First Dutch Genius Makes Its Mark

Kees Graumans and Matt Derks, the joint managing directors of Print Group Cuijk, searched for a suitable press that would logically complement the company's existing equipment.

Kees Graumans and Matt Derks, the joint managing directors of Print Group Cuijk, searched for a suitable press that would logically complement the company's existing equipment.

In the end KBA's B3 (20.35") Genius 52 press won the day and has now been in operation for six months.

The two men first saw the Genius 52 in action at its world premiere in April 2002 at Ipex in Birmingham (UK), where it made an immediate impact.

As Kees Graumans explained: "It's simple, yet technologically brilliant design appealled to me instantly, as did the compact, keyless inking system, fast make-ready and the impressive print quality delivered.

But the press exhibited at Ipex was just a prototype - the Genius 52 was not then available on the market." Print Group Cuijk is a medium-size graphic enterprise south of Nijmegen in the Netherlands and by Dutch standards, like many others in Europe, it boasts a long tradition.

The company offers its many customers in diverse markets a broad spread of services ranging from composition to printing and finishing.

The production equipment it has acquired over the years is equally diverse.

The company signed a letter of intent for a Genius 52 at the end of March 2003.

Following various modifications to the prototype, the first press generation went into serial production later that year.

In July 2004 Cuijk pressed the button on a later model, the first Genius 52 in the Netherlands.

Graumans commented: "We had a very clear idea of what we wanted, but as one of the first users worldwide we knew there was no guarantee that the press would be capable of delivering.

What if its performance failed to meet our expectations? When we took the Genius on board we offloaded two older presses, so we had nothing to fall back on in the event of a glitch.

However, installation went surprisingly smoothly and we were able to run the first plates immediately afterwards.

The press crew needed a bit of time to get used to the new working routine but the press technology itself functioned perfectly right from the start." Matt Derks takes up the story: "We were cruising along nicely when we suddenly hit a bottleneck in our production flow - our pre-press was unable to keep pace.

At that time we were still using computer-to-film, so we made a snap decision to switch to computer-to-plate.

At first I was reluctant to make such a move because I wanted to avoid introducing too many variables into the printing process at the same time.

But the press was running so consistently that we felt we could afford to take the chance." After getting the hang of the new technology the press crew quickly gained confidence and no longer bothers to print test strips because the result is totally predictable and thus reliably consistent he added.

"We can now print a 70 or even a 120lcm screen.

We have no problems with either.

We can mimic Pantone colours 98 per cent with CMYK.

And we hardly ever have to send plates back to the pre-press department for correction after proof-printing.

What's more, the colours are much richer in waterless offset.

And thats not just our opinion as our customers tell us the same thing time and again," said Graumans.

Derks is equally enthusiastic and he commented that the Genius runs up to saleable colour in a maximum of just 10 sheets, which, in his opinion is almost like cash in hand, given the cost of paper.

"It can also print different substrates one after the other without a hitch.

PVC stickers with smooth image surfaces can be printed just as easily.

On top of this we have saved a lot of time on maintenance.

When production closes down at the end of the week the Genius is given a thorough clean from top to bottom.

During the week all we have to do each evening is give it a quick once over.

Thats all that's needed," he added.

KBA said that the Genius 52 has turned out to be a big attraction in the Netherlands.

Week after week Print Group Cuijk is approached by customers and fellow printers keen to see the newcomer in action.

"We have had to start a waiting list for prospective visitors because production has priority," said Kees Graumans with a grin.

He continued: "We have already taken out an option on a second Genius but repeatedly find ourselves explaining to our staff and customers that we must be patient for just a little longer because printers in other countries are ahead of us in the queue." And Matt Derks remarked: "After six months you know whether you made the right decision or not.

At first we thought it was a bit of a risky undertaking, but we soon changed our minds.

We're certainly not disappointed.

On the contrary." Kees Graumans and Matt Derks are alike in that they typically tend to go their own way and have no qualms about deviating from the mainstream.

Not from any desire for adventure but because they have come to realise that a carefully thought-out policy of product differentiation is the key to success in their line of business.

Matt Derks explained: "At a time when everyone was switching to Macs, Kees deliberately continued using a PC.

This enabled us to win a number of accounts, which we have retained to the present day.

Also, for some years now we have been experimenting with waterless offset and even on a press with no temperature control we can achieve good results.

Around here we see a lot of people investing in digital print.

We know this market pretty well because we have installed digital systems in the copyshop near our side entrance.

I am well aware that the Genius cannot produce personalised or individualised prints but the market for individualised prints has yet to take off and we cant afford to wait for better times.".

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