Chromos Group AG has been distributing CRON CTP systems in Switzerland for several years. With success: almost 40 installations speak for themselves. However, communication has always been somewhat reserved - CRON is a Chinese supplier. China and "good price"? Everyone knows that. But China in connection with "best possible technology plus top quality"? Few people believe that. Yet these are precisely the reasons why Werner Druck & Medien AG, for example, has recently opted for a CRON system. The Chromos Group clearly states: "CRON products are currently the technologically best CTP systems on the market." This shatters certainties.
Text: Paul Fischer / Image: Chromos Group
There was a time when a modern CTP system - alongside the printing press or the new saddle stitcher - was an important prestige investment for graphic arts companies. There is not much sign of this today. CTP systems are still an essential production element for print shops with analog printing technologies, a so-called bottleneck: if the CTP system is not working, the printing presses also stand still.
However, the technological progress seen at and after the turn of the millennium is a thing of the past when viewed from the outside. A decade ago, CTP systems achieved a level of productivity and automation that is sufficient for the most diverse needs of print shops. When the first 96-page web offset systems were introduced to the market in 2008, it was still a real challenge for CTP providers. However, the trend of "ever more powerful, ever faster" has long since been broken. Large web presses are rarely ordered these days (compared to 2008). Therefore, there is simply no longer any reason to develop even faster CTP systems. This is also linked to the very high level of reliability and production security of CTP systems.
Around the year 2000, even medium-sized print shops were still relying on back-up solutions and working with two machines in the event of a breakdown. In this country, this is now only the case at Swissprinters and the large newspaper printers. The CTP system - once an exciting product of the finest engineering skill - has therefore become a commodity. The manufacturing market for CTP systems has changed accordingly. A comprehensive concentration process has taken place.
For a long time, the undisputed innovator in the CTP market was the Japanese company Screen. Agfa and Fuji have also been relying on Screen systems sold under their own label for a number of years, at least in the commercial sector. Heidelberg and Kodak have also established themselves on the market with their own systems. In the noughties, the idea of building high-performance CTP systems in China still seemed far-fetched. But that is now a thing of the past.
What many people don't realize is that most of what is supplied today as a CTP system is completely or at least partially "made in China". Screen has an assembly plant in China, as does Kodak. However, the final assembly of Kodak systems is again carried out in Vancouver, probably for customs reasons. The only company that has so far manufactured everything in Europe is Heidelberg. Against this background, the CRON story doesn't really seem all that unusual. However, there is one significant difference to all the manufacturers mentioned: CRON's core business is the development and construction of CTP systems.
THE COMPANY FROM HANGZHOU
The founder, owner and chief technician of the company is Mike Xiang. His CV also includes a professorship at a technical university in Beijing. The company is headquartered in Hangzhou, around 190 km southwest of Shanghai. Population? 9.2 million. Not a big deal by Chinese standards. In China's history, the city has always played an important role as a trading and economic center; in the Middle Ages it was the seat of the Song Dynasty. Marco Polo, who traveled through China at the time, described the city as "the most beautiful and magnificent city in the world". Today, the greater Hangzhou area is often referred to as the "Silicon Valley" of China. Alibaba has its headquarters here. According to a recent list by Forbes magazine, there are 47 billionaires in Hangzhou. The city is therefore listed as the "tenth richest city in the world". A curiosity on the side: in the greater Hangzhou area there is a faithful 108 meter high replica of the Eiffel Tower.
In the fall of 2018, the author of this article visited CRON's development and production facilities as part of a study trip. Before the visit, the question was "CRON who?", but after the visit it was clear to all participants what a gem the Chinese company is. A development and production center that has nothing to hide from manufacturers from Japan, Europe and North America in terms of know-how, manufacturing processes and quality awareness.
