The purchase of a sheetfed offset press from the Rapida 106 X series is an investment in the future for the Austrian print company Gutenberg. It is not only the key to a new, record-breaking performance, but also lends a further boost to production efficiency at the company’s print centre in Linz.
After all, the production speed is just one of the benefits that the eight-colour press provides. A range of new features – for example in the area of plate logistics – also make makeready times shorter. A whole host of measuring and control systems has made production even more stable and reliable. Integrated quality control is the domain of the QualiTronic ColorControl module. Birnkas-Frick: "It’s really impressive what the press delivers from the word ‘go’ in terms of performance."
To understand the full significance, it helps to look back to the time before installation of the new press. An ageing five-colour Rapida had just been dismantled, and an eight-colour Rapida dating from 2012 was running at full capacity in three-shift operation. "We needed to defuse this situation," as managing director Birnkas-Frick explains. "This said, the press had played an important part in enabling positive economic growth for our business."
Eight printing units, perfecting unit for 4-over-4 production, coater and reel-to-sheet feeder: the Rapida 106 X is the new centrepiece in the printshop in Linz.
Are all the right materials available in the right place at the right time? Comprehensive press automation has transformed working routines for the printers.
In the sales office, increased efficiency has been paired with employee development. The team has received training on not exclusively basing the sale on price, but instead by addressing issues that reflect the individual needs of the customers. "The art of selling, after all, is to show the customers that you are genuinely interested in them and that you can offer them something which, first of all, caters to their particular requirements and, secondly, shows that we are the right partner for each other," says Markus Birnkas-Frick. Above all, it has long-standing relationships with customers in industry, art and culture, and local government. Over the last few years, the company’s social media presence has also proved to be a valuable foundation for sales activities.