For over 50 years, Brogle Druck AG Switzerland has been supplying customers with tailor-made printed products, and with the new Screen Truepress Jet B2 digital press SX, its product range will be even more varied and individual.
“For us, every customer is important. That’s why we strive to get the best out of every product,” said Roger Brogle. He, along with Thomas Obrist, manages Brogle Druck. The company was established in 1963 in Wittnau, Switzerland, by the three Brogle brothers: Max, Manfred and Paul. Manfred Brogle is still Chairman. Initially, they focussed on book printing. Today, however, Brogle Druck is an integrated media company that offers not only commercial printing and print finishing, but also innovative mailing services and web design. With 18 employees, the company is highly streamlined: innovative initiatives such as a web-to-print portal for flyers have made this possible.
Reaching new markets with the Screen Truepress Jet SX
Brogle and Obrist are always looking for ways to “start something new”, as Thomas Obrist says: “Like most other companies, we need to be constantly thinking about the future. That’s the only way we can continue to be successful.” “The new Screen digital printing press is another milestone for us,” adds Roger Brogle. Both managing directors were extremely excited when they read about the launch of the new Screen Truepress Jet SX in the trade press four years ago. At that point, the company had already been looking for ways to produce brochures in small quantities at low cost and in high quality for some time. Until they could do that, it would not be possible to satisfy the demand for duplex personalised printed products. “With a maximum print area of 520 x 730 mm (B2) and a resolution of up to 1,440 x 1,440 dpi, the Screen Truepress Jet SX is perfect for high-quality, variable print jobs that look like offset printing,” explains Patrick Jud, Screen Europe. For Roger Brogle and Thomas Obrist, the sheetfed print format was also the main reason why, very soon after the demo, they knew the Screen Truepress Jet SX was the only machine Brogle Druck needed to consider. “The fact the press can print auto sheets up to 0.6 mm thick was also special,” adds Thomas Obrist in a typically Swiss understatement, and it quickly becomes clear why this was so important for the investment decision: Brogle Druck was preparing for expansion into the packaging printing sector.
Digital since the 1990s
Today, the majority of print production at Brogle Druck is handled by a number of Heidelberg Speedmaster sheetfed offset presses. The company had already started using a Heidelberg DI for digital sheetfed offset printing in Wittnau by the mid-1990s. Once computer-to-plate (CtP) had become successfully established in the market, Brogle Druck invested in several smaller digital web and sheetfed presses: “We produce all the products that digital printing is suitable for, both in terms of quality and cost-effectiveness,” stresses Thomas. With the Screen Truepress Jet SX, however, the number of print jobs destined for digital printing will increase significantly. With its single-pass process and variable greyscale, the press can print up to 1,620 sheets an hour on one side or 810 sheets on both – in four colours. “Our innovative duplex unit comes as standard on the Screen Truepress Jet SX,” explains Patrick Jud. “So, sheets can be printed at top speed on both sides – with perfect registration.”
The water-based pigment inks do not require any special coating, yet, with a minimum droplet size of 2 picolitres, they can produce impressively sharp and exceptionally vivid colour images with the finest gradations on standard offset papers. The inks dry almost instantly so the digital prints can be fed directly into the usual offset finishing systems. So many new applications are possible with the Screen Truepress Jet SX. Roger Brogle values that too: “The Screen machine offers everything we need to make sure we continue to be of interest to our customers.”