Rennes, France-based screen and digital printing company Bourgeois Publicité has installed an EFI™ VUTEk® LX3 Pro hybrid flatbed/roll-to-roll superwide-format printer from Electronics For Imaging, Inc. (Nasdaq:EFII) to enhance the quality it offers in premium digital print graphics.
The 3.2-metre wide VUTEk printer is the newest addition to the Bourgeois Publicité team. After several months of use, CEO and founder Jacques Bourgeois and General Manager Jean Michel Joulain are benefitting from the printer's strengths and versatility - especially its impeccable print quality in four-, six- and eight-pass modes at impressive speeds.
"Our first criteria was to look for optimal print quality and white printing in a single stage in order to remove extra steps in production," said Jacques Bourgeois. "Work in CMYK plus white is now done at a production rate of about 80 square metres per hour. It is 130 square metres per hour for eight-colour work and 220 square metres per hour for CMYK. At those speeds, it is a very productive machine outputting the high quality we need."
In 1975, signwriter Jacques Bourgeois founded the small, three-person business near Rennes. Years later, he adopted screen printing and, later, digital print, because of changes in his business and the needs of his clients. Today, Bourgeois Publicité employs 25 and has state-of-the-art machinery. Thanks to the combination of both screen and digital technologies, a CAD workshop and complete shaping equipment, the company is able to meet a wide range of requests from its customers to create their communication and advertising campaigns.
Versatility, advanced technology and professional customer service
The EFI VUTEk LX3 Pro printer's versatility is useful for addressing a Bourgeois Publicité client base that includes large companies, city governments, institutions, boutiques, large retail chains and more. "An SME like ours has to deal with a wide variety of markets and the needs of our customers, who are also very diverse," said Bourgeois. "Hybrid flatbed/roll-to-roll technology is a good solution, as it makes it possible to print on both rigid and flexible materials such as cardboard, PVC, Akylux® panels, vinyl for window graphics, paper posters, tarpaulins, etc., with a single machine."
In addition, the company found that the printer can successfully print very small text. "We can usually do that with offset, but I never thought I would achieve it with digital technology," Bourgeois said.
Thanks to its LED curing lamps, the printer uses significantly less energy compared to mercury UV or latex devices. This ecological aspect of the printer's "cool cure" LED technology has proved to be impressive. "It's a reason for communicating with our customers, who are increasingly aware of these issues," said Bourgeois. "Plus, the lamps do not get hot, so we can safely print on fragile or heat-sensitive materials. They no longer deform and remain perfectly flat."
Bourgeois Publicité has also opted for the addition of an antistatic bar to further secure printing on certain types of materials such as PVC, which is particularly sensitive to static electricity.
"We are extremely happy with this EFI VUTEk LED printer," said Bourgeois. "And with regard to what lies beyond the technology, I cannot overlook the technical and human quality of the EFI team, who have been very professional and attentive to our needs. On several occasions, customer service asked us for feedback. This attention to detail is a real advantage over other manufacturers."
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