With a rich 118-year history, The Burke Group of Edmonton, Alberta, knows how to evolve successfully. Today, the organization is a leader in the Canadian printing industry. CEO Ian Burke is driving the print market forward by advancing print technology, adapting to business changes, and becoming a valued single, in-house source for quality print, signage, direct mail, graphic design, and digital services.
Clients enjoy the benefits of a seamless concept-to-completion service with a supplier that respects the environment by adopting the newest and most sustainable products and processes available.
Respecting the environment
As part of its sustainability objectives, the Burke Group uses Apogee from Agfa (Booth C8130) as a driving force for production, and Agfa’s Energy Elite Pro no-bake, thermal plates for consistent print quality.
“XML fed by our home grown MIS drives our Apogee workflow,” explains Brad Clark, prepress manager at the Burke Group. “A large percentage of our work is processed automatically, maintaining control of all prepress processes with minimal operator touch. Because of these automations, Burke Group is able to centralize all prepress functions using a unified Apogee workflow feeding satellite plants from one location.”
Apogee offers compatibility with the latest formats, software programs, and print engines. It efficiently handles print jobs to optimize press sheets and press time.
Simplifying production
“Our goal is to simplify the production process by achieving efficiencies in prepress and on press,” states Clark. “Training staff on Apogee is easy, it’s simple, powerful, and intuitive.”
To better serve customers, Clark recognized the need to streamline Burke’s G7 color management processes across pressroom locations in Edmonton and Calgary. They turned to PressTune, a print standardization tool that integrates with Apogee. “PressTune challenges us to refine our processes so we can achieve higher evaluated scores,” explains Clark. “Simplistic to use, it takes minimum time to achieve G7 standard. It helps us to identify problems and correct curves that we can import into our unified Apogee workflow for either Edmonton or Calgary plants.”
Better ink control
Burke Group recognized the next step was to control ink coverage with InkTune as part of its Agfa solution. InkTune integrates into the prepress workflow to improve color control by using Gray Component Replacement (GCR). GCR substitutes CMY inks with more economical black (K) ink for better ink control. Together, PressTune and InkTune help achieve faster makeready times, and reduces waste while increasing productivity.
Focused on ecology, economy, and extra convenience, or ECO3, Agfa offers hardware, software, and consumables that make printing operations cleaner, more cost effective, and easier to operate and maintain.
With faster turnaround times, Burke Group is increasing its short run capacity exponentially. With Apogee, PressTune, and InkTune integrated workflow solutions standardizing their operations, they have been able to increase productivity and deliver a superior product to their valued customers.
By adopting sustainable solutions from Agfa, Burke Group is validating its performance, and is destined to maintain their longstanding industry leadership for decades to come.
- People:
- Ian Burke