Keine Kartusche ist vor dem QS-Team sicher

NO CARTRIDGE IS SAFE FROM THE QA TEAM

Since 1993, KMP Print Technik AG has produced a large proportion of its toner modules and inkjet cartridges at its Czech factory in Čkyně. The Bavarian hardcopy specialist has invested heavily in the site over the last few years – particularly in the expansion of toner production. In early July, we had the opportunity to visit the modern production site in the Bohemian Forest, where we obtained a genuine picture of the company’s high quality standards and meticulously optimised production processes.

As soon as you enter the production site of KMP Bürotechnik s.r.o. in the Czech village of Čkyně you are immediately struck by how clean everything is: spic and span industrial floors, work processes optimised down to the finest detail – not a trace of toner dust in the air or toner residue on the floor.

These high standards are crucially important not only for workers’ health, but also for the high quality level of the products. This is not – as the Swabian saying goes – cleanliness only for cleanliness’s sake, but instead involve creating the perfect conditions for the production of KMP brand toners and inks. Of course high standards do come at a price. Production Manager Jürgen Baur: “Our modern extraction systems filter around 10,000 m3 of air every hour.”

At the same time, the same quantity of clean air is blasted back into the halls – so that the employees in production don't run out of breath... The Čkyně site currently produces a good 60,000 toners per shift and month, while up to 100,000 are produced in the entire Group.

In addition to the Bohemian Forest site, the KMP Group has other production sites in France, Poland, Romania and South Africa. Where necessary, this capacity can be stepped up at any time. Baur: “There is plenty of room for manoeuvre.” This is particularly important given that the toner business at KMP has grown significantly in the last two years: the toner modules already contribute more to overall turnover than inkjet cartridges, with which the Bavarian company grew into what it is today. It is primarily the ongoing boom in A4 laser printers that is fuelling the demand for colour toner cartridges: in 2013 alone KMP launched more than 100 new toners on the market.

PRECISION DOWN TO TENTHS OF A MILLIMETRE 

The production process starts with the empty cartridge. As for most European hardcopy recyclers, KMP’s toner business relies 100% on recycled modules, so that the collection and preparation of empty cartridges is crucially important. Jürgen Baur: “The empty unit is the basis of our production.” The company works exclusively with “virgin” cartridges that have still not been remanufactured, and operates its own collection system for empty ink cartridges under the “Save Resources” brand.

The high quality demands KMP puts on itself apply even to the empty unit. Before going into production, the empty cartridges thus undergo a comprehensive quality check. Baur: “Since we introduced the check, we have been able to cut the number of rejected empties by 30-35%.” The sorting and processing of the empty units for production takes place entirely manually and is therefore very time-consuming, which is why this task was outsourced to Čkyně around two years ago. A positive side-effect is the direct connection to production.

In the first step of toner production, the OEM indications on the modules are either pasted over or removed by means of CNC milling. This work needs to be precise down to a tenth of a millimetre – Baur’s eyes light up as he explains the process. This is where this qualified engineer’s Swabian roots are clearly revealed – when it comes to precision work and the optimisation of processes, there’s no stopping the Production Manager. The CNC milling machines are just one of many examples of how KMP thinks and works: first the necessary machines are purchased externally. Work then begins immediately on adapting these to the individual needs of the production process and on developing the tools for the appliances independently. “This works out much cheaper than if we were to buy everything in”, explains Baur. “Furthermore, the machines are then much more precisely adapted to our day-to-day needs.”

FROM LINE WORKER TO CHIEF DESIGN ENGINEER

KMP actively involves its employees in Čkyně in the improvement of processes and the further development of its machinery: after all, it is they who assemble the cartridges day in, day out and who therefore know exactly where there are issues. Motivated employees also get the chance to climb the career ladder. One specific example is the current Chief Design Engineer in Čkyně, Tomas Dolcar, who has team responsibility for four other employees and originally worked on the production line for nylon tapes.

Once the empty cartridges are disassembled, they are cleaned in a fully automatic process using compressed air: at the same time, any residual toner is removed by the extraction system. This is followed by refilling of the cartridges with new toner powder, replacement of any wearing parts and then final assembly and packaging of cartridges. In addition to the production workers, KMP Bürotechnik employs eight trainers who are easily recognised by their red T-shirts: they ensure consistency and an even level of expertise in production. They often join in on the production line in order to get an idea of where there might be a need for further improvement.

EVERY CARTRIDGE UNDERGOES SEVERAL TESTS

Employees in Čkyně are currently working at full steam on the conversion of toner production: in the future, the components of a toner cartridge that are already matched with one another are to stay together for as long as possible. To this end, each cartridge will initially be divided into two halves, which will be reassembled only at the end of the production process. In the course of this conversion, the company will shift towards greater specialisation in toner production: every employee will be responsible for just one or very few components. This should cut the error rate further and give an added boost to quality.

