One of Europe’s biggest wide format print businesses is reporting a substantial productivity boost, a reduction in delivery times and an increase in quality, since investing in an Inca Digital Onset X platform from Fujifilm in the spring of 2018. The Onset X2, with six colour channels and ¾ automation, installed at the company’s Berlin facility, has made such an impact that the company intends to invest in a second machine early in 2019.
With seven sites across the continent, PPS. is one of Europe’s largest wide format printing companies, serving a diverse customer base, which includes retail, agency and exhibition clients and many major global brands.
“Our customers have high expectations, both when it comes to quality and to rapid delivery,” says Steffen Hufnagel, Production Director at PPS., Berlin. “We produce a huge range of products for our customers across our multiple sites, including corrugated displays, POS and OOH products, banners, and more. Quality is essential to everything we do and our customers are continually pushing us to deliver that level of quality to them in shorter and shorter timeframes.
“We were looking to upgrade two of our older machines and we carefully examined all of the latest technology on the market. We didn’t just want to visit showrooms either, where manufacturers and suppliers have a degree of control over what you can see. We made sure to talk to real customers who were already using the machines on our shortlist, and it was a visit to an Onset X2 customer in France which convinced us that this was the perfect machine to give us the increase in speed we needed without any sacrifice in quality.
“We replaced one of our older machines with an Onset X2 platform in April 2018 and we intend to replace our other existing machine with another Onset X2 platform (also with six colours and ¾ automation) early in 2019. Since installation we’ve noticed that not only are we able to produce repeat jobs for our regular customers faster, and at higher volumes than we could with our old machine, we’ve actually seen an increase in quality as well. It is already proving itself to be a hugely valuable tool in staying ahead of market trends and evolving customer demands.
“The versatility of the Onset X platform has also impressed us” Hufnagel continues. “We’re running a huge number of different substrates through it, both rigid and flexible, creating corrugated displays and a range of signage products. I’m confident that this investment places us in a very strong position to respond to market trends towards shorter runs, faster turnarounds and greater demand for personalisation. Furthermore, the installation process went incredibly smoothly. Fujifilm was very professional throughout the process, they scheduled a timetable and stuck to it, and they had an answer to every question we raised. Since installation, the level of support they’ve provided has continued to be exceptional.
“I would have no hesitation in recommending this machine to anyone. I believe it to be the most powerful printer on the market and the combination of speed and quality it offers is unrivalled.”
Says Kersten Caspar, Sales Manager, Fujifilm Graphic Systems, Germany: “We’re delighted to have been able to offer PPS. the step up in speed and quality they required to stay ahead of their customer demands and general market trends. We’re delighted they are installing a second Onset platform in the New Year, and we look forward to working with them to get the very best out of their investment.”
