Colordruck Baiersbronn was one of the first field testers of customised digital packaging production using the Heidelberg Primefire 106. With almost all criteria successfully met and the Primefire 106 fully adapted to colordruck Baiersbronn’s web-to-pack portal, the field test was successfully completed at the end of 2019.
‘Through the consistent development of a digital business model, we were also able to further optimise our processes and make them fit for the future. Heidelberg provided outstanding support as a partner in incorporating the Primefire 106 into our workflow. Wanting to offer our discerning customers new business ideas in digital packaging printing meant that our requirements for the digital printing press were very high,’ said Martin Bruttel, Managing Director of colordruck Baiersbronn, in describing the initial phase. ‘Working with the team from Heidelberg, we have now met these requirements and are more than happy with the results for our customers.’
Three years ago colordruck Baiersbronn added the ‘Packaging Digital’ division, which offers innovative packaging in runs of one and up with the online shop ‘designyourpackaging.de’. A very complex issue in building the new business model with the Primefire 106 was the variable data printing (VDP), the prerequisite for mass customisation. ‘The team from colordruck Baiersbronn and Heidelberg have invested a lot of expertise and effort here, and developed VDP together. Today, the Primefire at colordruck Baiersbronn can produce an unlimited number of custom printed sheets without any interruption and in consistently high quality,’ explained Tom Streefkerk, who heads up the Packaging Digital division at colordruck Baiersbronn. The Primefire 106 has been gradually integrated into the existing production workflow, with the Prinect Digital Frontend (DFE) as the link between the hardware and the software used at the company.
Colordruck Baiersbronn’s digital business model includes the web-to-pack portal and the Primefire 106 as an output system. This makes it possible to produce the most varied applications in many packaging segments. For example, the custom and personalised Advent calendar is already a bestseller among business and private customers. The company has acquired a multitude of new customers and its existing customers are impressed with its expanded services. ‘The Primefire offers excellent colour brilliance, outstanding register accuracy, the same impressive colour consistency, and very good reproducibility. Customers who attach particular importance to these criteria will have an immediate benefit,’ summarised Tom Streefkerk.
‘Colordruck Baiersbronn had high requirements for digital packaging printing, which we were able to meet by working together and will continue to develop together in the future,’ explained Montserrat Peidro-Insa, Head of Business Unit Digital at Heidelberg. ‘We learned a lot on both sides and thank colordruck Baiersbronn for adding to our knowledge of digital business models.’
In addition to digital printing, the company also produces premium packaging using offset printing on four of the most recent generation of highly automated Speedmaster presses. Shorter runs are increasingly being transferred to digital printing to free up capacities in offset. Colordruck Baiersbronn offers its customers systematic solutions for adapting spot colours in offset and digital printing. ‘The integration of digital printing allowed us to gain a lot of flexibility and optimise our efficiency in all run lengths. Digital printing is setting new standards in colour fidelity across the entire run,’ said managing director Thomas Pfefferle. In addition, the B1 format of the Primefire 106 enables the company to use die-cutting tools in postpress that are also used for offset runs.
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Heidelberg Graphic Systems Southern Africa (Pty) Ltd +27 (0) 86 142 4756 warren.jones@heidelberg.com www.heidelberg.com/za
