Resource Categories: Case Study

Typecast produces a wide range of commercial print using both offset and digital equipment. The company services a range of clients from publishers and design agencies to end users, all of whom expect consistently high quality.

When Typecast’s incumbent plate supplier of 15 years announced it was increasing its prices, Typecast decided it was time to benchmark the supplier against others and, as a result, became the first company to invest in Fujifilm’s PLATESENSE Printing Plate programme. Six months after starting to rent a Fujifilm plate processor and Superia thermal low chemistry plates, Typecast is now enjoying multiple benefits and has no regrets about the move.

As part of his research into alternative suppliers, Stainton visited Fujifilm’s UK showroom in Bedford and was impressed by the range of high quality equipment on offer. “Having seen Fujifilm’s plates in Bedford last year,“ he says, “we decided to carry out a comparative test and ran the same job on plates from our existing supplier and then on Fujifilm plates. The Fujifilm plate quality was noticeably higher.”

Typecast signed up to a three year contract to rent a processor and pay for the 11,000 plates per year, all for a nominal monthly fee, eliminating the capital expenditure required to invest in a new processor and providing a consistent and predictable cost.

Based in the Biella area of Candelo, north-western Italy, Arti Grafiche Biellesi is an experienced print service provider that specialises in a wide variety of printed products. From catalogues to brochures, and from window displays to labels and packaging, the company offers much in the way of versatility and expertise. It is also an adaptable, forward-thinking company and has recently invested in Fujifilm’s Revoria Press PC1120, 120ppm toner-based press – recognising the increase in demand for shorter runs and specialised print jobs. Arti Grafiche Biellesi believes this investment will help the company move forward.

“We print on such a diverse range of materials to produce our products,” explains Alberto Maula, owner of Arti Grafiche Biellesi. “We’re not a conventional print company; 90% of our work is textile-related packaging and packaging for fashion and luxury goods. This involves complicated print jobs on special paper – some coloured, some very thick – these may be cardboard based and have rough surfaces. The end result is products of exceptional quality, and while we have enjoyed much success with our offset equipment, we recognise digital printing to be an increasingly important factor in the evolution of the industry.

“We’ve now made our first ever investment in digital printing equipment with Fujifilm’s Revoria Press PC1120. This machine will help us to address the needs of our customers; not just for the creation of more short run jobs, which are now becoming increasingly common, but it will help us to create some incredible print work.”

Colours and versatility were key to the investment. Maula continues: “With the new Revoria press, we can do print jobs with special colours and print onto a wider variety of substrates with varying thickness. The white ink in particular is remarkable and will open a lot of new doors for us – we have had a lot of requests for print jobs with white ink which we had to outsource, up until now. The silver and gold also look fantastic and there are many ways in which we can create some beautiful products for our customers.”

The digital printing market may be new for Arti Grafiche Biellesi, but for Alberto Maula, it’s an exciting journey to embark on: “We are known for offset – we have always been offset. But this move to digital, while mainly an unknown area for us, is full of opportunities. Fujifilm has a lot of expertise in this area and we’re excited to work with them and see how our new Revoria investment can help us embark on a new chapter.”

Taro Aoki, head of digital press solutions at Fujifilm Graphic Communications Europe says: “Arti Grafiche Biellesi knows how to print exceptional work and create some stunning visual products for its customers. We are delighted they see the Revoria Press PC1120 as a crucial part of their business moving forwards.”

Founded in the mid-1980s, imprimerie RGI is a commercial print business in Saint-Thibault-des-Vignes, east of Paris. For nearly 40 years the company has been producing a huge range of applications for a wide variety of clients and, over this time, it has developed a deserved reputation for exceptional quality and outstanding customer service.

In early 2022 the company decided to make its first digital print investment and, after carefully considering all the options on the market, they installed a Jet Press 750S Inkjet Printer from Fujifilm.

“Covid-19 changed everything,” says Jean-François Le Borgne, Associate Director, RGI. “It changed the way we work, and it has really turned our industry upside down. We were already seeing a market trend towards targeted, high quality, short run print jobs and the pandemic has massively accelerated that trend.”

Despite an existing, strong relationship with Fujifilm, having been a plate customer for the past ten years, the company directors were determined to carefully consider all their digital press investment options to ensure they picked the right option for their business. “It’s nice to be able to develop our partnership with Fujifilm, but we picked the Jet Press 750S High Speed Model on its merits,” Le Borgne continues. “Its capabilities quickly won us over, particularly the excellent quality and the ease of use. We’re an offset print business and the Jet Press fits seamlessly into that environment with minimal changes required to our processes.”