KMP places particular emphasis on quality assurance (QA). This area is the responsibility of Dieter Hochriegl: he is in charge of a three-man team in Eggenfelden, as well as ten further employees in Čkyně. No cartridge is “safe” from Hochriegl’s QA team: each one undergoes several tests, and only if all the results are positive is the cartridge eventually released for sale. Comprehensive QA measures are implemented as early as the product development stage, and this continues with the checking of the empty cartridge. There is then a hard proof for every (!) cartridge: for standard products this comprises five to six pages, but complex products like the Brother DR-130 can require 50 pages. The next level is quality assurance in Čkyně: for all toner products, the internal QA department singles out cartridges in a random sampling process across all production areas, and tests them all. The final check then takes place in Eggenfelden before the cartridges are despatched: here, comprehensive sight and sample checks with test prints are carried out yet again.

In testing as well, nothing is left up to chance: the QA department has therefore set out clear instructions for production tests, sight checks and sample checks. There are precise instructions as to which cartridges are tested with which test page and to what extent.

IT’S OFTEN THE DETAILS THAT DECIDE

Of course the elaborate, multistage tests come at a price: the paper for the test prints alone amounts to three palettes per month. Added to this are umpteen OEM cartridges, which are used to ensure a clean comparison, as well as a full “armada” of test printers. But all this ensures that the quality of the KMP toner modules is first-rate. A return rate of barely 1% is testament to this high level. Often it’s just small details that ultimately decide whether a cartridge does what it promises or not: this might be a high-quality instead of a cheap wearing part, or a chemically instead of a clearly inferior, mechanically produced toner.

Often these differences do not appear immediately, but only towards the end of a cartridge’s life-cycle. In Eggenfelden the company therefore “allows” itself the luxury of printing exhaustively with samples of the toner modules produced in Čkyně in order to be completely sure. KMP CEO Jan-Michael Sieg: “When it comes to assessing the quality of toner cartridges, reliable longevity tests are crucial.” He believes it is too bad that the industry has not been able to agree on stricter, more uniform quality standards. “We have long since met the new DIN standards for remanufactured toners, even though that doesn’t really help us when it comes to differentiating ourselves effectively from cheaper products.”

With each new cartridge, the test process begins again. Shortcuts are not permitted. Sieg: “Our elaborate test processes naturally put a high financial burden on the company. But this is the only way we can ensure that our trade partners and the users get top quality.”

STEP-BY-STEP KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER

The care taken in the quality control process is matched by KMP at the beginning of the production process as well – in the development of new cartridges. The eight-person research and development department in Eggenfelden is headed up by Dr Stefan Woelki.

Initially, the original cartridges are analysed to the ‘nth’ degree. The hunt for the necessary components and wearing parts can then begin. Afterwards – and this is becoming something of a theme – the team conducts thorough tests with the original cartridges. If the quality of a newly developed KMP toner module is sufficient, then a detailed product folder is produced. Next comes the crucial step: Woelki or one of his employees travels to Čkyně in order to produce a pilot series – in close cooperation with the local QA department. Only when this batch meets the high quality standards does it go into series production – provided there are already enough empty cartridges available.

Woelki: “The crucial thing in the overall process is that the knowledge we build up in Eggenfelden is transferred to the QA staff and trainers in the Czech Republic once development has been completed. They can then pass it on to all the employees in production.” Everything is carefully managed to ensure in the end there is a high-quality product. The fact that all the effort undertaken by KMP carries a price should come as no surprise, at least not to anyone who has ever seen the production process in Čkyně for him- or herself.

A WELL DEVELOPED, FULL-RANGE SUPPLIER

The internationally organised KMP Print Technik AG is represented by its own branches in nine countries worldwide. Founded by Heinz G. Sieg as a three-man business in the Lower Bavarian town of Eggenfelden in 1988, the hardcopy workshop has since developed into a full-range provider with a current workforce of around 600. KMP offers its customers a complete range of printer supplies – manufactured in-house – from compatible and recycled inkjet cartridges, to recycled toner cartridges, all the way through to thermo-transfer ribbons for label printers and fax machines, as well as coloured ribbons for cash registers, matrix printers and typewriters.

The production of inks and toners, which comprises the lion’s share of KMP’s business, takes place at its modern factory site in the Czech village of Čkyně. There, KMP’s subsidiary company KMP Bürotechnik s.r.o. operates three production halls and two high-rack warehouses covering an area over 10,000 square metres. Some 200 employees currently produce hundreds of thousands of products each month here. A daily factory shuttle links the production site in the Bohemian Forest to the headquarters in Eggenfelden.

More info on KMP,
with a comprehensive photo gallery of the company and of the Čkyně production site in particular, can be found in the internet at tinyurl.com/lpsrdr5 [Digital Imaging 4-2014/ho]

Source:
The original German text has been published by the German magazine Digital Imaging, issue 4-2014, by publisher bit-Verlag (www.di-branche.de),
author Dr. Hubert Ortner. The English version is provided for publication by courtesy of bit-Verlag/Digital Imaging/Dr. Hubert Ortner.