Print production specialist Pátria Printing can provide greater application flexibility and production efficiencies by investing in Hungary’s first AccurioJet KM-1e with HD digital UV inkjet production press from Konica Minolta. The installation was during the summer.
The mature technology with unbeatable quality is planned to replace offset production as Pátria Printing further strengthens its strategic partnership with Konica Minolta and continuously seeks new opportunities to rethink opportunities to improve its manufacturing processes and business performance. Developments are currently underway in areas such as artificial intelligence, print portals and a new web-to-print platform.
Headquartered in Budapest and with 35 locations throughout Hungary, Pátria Nyomda Zrt is one of the country’s leading printing and paper, stationery, and office supply wholesalers and retailers.
Pátria Printing has more than 130 years of experience in printing production and excels at consulting, design, personalisation, on-demand printing. It services numerous industries, including small and large enterprises, government agencies, and state institutions as one of the four domestic B-category security printing houses, and through its various business divisions including printing, calendars, stationery, stamps, and educational supplies.
Katalin Orgován, Pátria Printing’s President and CEO, explains the numerous benefits the innovative Konica Minolta AccurioJet KM-1e with HD press provides: “Production capacity will be significantly enhanced. We will be able to offer faster turnaround times to our customers through more efficient processes developed specifically for this press. The B2 sheet size will allow greater freedom in further processing, whether for offset-like processing or traditional A3 digital processing. The UV curing technology and high-quality pigments will, with four basic colours, achieve a colour gamut that surpasses offset printing. This will be visibly noticeable to our customers with richer, more vibrant, colours, even neon-like, as in terms of quality, it is currently unbeatable due to the fantastic resolution of the AccurioJet KM-1e with HD.”
Optimized production
Pátria Printing will be able to produce perfect bound or saddle-stitched publications under 1,500 copies more cost effectively than traditional digital technology. These will include high-quality catalogues, books and periodicals, posters, folder covers, and almost anything that is more suitable for digital printing due to the print run size. To support the output Pátria has invested in new perfect binding system.
Another consideration is that publications previously produced in SRA3 will now be more economically and quickly managed in a larger format. Jobs with low print runs that cannot be produced on SRA3 size will no longer need to be printed on the high-productivity, 8-unit offset machine. As most jobs fall into this category, production can be much better optimized.
The investment will also support the company as it seeks new opportunities and explores the potential for AI, a print portal and a new web-to-print platform.
Quality surpasses offset
Katalin Orgován, also the president of the Hungarian Printing Federation, said it was clear inkjet technology had advanced the most in printing and will replace offset printing in many areas. She expands: “Its quality now matches and even surpasses offset printing, and its productivity is rapidly improving. Therefore, it was evident that we needed to hop on this train; the only question was when and which technology to choose. The timing is right because the technology is now mature, and we could be among the first to adopt it. It was also evident that this train would be Konica Minolta's, as we saw the greatest potential in terms of cost-effectiveness and return on investment.”
She continues: “Pátria is committed to innovation, continuously developing, modernizing, and optimizing our production and business processes. This investment further strengthens the company's innovative reputation and, thanks to increased efficiency and capacity expansion, enhances our competitiveness.
“We strongly believe that, with this press, we can target new markets and increase our output volume while providing an even faster and higher-quality service to our growing numbers of customers.”
Excellent strategic partnership
Pátria’s relationship with Konica Minolta Hungary spans nearly 20 years. It has Konica Minolta technology in its digital plant and its show Printing House in Szolnok. Konica Minolta systems are also used for central printing tasks and the printing and copying services offered by its office supply store network.
“We operate an excellent strategic partnership,” states Katalin Orgován. “Konica Minolta presses are reliable and professional in service and training, supporting us with technological developments and modern solutions.”
Sándor Faragó, Production Printing Sales Manager for Konica Minolta Hungary, said: “Pátria started the digital printing journey with Konica Minolta 17 years ago, and during this long and successful partnership we have mutually supported each other in discovering the broadest possible applications of digital technology. Pátria has developed together with Konica Minolta to a level where an investment in our award-winning AccurioJet KM-1e with HD technology was a natural progression.
“The AccurioJet KM-1e HD is an incredibly versatile printing press. With colour space, media handling capabilities, stability, unrivalled colour reproduction and B2 format, Pátria can further increase its digital volumes and, consequently, enhance its profitability.”
