DZZ Druckzentrum Zurich

Switzerland's largest and most productive newspaper printer, DZZ Druckzentrum Zurich prints high volumes of publications and commercial materials and demands correspondingly high performance from their offset plates. In recent years they've exclusively used Kodak violet plates to meet their expectations for efficiency, stability, and clean processing.

Operated by the Swiss publisher Tamedia, DZZ Druckzentrum Zurich has a weekly output of about 10 million newspapers, magazines, and commercial products for both their parent company and outside contracts. They image plates on three violet CTP lines, and their Koenig & Bauer Commander CT 6/2 web press line consists of five 72-page printing units that operate 24/7 in three shifts—which all adds up to about 1.3 million offset plates used yearly. That kind of volume creates high demands: they need a plate that can stand up to run lengths of 200,000, with a uniform coating, consistent dot sharpness, reliable ink transfer, and, of course, high print quality. DZZ found all that in 2018 when they began exclusively using Kodak's original violet LIBRA VP Plate. The plates delivered on price and performance expectations, but the printer was always on the lookout for even better stability and cleaner processing.

When Kodak invited DZZ to beta-test the next-generation KODAK LIBRA VP2 Digital Plates in 2019, the printer jumped at the opportunity, hoping to see advances that could help boost their efficiency and productivity. With the support of an on-site Kodak expert, they begin trialing the new plates, imaging on their high-throughput, 240-pph CTP lines and using the new KODAK COF-2 clean-out finisher in their conventional plate processors with prewash turned off. They tested printing with the plates across a variety of papers and their standard 150 lpi AM screen. The trial showed strong results across the board: the new plates delivered excellent print quality and were even more robust and stable than the previous versions, plus the new chemistry was longer-lasting, keeping the processors much cleaner. It was an easy decision to upgrade their entire Zurich operation to the LIBRA VP2 Plates in late 2019.

Thanks to the new COF-2 solution used with the LIBRA VP2 Plates, DZZ Druckzentrum Zurich spends less time on cleaning their processors, translating to labor savings and more uptime. Plus, they find that the clean-out finisher now lasts for about 4,000 square meters of plate processing rather than their previous 2,500 even with the same amount of replenisher, saving them money and boosting sustainability. Their entire workflow, from prepress to on-press, now runs more smoothly—an improvement they credit largely to Kodak's reliable technology. The Zurich site's upgrade was such a success that not long after, the company's newspaper production site in Lausanne made the same transition to LIBRA VP2 Plates.