Speedmaster SM 52 - User Report: kay druck und medien

kay druck und medien, Kreuztal (Germany): "With the chamber doctor blade coating unit and the expanded stock range up to 0.6 millimeter (0.024 inch) we are ideally positioned to fulfill our customers' needs."

High-quality products, specialized solutions and full service - that is what kay druck und medien's philosophy is all about. The portfolio ranges from media services to printing, finishing, mailing and logistics in the in-house letter shop. As customer service is key at kay, two sales agents and four administrative staff are responsible for supporting the customers. "It is important to us that the customer has only one contact person from the initial contact to the delivery of the required services," explains Commercial Manager Michael Kay. "We offer our customers a carefree full-service package."

Around 70 percent of the jobs kay druck und medien handles are standard, while the 30 percent involve specialized solutions. Color fidelity and premium quality along the entire production chain are crucial. The required performance level and quality are documented by means of certification in accordance with the process standards for offset printing.

Thomas Kay, Technical Manager, is convinced that "our decision to buy the Speedmaster CD 74-4+L (L=coating unit) was a huge leap forward with regard to quality and efficiency, in particular, because the use of dispersion coating allows for very fast finishing. To gain the possibility of also offering short print runs, we had to invest in a Speedmaster SM 52-5 with chamber doctor blade coating unit." The Speedmaster SM 52-5+L features an expanded stock range up to 0.6 millimeter and can thus also process thicker printing stock. In case of bottlenecks, print jobs can be transferred from the Speedmaster CD 74 to the Speedmaster SM 52. As both presses are equipped with the chamber doctor blade coating unit and the control console Prinect CP2000 Center runs on the same platform, the operators can switch between the Speedmaster CD 74 and the Speedmaster SM 52 as needed. The fifth printing unit is used for die cutting and scoring with the Cito-System. In order to set themselves apart from the competition, kay offers inline finishing using drip-off technology. Drip-off coating makes it possible to produce matt/gloss effects. Different visual effects can be achieved with the contrast between matt and gloss coated areas. To do this, matt coating is partially applied with the fifth printing unit and gloss coating is applied over the whole printing area with the coating unit.

In order to satisfy the company's own demands with respect to consistent and reliable product quality, both presses feature the color measuring system Prinect Axis Control, which is integrated in the Prinect CP2000 Center. Print quality can be measured and monitored in the color measuring bars directly at the control consoles of the respective presses. This ensures effective quality control.

kay druck und medien has been a family business for over 30 years. In 1975, Karl-Heinz Kay bought the two-man print shop. Since then it has grown into a 42-employee company. In 1999, his sons Michael and Thomas Kay became Managing Directors and today they run the operational business. The company is divided into three sections: kay.druck, the offset and digital print shop, kay.direkt for direct marketing and letter shop activities, and key.media for media design. In 2005, the entire production was converted from Computer-to-Film to Computer-to-Plate within a single day. kay was one of the first companies in North Rhine-Westphalia to install the Suprasetter 74. But even at the time of the acquisition of the original two-man firm, the print shop relied on Heidelberg presses - and this has not changed. With a Speedmaster
SM 52-1, SM 74-2-P, CD 74-4+L and the latest investment - the Speedmaster SM 52-5+L, kay druck und medien is ideally positioned to fulfill its customers' needs.