GENEVA, SWITZERLAND, - The Printing Centre Poligrafici Il Borgo Spa, a specialist provider of printing services for the publishing industry, has increased its production capacity after reorganising its prepress infrastructure, which now includes a new KODAK MAGNUS XLF 80 QUANTUM Platesetter, the KODAK INSITE Prepress Portal System, and KODAK PRINERGY Rules-Based Automation Software.

Bologna-based Poligrafici Il Borgo initially set out in the publishing world, focusing on sports titles in particular. The company later won a number of important customers operating in the commercial and retail sectors.

Poligrafici Il Borgo's current production schedule includes sports weeklies such as AutoSprint and MotoSprint, and monthly publications like AM Automese and IN Moto for the Conti Editore group, to which Poligrafici Il Borgo also belongs.

Today Poligrafici Il Borgo has two rotary presses, while its subsidiary, Polipress, has two 4 and 5-colour sheet printing machines for non-stop, 24/7 production.

Efficiency, speed and print quality are the main drivers behind Poligrafici Il Borgo's investment in the latest Kodak technology and machinery.

Optimising production
With an output of 5,000 plates per month, the prepress department is the heart of Poligrafici Il Borgo's set-up. The company opted for KODAK solutions for plate production and workflow management many years ago, when it decided to offer direct prepress management.

"Offering prepress services increased our competitiveness," comments Vincenzo Geslao, General Manager of Poligrafici Il Borgo. "We're extremely satisfied with our collaboration with Kodak. Their engineers have supported us throughout all stages of implementing the workflow system.

"At the start of the year, we set ourselves the goal of increasing our efficiency in prepress, and had no hesitation in turning to Kodak again."

Kodak's new prepress systems have brought more efficiency throughout the production process, increasing automation in all areas.

The new KODAK MAGNUS XLF Platesetter, working alongside a KODAK MAGNUS VLF Platesetter, produces plates of up to 1,296 x 2,260 mm. These two very-large-format CTPs feature KODAK SQUARESPOT Imaging Technology, dynamic autofocus, and thermal compensation, ensuring extremely accurate imaging regardless of normal variations on the plate's surface and temperature fluctuations, and high optical resolution for stochastic screening.

Together with the KODAK TRILLIAN SP Thermal Plates, the two MAGNUS Platesetters ensure Poligrafici Il Borgo can handle production peaks and keep the numerous printing machines constantly supplied with a high-quality feed: "We have print runs amounting to millions of copies," adds Geslao.

Poligrafici Il Borgo adopts an environmentally-friendly approach to production. In addition to being FSC and PEFC certified, the company has introduced the KODAK TRILLIAN SP Thermal Plates, which use up to 70% less chemistry than previous plate systems from Kodak.

The TRILLIAN SP Plates also deliver financial benefits, as they significantly reduce development, storage and disposal costs. These advantages do not mean compromising quality, however. TRILLIAN SP Plates feature a revolutionary negative-working coating, which offers high sensitivity while maintaining optimum levels of resolution, consistency, resistance and durability.

Increasing automation
Poligrafici Il Borgo has a highly advanced KODAK PRINERGY CONNECT Workflow System, ensuring work proceeds through the various production stages in JDF format and provides a complete back-up of the database and job data. The prepress workflow system is integrated with the KODAK INSITE Prepress Portal System, which lets Poligrafici Il Borgo manage print approvals remotely, and allows customers to track the progress of their jobs.

"One of the key components of the KODAK INSITE Prepress Portal System is the exclusive email secure-link feature which simplifies our project management," continues Geslao. "We send each user a unique link to access the project and complete individual tasks, which really speeds up the job and approval process."

Prepress work has been further streamlined via KODAK PRINERGY Rules-Based Automation Software that automates processes by taking a specific action in response to a specific event. As soon as the event is identified, the corresponding action is triggered and performed automatically by the workflow system. The benefits of the Rules-Based Automation Software include faster job processing, reduced human errors, increased cycle time, and ultimately, lower costs.

Geslao notes that the prepress processing of some categories of jobs is now fully automated: "Today, very few operations have to be done by a prepress operator – everything is automated and controlled by the KODAK PRINERGY CONNECT Workflow with the KODAK PRINERGY Rules-Based Automation Software."

There are no doubts about the impact of automation: "We've saved a lot of time using the KODAK PRINERGY Rules-Based Automation Software, which means we can handle more jobs.

"It also means our staff can spend less time on routine tasks, and more time supporting our customers. This has enabled us to grow our customer base in the commercial sector."