WTO WerbeTechnik Rothstein GmbH, headquartered in Wiehl-Bomig, Germany was the first company in Europe to install the EFI Jetrion 4900. The goal was to create a portfolio of narrow web products for outdoor use.
The Jetrion 4900
Since 1979, WTO has been specialising in printing graphics for facades, containers, cars, buses and trains. In 2001, the company entered the digital printing arena to offer its customers flexible solutions with variable data. Since then, the company has invested in three EFI VUTEk systems.
Over the years as the company grew, WTO expanded its facility, its technology and its staff. By 2011, it occupied 4,500 square metres and housed 65 employees. The company’s latest expansion not only increased capacity but it also broadened its product range to include labels for outdoor use such as gas cylinders, printed with variable data.
After comparing a number of systems, WTO chose the EFI Jetrion 4900. ‘We first saw the Jetrion 4900 at Labelexpo Europe 2011 in Brussels, Belgium,’ explained Günther Hinzel, legal executive. ‘The fair gave us the opportunity to compare various systems, but only the solution from EFI corresponded exactly with our requirements.’
Outdoor requirements
Ink adhesion was pivotal in the decision to invest in a Jetrion 4900. ‘As we are using the new machine to produce labels for products like gas cylinders, it is of utmost importance that the inkjet inks are suitable for use outdoors and are resistant to climatic influences,’ explains Mr Hinzel. ‘They must also stand out for their durability and resistance to oils and solvents. The inks from EFI have impressed us in this regard.’
To meet all these requirements, the company uses 3M UL-certified adhesive materials. ‘We have worked in partnership with 3M for years. They carry out the relevant tests in their laboratories to check and confirm the stability of the inks for outdoor use and resistance to chemicals,’ said Mr Hinzel. These tests not only verify that the inkjet inks meet WTO’s requirements, but also that the adhesive materials from 3M are suitable for applications in difficult environments and ensure colour stability.
‘Through our cooperation with 3M, we achieve the same resistance with the inkjet inks from EFI as we do with screen printing inks,’ said Mr Hinzel. ‘Even the light fastness is the same as with screen printing.’
New market opportunities
The Jetrion 4900 is opening up entirely new market opportunities for the company. ‘We can now handle complex, low volume orders in different versions with no additional work. This is also opening up whole new sectors for us,’ explained Mr Hinzel. These are primarily any sectors where identification tags are required with many different types of information. With the Jetrion 4900, the organisation can fulfil customer requirements quickly and flexibly, even during ongoing production.
For Sascha Rothstein, managing director, the benefits are clear too. ‘Doing away with the need for prepress stages and the option to intervene flexibly into production enables us to shorten our delivery times significantly,’ he said.
A tour of the technology
The system has a web width of 229 mm and a maximum print width of 210 mm. The five colour printing unit (CMYK + white) is equipped with greyscale printheads and can achieve a resolution of 1,000 dpi. Depending on the settings, the machine can reach printing speeds of 25 m/min at full resolution and up to 37 m/min in draft mode. Another advantage is that the printing unit has been designed so that the inks can be refilled during the printing process. The system also supports non-stop job changeover and also seamlessly restarts printing after machine downtime.
A conventional UV system is integrated for curing the CMYK inks and an LED UV system is used for the white. Other equipment includes a corona unit to improve ink adhesion and an integrated inline finishing module with a web width of 330 mm, incorporating a cutting table, an adjustable cutting station, storage rollers for non-stop job changeover, a two-spindle semi-automatic rewinder for finished rolls and an additional rewinder for bulky rolls.
One highlight of the digital press is the integrated laser die cutter with two laser heads. ‘The die-cutter increases flexibility and helps us produce labels completely without tools,’ said Mr Hinzel. Other important features include the twin control stations and the Fiery XF and XFlow software packages.
In addition to screen and digital printing, WTO also uses the thermal transfer process for pre-die-cut labels. However, this division will be reduced and work gradually transferred to the Jetrion 4900.
