“Our company has always implemented innovative solutions, which were pioneering technologies both in Poland and worldwide,” says Magdalena Michalska, Sales and Marketing Director at Chesapeake BiaÅ‚ystok. “We have always relied on technologies that create competitive advantages. That is why we purchase printing presses and finishing equipment from industry leaders. For some time, we had been looking for a new solution offering perfect quality and high efficiency. We announced a tender with two companies and when comparing both solutions, the KODAK MAGNUS Q800 Platesetter came first and was more suited to our needs.

“It offers big benefits: efficiency, quality and KODAK SQUARESPOT Imaging Technology. Kodak Polska also offered attractive conditions of co-operation including technical support, guarantee period, service time reaction etc. Stopping production costs a lot of money. So we knew how important it was to have a good technical support in the occasional case where it is needed. . Our final decision was supported by the fact that Kodak’s solution is environmentally conscious. The MAGNUS Q800 Platesetter needs less energy to run, which delivers economic benefits, and the TRILLIAN SP Plate requires less chemistry in processing than other plates. Last but not least, as we constantly search for, implement and develop the best business solutions, we were curious about this new, innovative system and were convinced it would help us further in our company’s success.”

Record-breaking production

It did not take long for Chesapeake BiaÅ‚ystok to see the advantages of the KODAK MAGNUS Q800 Platesetter in action. “Right after completing the investment,” Magdalena Michalska continues, “we saw a huge increase in our production volume. We won more short-run orders requiring quicker delivery times. As the KODAK Platesetter runs at 38 plates per hour, it handles such jobs perfectly and guarantees stable production while its modular construction gives us the flexibility to easily increase its speed up to 45 plates per hour. In fact using this solution, we have beaten our own production records.”

“It has also enabled us to develop products for new markets, one of them being microprint-secured packaging for the pharmaceutical industry. We save a lot of time, too, and this can be as much as one day when completing some orders. It is an important and – sometimes – key factor for our customers.”

“We are the only printing site in the Chesapeake group that offers such a wide product portfolio, but that requires the appropriate equipment and the KODAK MAGNUS Q800 Platesetter fits this philosophy perfectly. It guarantees high quality, efficiency and production security. It is easy to operate and offers advanced imaging parameters for every plate size it handles. Using KODAK SQUARESPOT Imaging Technology, it guarantees imaging speed, enabling high quality and stability in the whole process – from original file to the pressroom – regardless of the variables e.g. laser power, plate emulsion sensitivity or its physical parameters.”

Chesapeake Says: “Yes” to KODAK TRILLIAN SP Thermal Plates

In daily production, Chesapeake BiaÅ‚ystok uses KODAK TRILLIAN SP Thermal Plates, for high quality and durable print, including with aggressive UV inks. Before joining the Chesapeake group, the company used plates from another vendor and convincing the operators to make the switch proved to be a challenge says Magdalena Michalska, “But after a very short period in time, they noticed many advantages of using KODAK TRILLIAN SP Thermal Plates, including very low chemistry usage during the development process and high stability and resistance, which guarantees production consistency. Our press operators appreciated this.”

After just three months the company is delighted with the impact made by the KODAK Solutions, “Prepress is a vital stage in our high quality production and efficiency,” states Magdalena Michalska. “We work on five printing presses, from six to eight-colours, and the KODAK CTP System has met our high expectations. We can deliver more orders in a shorter time to help our customers remain successful, which is our priority. It is also important to underline the engagement of our 300 employees, without their support our successes would not be possible.”

Chesapeake Bialystok – wide-scale success

Satisfied customers, who return with new orders, are the most important factor but Chesapeake BiaÅ‚ystok’s quality has also been instrumental in the attainment of international industry certifications. These include as the first sheet-fed printing house in Poland to gain ISO 9001, as well as ISO 14001 Environmental Management System, ISO 18001 Occupational Health Safety Assessment System ISO 22,000 Food Safety Management System, ISO 15378 System for pharmaceutical packaging as well FSC and PEFC certification.

The company, that works towards sustainable production where possible and has a well-equipped R&D lab working on special inks formulation, is supplying its customers with a complete package of services and high standard products.

This enables it to work on creative and challenging projects, Magdalena Michalska explains, “We were able to print sophisticated designs that were very difficult to produce from a technological point of view, using cold foiling and several other finishing techniques. The final result is just extraordinary and we are very proud of it. We are convinced that we will be able to take on more such challenges in the future with support from the KODAK MAGNUS Q800 Platesetter.”

Slawomir Iwanowski, Regional Sales Manager at Kodak Polska, adds, “With Kodak’s innovative technologies we have always done our best to help our customers increase their competitive advantages and market development. In our opinion, Chesapeake has always been a benchmark company and the team at Bialystok wants to deliver the perfect products and use the best tools to help them achieve their goals. They liked the sophisticated tests we ran of printing with very small and sharp dots demonstrating that Kodak’s optical system is much more stable, sharp and precise during the imaging process, not to mention its efficiency. Dozens of established companies from the packaging industry rely on our solutions, including our CTP Systems, Offset Plates, Software and Flexo Systems. Each one perceives the investment as a key influencer on the quality of products and improved efficiency of the prepress department”.

Olivier Claude, General Manager for Print & Vice President Commercial Business EAMER, Kodak comments, “It is clear Chesapeake BiaÅ‚ystok is committed to pushing its creative boundaries and we are delighted that the KODAK MAGNUS Q800 Platesetter is meeting and surpassing its exacting requirement for quality and efficiency. Its ease of use and quick production also enables it to make a real impact on job scheduling to help ensure the operation maximizes its daily output.”

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