Rehms Druck, of Borken, Westphalia, in north west Germany, has been a loyal Konica Minolta customer for many years using its toner-based system. However, the company realised in 2016, at drupa, that the time was right to invest in cut-sheet UV inkjet technology and, specifi cally, the AccurioJet KM-1. Employing 110 staff and with a turnover of €18.5 million, Rehms Druck wanted a production system to enable it to grow into new markets. It wanted one digital inkjet technology in a team partnership approach using world-class expertise.
Key business drivers for investment
Before making the decision to invest, Rehms Druck set out a challenge for Konica Minolta to print a range of applications and to prove the ROI of moving to UV inkjet. The AccurioJet KM-1 team produced a range of applications that included direct mail and packaging. Various factors were compared to existing print processes, including:
- Colour consistency over a long run
- Media handling and flexibility
- Job turnaround
- Variable data handling
- Workflow integration with Rehms Druck’s existence Kodak Prinergy system
Print quality had to match Rehms Druck’s extremely high standards, and those demanded by customers. Rehms Druck also set out a challenge that the break-even point had to be low enough to move jobs from off set to the Konica Minolta AccurioJet KM-1 to allow them not only to save money but also increase their ability to turn jobs around quicker. Another a key factor was to reduce the lead time customers waited for work to be printed and shipped.
This would enable the company then to split work to prioritise the longer run lengths on off set, with the new UV inkjet press producing lots of small jobs improving their customers’ experience and at the same time increasing Rehms Druck profitability. A key saving was the ability to use the same media the off set presses were using on the new inkjet system.
This enabled the maximisation of purchasing power with paper merchants through the highly accurate colour capabilities of KM-1 to print and match their clients’ corporate colours. The result was not only increased efficiency, but jobs were proving to be highly profitable. Rehms Druck also wanted to grow business opportunities in new markets and innovate its print offering to existing and new clients with the ability to print on a wide range of new media, including plastics.