Duni is the world’s leading supplier of tableware products. The company’s history began in 1949 with the production of a cup of wax paper and paper napkins. Today, Duni employs around 2,400 people and is headquartered in Malmö, Sweden. The company is listed on the NASDAQ Stockholm stock exchange.
Duni owns a paper mill in Skapaforsch, Sweden and two factories in Bramsche, Germany and Poznań. The company started its activity in Poland in 1993 by installing six machines and employing 20 people. 1998 was a breakthrough year. The company moved to its new headquarters, increasing the number of employees to 100 and the number of machines to 17.
In 2005, a new production hall was added for more machines. Today, Duni Poland owns 36 machines that produce napkins, plates, and displays and employs over 450 people. The company’s key values are innovation, quality, safety, and high environmental standards.
To increase production efficiency and minimize the negative environmental impact of photopolymer plate production, Duni Poland decided to switch to CtP technologies. The process of searching for new technological solutions tailored to the organization’s needs has begun.
Paweł Leszczyk, Efficiency Manager at Duni Poland, mentions the necessity of changes in the technology of plate preparation- “Our previous CtF exposure and development machines were already old. This caused increasing problems with the purchase of spare parts and service of these machines.
We have also implemented our ink-jet solution, which was more expensive than we expected. We often used the services of an external prepress company, but this model also failed in times of time pressure or a need for quick file changes. Growing environmental standards, the need to reduce chemicals, to apply energy savings in the production process, and the need for more flexibility in action have finally wiped out the analogue era in our prepress room.
In response to Duni’s precisely defined needs and expectations, Print Systems prepared a proposal to equip their prepress room with modern CtP machines for processing photopolymer plates. The final offer included an exposing unit with drying sections EXPOSURE 80, a washout machine Quicker SILVER 80, and a CtP Laser Amsky Aura 800S with RIP software. This optimal set fully met Duni’s investment needs.
“The decision to establish cooperation with Print Systems was made based on a thorough analysis of available solutions. The final choice of a supplier was determined by the existing cooperation with the company, based on professional technical support, fast service of devices on-site and modification of the RIP software to meet our requirements and working methods. The price of the solution and the conditions for implementing the technology were also significant. The technical support and advice we received at the planning stage and during the reconstruction of our prepress room turned out to be very valuable.” – says Paweł Leszczyk.
Water-based CtP prepress room
Device for exposure, drying and post-exposure of plates Exposure 80 is a state-of-the-art processor for preparing photopolymer plates in a maximum format of 660×810 mm. It has a 7″ touch panel for programming and process control, a cooled back exposure, and a main exposure table for process stability when working with CtP plates.
Quicker Silver 80 is a modern and safe washout machine for flexographic plates washed with water in a 660 x 880mm working format.
Laser CtP Amsky AURA 800S uses dynamic autofocus and drum load balancer, the so-called auto balance, to ensure the highest quality, stability, and constant speed of photopolymer plate processing. The vacuum system of the external drum keeps the photopolymer plate on its surface without the need to apply mounting tape to the area outside the plate.
The devices’ common features are easy operation and fast installation. Print Systems has trained prepress staff individually and provided continuous technical support through experienced Sales and Technical Advisors. All devices are covered by warranty, and Print Systems provides post-warranty service on the customer’s site.
The results of the new CtP water-based prepress room in Duni can already be summarized. Hard production data indicate a reduction in the preparation time of the printing form by approximately 40%. Each plate is made without errors at the first attempt, which significantly reduces the amount of waste.
The investment positively contributed to a change of work organization in the prepress room from two-shift to one-shift work, which generated large labour savings. Operators appreciate the greater comfort of plate processing. Now, it is easier for them to control the entire process, which requires less manual intervention.
According to Duni, purchasing equipment and CtP prepress technology is a good investment that is compliant with the company’s mission and a big step towards increasing production efficiency and competitiveness.