In an interview with "swiss print + communication", Stefan Werner (Head of CRON EMEAR), Thomas Früh from GP Systems (CRON consultant in Switzerland for many years and in close cooperation with the Chromos Group) and Adrian Meyer and Patrick Martin from the Chromos Group talk about the advantages of CRON systems. Adrian Meyer uses a visual example to explain what sets CRON apart from all other suppliers: "At the last drupa, there was only one manufacturer that showed CTP in all its variants on its stand. And that was CRON. All the other established Western and Japanese manufacturers hid their CTP systems, if they had one at all, somewhere on the edge of the stand. The focus was clearly on the various digital printing systems. For me, this signaled very clearly which technology strategies the companies are pursuing with them. Five years have now passed since the last drupa. During this time, CRON has introduced new innovations, expanded its range of CTP platesetters and developed new systems. Competitors have not brought anything new to the market in this time."
WHAT SPEAKS FOR CRON?
Adrian Meyer says clearly: "We don't sell CRON systems on the basis of the best price, but on the basis of the best price-performance ratio." Patrick Martin adds: "Many commercial customers in Switzerland work with CTP systems that are now ten or more years old. We believe there is a need to catch up here. In general, there are two strategies that we see on the market today. CTP systems are replaced by a system from the respective supplier as part of a new printing plate contract, a comprehensive workflow update or an investment in a new sheetfed offset press.
With CRON, we are positioning ourselves purely on the capital goods track. It doesn't matter who the customer has a record contract with or which workflow they use. We argue with the advantages that CRON technology offers. Through our exclusive partnership with Fuji, we can of course offer customers both strategies."
Thomas Früh emphasizes the technical advantages: "CRON relies on a single-diode exposure system compared to the GLV laser technology used by many competitors. GLV promises faster exposure times, CRON relies on other construction techniques. The disadvantage of GLV is that if a diode in the system breaks, the entire head has to be replaced. With the single diode system, only the individual diode has to be replaced. At the same time, the customer can continue production until the technician is called out, the imagesetter is simply slower. In terms of total cost of ownership, CRON offers the best solution."
Patrick Martin mentions another advantage: "CRON builds extremely compact systems. This applies not only to the platesetters, but also to the automation applications and other additional units that are developed in-house or built directly into the CTP system. We have seen various installations where customers have placed the new CRON system next to the existing system - the one that was still in production. In many new CTP installations where CRON has not been chosen, this is not possible for space reasons. First the old system has to be dismantled, only then can the new one be put in its place."
THE DEVELOPMENT
Stefan Werner explains the development of CRON: "The company was founded in 1992 and has focused on the CTP segment. The focus has always been on the export market. Over 6,000 systems have been installed worldwide to date. Screen certainly still has significantly more installations on the market, but if we look at sales over the last four or five years, we estimate that we are the current CTP market leader in Asia and Europe. Despite our cooperation with ECRM, we are struggling somewhat in the USA, but this is primarily for political reasons. Specifically, the trade conflict between China and the USA."
He continues: "Company founder Mike Xiang has a clearly formulated goal: to build the best CTP systems. The overall strategy is geared towards this and CRON has introduced a number of innovations in recent years, such as the dual-drum platesetter for high production volumes. Today, CRON covers the offset market in all format classes and offers solutions for newspaper printing and flexo printing. A wide variety of printing plate technologies can be used." According to Stefan Werner, around 7 people work for CRON EMEAR and there is also an extensive spare parts warehouse in Germany.
Thomas Früh can also give the all-clear against the backdrop of the various supply crises: "I have been looking after and knowing systems and machines from a wide range of manufacturers for over 30 years. But I have never experienced anything as reliable and robust as CRON. In a way, I'm a fan of CRON because I simply see and experience what this company does on a daily basis. The spare parts warehouse in Europe covers everything. It was always clear to company founder Mike Xiang that he could only be successful worldwide if he offered an extensive stock of spare parts and a well-established and competent service network in addition to the best and most innovative CTP systems."
Patrick Martin emphasizes at the end of the interview: "We sell CRON because it offers the best CTP systems. This statement is not made by us, but by our customers, such as Werner Druck & Medien AG, who have really taken a very close look at the CRON solution."
CTP is CRON!
