Mart.Spruijt/Grafinoord

Based in Amsterdam, Mart.Spruijt/Grafinoord bv specializes in high quality book productions for the arts and cultural industry, but also produces all types of commercial printed materials

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Mart.Spruijt/Grafinoord
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This company employs 32 people and has a turnover of €7 million.The customer base is made up of advertising agencies, graphic designers, photographers, artists, and publishers. The company also works with the :Apogee prepress workflow of Agfa Graphics.

We interviewed Marco Kokkelkoren, Prepress Manager.

Mr. Kokkelkoren, what makes Mart.Spruijt/Grafinoord so unique in the market?

Customers choose us for our quality, know-how and our specialization in the processing of complex orders in terms of paper type, printing and finishing. Our goal is to provide these services at the correct price. To this end, we continuously invest in automation and staff training.

Why did you choose the :Apogee workflow system?

We chose :Apogee for the high level of automation and scalability of the various available modules. In addition, Agfa Graphics provides us with all the equipment we need to carry out these processes, such as platesetters, colour proofers, etc.
:Apogee also offers a clearly structured system overview and is very user friendly.
It is the central hub of our network where all processes are carried out with a high level of reliability.
:Apogee functions which we find very useful are "Doubleburn" in "Platemaker", and "2-up Split for Proof" in combination with "Versioning". We also highly value the enhanced intelligence within "Impose" and the rest of the workflow.

How do you see :Apogee develop further?

Apogee is important for imaging CtP plates, but it's also the perfect software for managing a hybrid workflow (press/print).

Your company uses also the :Apogee Inksave module, what is your experience with this product?

We don't use :Apogee Inksave just to save money, but above all for quality reasons.
This software enhances the print quality on uncoated paper types, thanks to the use of :Inksave in combination with :Sublima 210 and press repurposing. The TAC reduction works positively and produces bright and detailed printed results. On coated and matt coated paper, :Inksave ensures a more stable printing process that is less color cast sensitive and dries quicker. The reason for this is that less ink is printed on the dark areas, resulting in faster backprinting.

What is your experience with :Apogee Impose?

All new orders are now processed with :Apogee Impose.
Preps is no longer actively used, an existing Preps template may be used occasionally for unchanged reprints from the archive.

What is the role of :Apogee within your hybrid workflow?

Alongside our KBA106 presses, we have two Xerox 700 printers and one Xerox 4110 printer. These digital presses are used for folder proofing and commercial printing. This digital printing can be combined with offset printing to integrate variable data.
All our presses, both analog and digital, are controlled via the :Apogee workflow.
The Xerox presses can be accessed via :Apogee "Split for Proof" and "PDF-Proofer" and are used for folder proofing.

To what extent is your MIS system integrated with :Apogee?

The MIS system we have chosen is TNR Multipress because the package fits into an automated working environment. It offers a comprehensive set of standard functions and can be extended with additional modules.
It can also be actively linked to our :Apogee, but this has not yet been done. We are, however, preparing the installation of a JDF link between both systems.

Are you planning a "web-to-print" application?

We are certainly interested in "web to print", but we have not yet found the appropriate software for our needs. "Web to print" should be integrated into the existing Multipress and :Apogee automation environment. The higher level of automation and reliability should result in cost savings both for us and for the customer.

Are you satisfied with the service provided by Agfa Graphics ?

Our experience with "Remote Support" is very positive, it results in swift response times, there are no more waiting times for service staff caught up in traffic jams, etc.
The collaboration with Agfa Graphics is excellent, we particularly appreciate their effort to think along with us to find the right solution within :Apogee, and the quality of their people.

Related Keywords

Commercial Printing
Apogee Suite
Netherlands
Mart. Spruijt / Grafinoord