PERFORMA

Dobruška/Prague-Újezd nad Lesy: The KBA-Grafitec company has noted on the Czech market that there has been an increased interest in their Performa printing machines in both format lines since the EmbaxPrint exhibition in May. The demand from the Czech printshops for the Performa 74 in the SRB2 format and also for the Performa 66 in the SRA2 format has been increasing. The smaller of the format lines tends to be favoured by the small and medium size companies mainly for such reasons as the optimal relation of the price, efficiency and the quality. A good example of the effective use of the KBA-Grafitec small-format printing machines is in the printshop of Mr. Petr Chrt from Újezd nad Lesy. This company has been printing with the KBA-Performa 66-4 since the middle of October.

The history of the Petr Chrt - Polygrafické práce (Polygraphic work) printshop is characteristic of many small-format printshops in the Czech Republic. Mr. Petr Chrt trained to become a printer in 1981 after having worked for a newspaper printshop. He set up his printshop business in 1994 in Újezd nad Lesy and went through similar experiences to many other printers as his printshop gradually replaced several repaired machines. He started working on the Romayor 312, which was produced in 1968 and then he bought another one two years later, followed by a Dominant 714, repaired in Dobruška. The Dominant 725 was the first two-colour machine. Mr. Chrt bought his first four-colour printing machine in 1999 when he acquired a second hand Polly 745 that had more than 11 million turns. The printshop bought a Polly 266 machine just one year later and this year replaced the first four-colour machine with the new KBA Performa 66-4 machine.

The four-colour machine in the SRA2 format came from the Dobruška company and came complete with a generous kit. The above standard equipment offers the Inkdry Plus infrared dryer and the machine was supplied with the Montaloch register system. The manufacturer supplies the machine either with the creepers or with the walkways. The printshop selected the walkways on the operation side of the machine. In comparison with the older type of the four-colour Polly 745, the machine operation has an easier job, as the basic functions of the printing machines can be controlled from the touch screen on the delivery unit.

Quick machine replacement

The new Performa 66-4 replaced the Polly 745. The older machine printed approximately 25 million sheets in Újezd nad Lesy and the supplier took the printer in part exchange. The installation process has been described by Mr. Chrt as follows: "The suppliers staff took the original Polly 745 machine apart and drove it away within two hours on the Monday. The same day, the new Performa 66-4 was delivered. The machine was assembled on Tuesday and we started printing on Wednesday. The machine started making money that same day in the afternoon". The printshop owner admits that he was a little anxious during the installation as the production space in his printshop is quite cramped and does not allow parallel operation of both the four-colour machines. The installation process went ahead very quickly so no compromise needed to be made in order to complete the order deadline.

Mr. Chrt gives a positive evaluation not only to the organization and quick machine replacement but also to the provided service: "I do not experience any problems with the Dobruška machines so the service is needed only rarely. We were in need of service repair only for the older two-colour machine and this was done to our satisfaction."

The printshop of Mr. Chrt in Újezd nad Lesy is definitely not one of the biggest. This company can be embodied as very small one in terms of the size scale of Czech printing companies. The printshop concentrates on the mercantile production where the orders consist of advertising prints, posters and other leaflets. The customer base consists of not only regular customers from Prague but also from other part of the Czech Republic. The equipment allows the printshop to keep prices competitive. The latest investment into a Performa 66-4 also proves that this company is capable of creating resources for renewal of the machine facility. Most of the orders are already performed with the printing plates from the CtP. "We have transferred about 90% of our orders onto the CtP," stated Mr. Chrt. The printing plates are provided for us by the cooperative firm in Prague.

The owner did not consider the purchase of a different machine make. The offer from KBA-Grafitec was the most interesting from the financial point of view. "The printshop product is concentrated on low volume printing and for this then the Performa machine is an ideal choice. A volume of ten thousand print-outs represents for us a big order" said Mr. Chrt. The usual print-out volume represents between two to five thousand copies, although it is often less than that. The printshop is equipped to provide simpler completing work and binding V1 and V2 is ensured in cooperation.

Not only mercantile production

The printshop does not focus only on mercantile production. More demanding publications are also printed. This proves the usefulness of the multi-purpose printing machines from Grafitec in the SRA2 format for the mercantile production as well as for the high quality and demanding printing of publications. Mr. Chrt's company prints bibliophiles in small volumes. The printshop received a prestige reward within the competition for the most beautiful book of the year 2002. They received the 1st prize for the bibliophile called: I am nobody! Who are you? written by Emily Vickinson. In the year 2003, third prize was received for the bibliophile novel of Thomas Mann, Death in Venice. Both books were printed by the company of Mr. Petr Chrt for the publishing house of Aulos bibliophilic print and graphics, Prague. Binding was done by the Atelier Krupka from Úvaly near Prague.

Not only printing work

The Petr Chrt - Polygrafické práce Company is situated on the quiet outskirts of Prague. The owner lives together with his family in the family house next to the printshop. The family house as well as the printshop is surrounded by the garden where Mr. Chrt implements his big hobby which is growing vines. He is the proud owner of a five year old vineyard consisting of 120 grapevines. He grows varieties such as Cabernet Moravia and Tramín red. The attic of the printshop holds a small museum of vine growing. He has collected many tools and historical instruments used in traditional wine culture.

The printshop of Mr. Peter Chrt is situated in the house in Újezd nad Lesy on the outskirts of Prague.

The owner of the printshop, Mr. Petr Chrt (on the right) and the printer, Mr. Marek Dvořák, standing by the newly purchased KBA Performa 66-4 printing machine.

Mr. Petr Chrt standing in his wine culture museum, which is located in the attic space of the printshop.