Akomex Group decided to implement Kodak Prinergy prepress production control worflow, along with Spotless, ColorFlow and Rules-Based Automation (RBA) modules and the InSite portal. This will allow us to increase efficiency and automate processes, as well as significantly improve internal and external communication.
Akomex Group currently consists of three production facilities with a total of nearly 600 employees. The first one is the plant in Aleksandrów Kujawski, which produces pharmaceutical packaging from solid cardboard. The second one is Akomex in Starogard Gdański (operating since 1993) – specializing in serving customers from the food industry in the field of solid cardboard packaging. The third plant is in Denmark and converts trays for the fish industry, supporting the group’s expansion in the Scandinavian market. Akomex Group also serves the following sectors: electronics, cosmetics, personal care and household appliances. One of the pillars of Akomex Group’s success is a stable portfolio of our customers – about 60% of them have been cooperating with the Group’s sites for more than 10 years. However, we are constantly expanding the portfolio and increasing the share of exports, which now amounts to over 40% of turnover.
– After years of using another vendor’s workflow – says Szymon Polkowski, production director at DrukPak – we decided to find such a system that would solve the problems we faced on a daily basis and at the same time would increase productivity and customer service quality. As a group, we are a manufacturer of food and pharmaceutical packaging, so we naturally looked for a solution that would provide us with high functionality. It was also important for us to improve the quality of communication between the three plants that make up our group. We were looking for a system that we could scale and automate without incurring significant costs for these processes. Kodak’s solution proved to be the best and that is why we decided to make this purchase.
The purchase and implementation of a new workflow system has become one of the key needs of the Group in recent months. We were looking for a solution that would work with a database and provide greater automation of processes, which in turn would free up resources in the graphics department, among others. – Our main priority – says Szymon Polkowski – was to be able to work on one system in all three locations. We were convinced that automation and efficient communication would improve our productivity. But we were also keen to improve our online communication with customers for this new development. Solutions provided by Kodak automated these processes, improved efficiency and eliminated production errors. The wide configuration capabilities of these solutions meant that we could customize them to meet our needs. This demonstrates their great flexibility, as well as that of the vendor itself, from whom we received important service support and assistance at every stage of implementation.
The Kodak Prinergy system has allowed us to shorten job processing cycles, reduce costs, automate processes, and reduce errors associated with jobs, resulting in a more efficient production environment.
Daniel Stosik, Prepress Manager at Akomex Group, adds: – We have been focusing on ecological aspects in our work for years. We are looking for solutions that support the safe production of packaging for the food and pharmaceutical industries. Therefore, one of the requirements during the search for a new workflow system was the possibility of reducing the consumption of ink and cleaning agents used during printing. Our attention was drawn to the Kodak Spotless and Kodak ColorFlow modules, which allow you to create ICC profiles and print Pantone colors using the CMYKOGV ink set. They streamline the printing process and reduce waste. This configuration expands the color gamut of the printing machine, which has a positive effect on the colors of the printed designs.
– The Prinergy system also has a high degree of flexibility – continues Daniel Stoisk. – The imposition templates are only used here as the job exits the system. This allows us to quickly add, remove or replace templates at any point in the workflow, making our job easier.
Prinergy software works with all Kodak rasterization technologies, including Staccato (which guarantees – as the vendor claims – photorealistic prints). It also supports Spotless software for converting special colors to process colors.
– This solution – says Szymon Polkowski – was one of our priorities while choosing the system, and the quality of reproduction achieved thanks to it is very high.
– We gave equal priority to the Rules–Based Automation (RBA) module – adds Daniel Stosik. Thanks to the process automation it provides, we can archive completed jobs, apply automatic imposition, regularly inform via e-mail about the progress of work, or manage their flow based on predefined parameters. The flexibility of the RBA module leaves us ample room to develop and increase the automation of the implemented processes.
– Kodak InSite works in real time, allowing operators to perform the same actions simultaneously, as well as to track and control each action and cost at any stage of the workflow – adds Szymon Polkowski. – Among the benefits of implementing Kodak solutions, we also appreciate the ability to remotely collaborate and communicate with customers through Insite Prepress Portal. It gives customers, as well as our sales staff and remote operators, easy and secure access to individual jobs – from anywhere at any time. At the same time it speeds up processes, also making it easier for our customers to track and control files. It does not require investment in special software to do so.