OREANDA-NEWS. December 02, 2015. Fujifilm today announces that Wegner GmbH, based just outside Bremen in Northern Germany, has recently invested in the Jet Press 720S to boost its digital print capabilities. The company chose the Jet Press 720S for its B2 format size and outstanding quality, matching the requirements of its varied agency and publishing customers based in the wider region surrounding Bremen.

Formed in 1985 as a repro company, Wegner GmbH initially offered plate production, proofing and desk top publishing to a variety of clients. This service proved successful, with the company expanding and moving to its current location just south of Bremen in 2001. In 2004, Wegner saw the opportunity to add digital printing capabilities to its service offering. Henning Rose, Chief Executive Officer of the company explains: “It became obvious in 2004 that our customers were interested in digital print, so we made an initial investment in a digital machine, which was eventually replaced by an HP Indigo 5500 in 2007. At this time, we also expanded our finishing capabilities, with the addition of perfect binding and saddle stitching lines, along with foiling, UV coating and embossing, so we could produce most of the things customers requested in house. This digital print facility again proved a success, so when we heard about B2 digital presses a couple of years ago, we immediately recognised this was the natural next step for us.”

Wegner carried out a thorough investigation of the market and after a rigorous testing process decided to invest in Fujifilm's Jet Press 720S. Henning Rose continues: “In the beginning, we were primarily interested in the B2 format size as we knew it would complement our existing digital press. However, as we conducted the tests on the Jet Press, we were also absolutely blown away by the quality of print produced by this machine. We could see that it would not only expand the range of print applications we could offer our customers, but also significantly improve the quality. In addition, we were interested in the depth of the colour gamut that could be printed by the machine, and were amazed by what could be achieved with a 4-colour ink set, which far exceeds what could be achieved with CMYK offset.”

Rose continues: “The run lengths of most of the work we do is less than 2000, with around 75% of the jobs less than 1000, complemented by a few much longer runs, so the Jet Press 720S is a perfect fit for us. And, because we often print collated, the finishing time of many of the jobs we print on the press can often be reduced by several hours. But it is the colour gamut that the press can produce that has proved to be the most interesting aspect. We have a lot of experience in profiling and colour management and do a lot of work with the BVDM in Germany, so we have applied this experience to the Jet Press 720S with amazing results.”

“There are a number of advantages to the wider colour gamut. Firstly, we can hit a much larger range of pantone colours, which is essential on some jobs. We have also found that as well as some colours being noticeably brighter, there is more contrast and detail in the images. In addition, we have also been able to produce results on uncoated paper that are similar to what you could achieve on coated paper. This does, however, mean we have to educate the designers too, as unless the colour gamut is there in the original image, you don't see the benefit.”

With the Jet Press 720S installed in August 2015, it is still early days for Wegner to reap all the benefits offered by the press, but the company is confident that it will allow them to differentiate their digital print offering, expand the number of applications it can offer their customers and generate more revenue. Henning Rose concludes: “Although it's still early days, we are delighted so far. We have just started to promote the press, with a marketing campaign highlighting that we have ‘doubled the size and doubled the quality' compared to our current press.

“Finally, although our experience with Fujifilm in the past was only on the offset side as a plate supplier, I have to say that their support in getting us up to speed with the Jet Press 720S has been first class. We are looking forward to promoting the press further, and to pushing it to its limits to see what it can do, and are convinced it will help us expand our business in the near and longer term future.”