April 05, 2022
With almost 30 years of experience offering workshops for disabled people, integrated housing projects and a wide range of social services, the work of the Elster Werke Foundation has been based almost exclusively on equal opportunities – especially for disabled and vulnerable people, but also for the disadvantaged and the elderly. Since 1992, the Printing House of Elster Werke in Herzberg has been positioned among Elster Werke’s eleven production areas which have a total of 400 employees and 860 disabled workshop employees. Ten employees and 16 workshop employees are employed in the full-service print shop. The company is a not-for-profit but aims to cover costs. "Nevertheless, we have to counter the rising prices in the graphic arts industry and the loss of orders," argues Mike Ben, Head of Printing.
With the installation of two finishing machines from FKS, DruckHaus Elster Werke has been upgrading its production and that of its employees in a variety of ways since April 2021 with cost-optimized coatings and punches. The customer feedback is great. The selection of the machines for this was made through market observation, tests and ultimately through the competent and well-founded advice of Sascha Schmidt, Area Sales Manager at FKS. Together, they opted for the two machines FKS/Duplo DuSense DDC-810 and FKS/PFi Blade B3+ to further establish their business within the market, by distinguishing themselves from the competition.
Refinement in a new dimension
The FKS/Duplo DuSense DDC-810 Spot UV varnishing system enables real added value to be created through tactile experiences. The DuSense is ideally suited for fast and precise results in the finishing of digital and offset prints. The spot-varnished products can be further processed immediately after finishing. The DuSense processes print sheets in formats from 279 x 210 mm up to 364 x 740 mm. In SRA3 or B3 format, the DuSense produces 1,080 sheets/hour. Mike Ben particularly appreciates the automated precision of the DuSense: Two cameras for precise image recognition control the automatic alignment to perfection from the first sheet. It compensates not only for errors (in the print) but also for stretch, shrinkage, image drift and distortions in each sheet without the intervention of an operator. The tolerance varies only ± 0.2 mm over the entire run length. Print image fluctuations are repaired in real-time and fully automatically. A simple software control system that positions the paint as a fifth colour can be operated by every media designer. The unproblematic cleaning and a full-service contract strengthened the case for the DuSense investment.
Goodbye die-making
The FKS/PFi Blade B3+ is an automated, digital cutting table for creative cutting applications. The compact system impresses with its versatile application possibilities, an optimal interaction of software and hardware, and intuitive operation. Simple cutting applications are carried out just as reliably as more complex jobs that require not only a pure cutting process but also creasing and perforation tasks. The Blade B3+ produces greeting cards, stickers, but also packaging in a wide variety of shapes. The digital cutting table FKS/PFi Blade B3+ processes a wide variety of materials and grammages.
The unneeded cutting dies now also enable cost-effective sample creation in edition one at DruckHaus Elster Werke. The use of the FKS/PFi Blade B3+ in the production of Christmas cards was a complete success for the printing house.
Source: Grafische Palette Ausgabe 02/2022 East Region, translated by Duplo International
