Packaging
Gran Reserva: Domino K-Series Ensures Two Printers Maintain Key Contracts with Rioja Wine Regulatory Board
Tuesday 29. September 2009 - High-resolution, VDP solution meets exacting customer standards
Domino Printing Sciences plc, a world-leader in total coding, marking, printing and traceability solutions, has announced that two of Spains leading label printers have installed its cost-effective and versatile K-Series variable data drop-on-demand ink jet print solution. Autoadhesivos Argraf and Hermanos Bacigalupe S.L have invested in a total of six K100 digital inkjet printers to fulfil the specific data printing requirements of Spains Regulatory Board of Rioja, the Consejo Regulador de la Rioja.
As well as a need to print high quality sequential numbers and batch code information, the installations follow the Consejos decision to enhance the design of its wine labels by ensuring that each one incorporates a high-resolution image of its logo. Thanks to the performance attributes delivered by the K-Series, both Argraf and Bacigalupe – two of the most important printers to serve the label printing needs of the Consejo – have been able to secure key contract renewals with their customer.
“We print more than 2300 million bottles of wine labels every year, so its vital that we maintain pace with the changing needs of our customers,” explains Carlos Peña, one of the directors at Autoadhesivos Argraf, based in Logroño, in the north of Spain. “The Consejo Regulador de la Rioja selects the highest quality wines from the Rioja region and grants them Denominación de Origen status, so it is imperative that the printed output we produce for them is also of the highest quality.”
Mr Peña explored Dominos technology offering and after discussing the specific application criteria with Domino Amjet Ibérica, the innovative K-Series variable data drop-on-demand printer emerged as the right solution. Argrafs 10,000m2 print facility was subsequently complemented by two K100 high-resolution ink jet print heads, as well as Dominos industry-leading Editor GT Controller.
Thanks to a sophisticated electronics system, the 300dpi, 100m/min K100 offers increased control and manageability by integrating directly with Dominos user-friendly and intuitive Editor GT Controller. Based on the Microsoft Windows XP platform, the Editor GT combines data preparation and management tools for in-line printing of addresses, personalized data, graphics, serialized numbers, and codes.
“Having met with Domino and seen samples of the excellent print quality achieved by the K-Series, it quickly became evident that this was the best fit for our needs,” comments Mr Peña. “The K100s run in conjunction with our existing offset printing equipment and enable in-line digital printing of several rows of data simultaneously, which greatly enhances our workflow”, he adds. “As far as we are concerned, the K-Series is the only solution on the market that can not only satisfy the Consejos need for high-speed, error-free printing of superior quality variable data codes, but in particular the high-resolution logo demanded in this instance.”
Simultaneously to the Argraf installation and thanks to the K-Series proven capability to meet the specific requirements of the Consejo, Domino secured interest from label printing company, Hermanos Bacigalupe S.L. Based in Pradoluengo, Burgos, the forty-year old family-owned Bacigalupe serves more than 3000 companies, throughout Spain and abroad. Like Argraf, as a key supplier to the Consejo, Bacigalupes production of wine labels represents a major aspect of the business and sees the company output over two million every day.
Witnessing the feature-rich attributes of the K-Series, Managing Director, Dionisio Bacigalupe, realised that the print solution held the key to meeting the Consejos requirement, while also offering the potential to sharpen his companys overall service offering and win new business. As a result, the company immediately placed an order for three K100 print heads and an Editor GT controller.
“Quite simply, investing in Dominos K-Series has allowed us to continue to undertake work for one of our most important accounts,” says Managing Director, Dionisio Bacigalupe. “The level of print quality we are able to achieve has surpassed even the expectations of the Consejo, who are delighted with how their code appears.
“At the same time, the K100 grants us extra versatility, should we need it,” he adds. “For example, the 71mm printhead offers variable settings to obtain the exact imaging area desired and we can maximise the print resolution simply by changing the angle of the print head. From an efficiency perspective, print ready can be achieved within five minutes and job changeover is possible within seconds.”
Both Carlos Peña and Dionisio Bacigalupe agree that, in addition to directly serving the needs of the Consejo, the K-Series significantly enhances the flexibility of their operations while strengthening their competitiveness in the marketplace.
“These are challenging times for any print business,” explains Mr Bacigalupe, “which is why it is essential that we invest in advanced digital printing hardware to deliver upon the expectations of our clients. Moving forward, it is reassuring to know that the proven flexibility and performance attributes of Dominos K-Series will meet the needs of our key customers as and when they change.”