The global pandemic has hit commercial printers especially hard. Orders placed by customers in the tourism, hospitality, art & culture and retail sectors, in particular, have dried up across the board. At the same time, print companies are especially dependent on advertising budgets. And yet who is going to kick off a new advertising campaign when they are fighting to make ends meet, and are not even sure that they will survive the crisis? Moreover, the companies will only begin stocking up their advertising budgets once their own economic situation has improved significantly. Many print companies will need to remain patient, as they will only profit from the upswing with a considerable delay.
Even so, there are quite a few print companies that are putting these times of crisis to good use by preparing themselves for challenges to come. They are conducting tests like there’s no tomorrow in the search for new print products, new finishing options, or interesting processing solutions that could help to grow their market share. They are investing in new equipment that will allow them to produce more efficiently, to win over potential customers with perfect quality, and to get themselves set up for the future.All of which means that there are plenty of reasons why now is a good time to invest. And there is one technology platform which is establishing an ever-stronger foothold among German commercial printers: the Rapi da 106 X – the new high-end printing system for medium formats.
Three commercial printers with completely different business
models have installed the Rapida 106 X as pilot users. With great success, as
the first results show.
Fully automated – plate logistics at Krüger Druck & Verlag
Krüger Druck+Verlag, a
full-service print provider based in the small town of Merzig in Germany’s
Saarland, operates an eight-colour Rapida 106 X for 4-over-4 perfecting with an
additional inline coater. The press is integrated into a fully automatic plate
logistics system. With operating speeds of up to 20,000 sheets per hour – which
also extends to perfecting – the Rapida 106 X now represents the backbone of
the company’s production facilities.
Krüger Druck+Verlag prints a large range of different flyers,
folders, magazines, books and many other commercial products with either wire
stitching or adhesive bindings. The run lengths for many of these products are
on the decline, while, in contrast, page counts are simultaneously increasing
and the demand for multiple versions and variants is continuing to grow,
thereby making fast makeready a decisive advantage. The simultaneous makeready
processes, however, make the Rapida 106 X virtually unparalleled in this
regard. The modular PlateTronic plate logistics system, which links the
platesetter directly to the plate changers on the individual printing units by
means of a plate magazine with a capacity for 256 plates, represents another
invaluable contribution to production automation.
Printing, coating and die-cutting in one – SDV in Dresden
A fully equipped CutPRO X rotary die-cutter unit for creasing
and cutting of the print products has been integrated ahead of the printing
units for the Rapida 106 X at SDV in Dresden. It is followed by eight printing
units with a convertible perfecting unit for 4-over-4 production, as well as a
coater and extended delivery. This configuration allows the press to realise
fully automated inline production of high-quality finished direct mail
products, all in a single pass.
The maximum production speed when using the die-cutting unit is 15,000
sheets per hour. It is only when especially demanding substrates, such as
lightweight papers, are used that the Rapida 106 X runs a little slower.
Alongside the high production speed, which is around 20 per cent higher than
the press that was previously installed, SDV enjoys the benefits of the
exceptionally short stops for makeready. The managing director's overall
impression is that production has become “more stable and more efficient” since
using the Rapida 106 X. And this is a good thing, because dialogue marketing is
another field where today's jobs are shorter and more diverse than they were in
the past. This makes makeready times and high flexibility essential concerns.
The finest in eco-printing – the Arnold group on the outskirts
of Berlin
A brand new Rapida 106 X started production for the ARNOLD group
in Großbeeren near Berlin at the end of last year. Right from the very first
day, the eight-colour press with perfecting unit and an additional coater
boosted output by 50 per cent and en. Managing director Max Arnold: “Whenever I
come into the press hall, I see the bright red number abled makeready times to
be slashed by half 18,000.” And it is not only in terms of speed, but also in regard
to its technical features, that the Rapida 106 X meets all the demands of
modern, efficient and future-oriented print production.
Alongside its printing facility, the ARNOLD group also operates
a pre-press studio and an advertising agency, and all three conduct intensive
reviews of each and every process from the perspectives of ecology and
sustainability. ‘Think green’ is not just a slogan, but also the company's
guiding principle. Process-free plates are used, with production being based
solely on alcohol-free printing with mineral-oil-free bio-inks, and green
electricity from the company’s own photovoltaic installation contributes to an
outstanding ecological footprint.
The journey continues
These three print companies are perfect examples of
all the things that modern production methods and high-end technologies can
achieve. And, of course, there are many others who have also invested in new
Rapida 106 X presses.