The French printing house has invested in a SCREEN Truepress JET 520HD AD and a SCREEN Truepress JET 520NX
Leading French printing house TagG Informatique has acquired two SCREEN Truepress JET inkjet presses to increase both the speed and capacity of its production, while achieving high print quality results.
The Truepress JET 520HD AD and Truepress JET 520NX are the second and third digital printing machines of the SCREEN 520HD series that TagG Informatique has acquired. The French cross-media marketing specialist leverages SCREEN’s innovative and high-quality inkjet technology to the fullest.
“We chose the two SCREEN digital printing machines for their speed, high uptime and high print quality, which is comparable to, or even better than that of offset printing, offering TagG's clients a competitive print-cost ratio,” says Hervé Lesseur, CEO of TagG Informatique. “Additionally, the vibrant colours and sharp details that can be printed on a wide range of paper substrates stood out,” said Mr. Lesseur.
The world’s smallest level of ink droplets
What sets apart the Truepress JET 520HD series for commercial printers apart is its unique printhead technology. The press is able to accurately place down to 2-picoliter droplets — the world’s smallest level of ink droplets — precisely where the dots are required on paper as it moves through a high-speed web transfer system. Combined with the maximum printhead resolution of 1,200 dpi, the Truepress JET 520HD series can clearly image detail smaller than 0.10 of a point. The result is a sharp, eye-catching finish with no ink spread or jaggies. This way, the Truepress JET 520HD series achieves the colours, textures, details and solid ink areas expected for high-end publication and commercial work. For direct mail advertising, the enhanced design opportunities improve response rates of personalised marketing campaigns, making the Jet520HD an appealing alternative to offset/digital hybrid and toner-based production.
Advanced drying
TAgG’s new Truepress JET 520HD AD is SCREEN’s machine with the most advanced dryer unit. It combines a constant temperature dryer with heating rollers to deliver a superior drying performance.
Using SCREEN’s SC inks, introduced in 2017, extends a print house’s paper choice to standard offset coated stocks, removing the need to purchase and stock expensive inkjet-treated paper. There is no need to use a primer, thanks to SC and SC+ inks’ feature breakthrough absorption technology, which eliminates any pre-processing or additional primer coatings that are typically required to print to standard offset coated papers. Energy consumption is minimised and issues with heat, such as excessive drying, are avoided. Printing directly to the paper saves time and money and preserves its surface texture. This opens up a range of new possibilities and markets for inkjet printing, including commercial print, catalogues, magazines and high-end books.
“In fact, we’ve achieved a noticeable improvement in colour accuracy and detail, with the new SCREEN presses enhancing the overall impact of TagG’s printed materials. Their print quality is even better than offset: colours are vibrant, details are sharp,” says TagG’s CEO Hervé Lesseur. He adds that it was important for SCREEN’s SC+ ink to be fully compliant with France's stringent regulations. “This certification is crucial for TagG's sustainability efforts to minimise our carbon footprint. SCREEN was the only manufacturer that could issue such documentation.”
TagG expects that the new investments will enable business growth of between 10% to 12% in 2024.
Enabling more creativity
The SCREEN Truepress JET 520HD AD and the SCREEN Truepress JET 520NX each serve different needs for TagG. The JET520HD AD can be used for direct mail, while the JET 520NX works best for transactional print jobs. TagG sees two distinct developments in these markets: direct mail is growing slightly, and at the same, the transactional market is shrinking. Mr Lesseur said: “The decreasing volumes in the transactional market therefore require modern and cost-effective solutions. At the same time, the growing direct mail segment requires more creativity and product innovation, as well as personalised printing with print quality at least matching that of offset printing. This is what TagG has been offering for the past 5 years with our first SCREEN Truepress JET 520HD+.”
The Truepress JET 520NX features a five-inch printhead module that delivers enhanced print quality of up to 600 x 900 dpi resolution and a maximum speed of up to 150 meters per minute. The gap between printheads has been reduced to just one-eighth of earlier SCREEN systems to deliver even higher quality and more stable printing. The Truepress JET 520NX’s printhead design efficiently handles both monochrome and full colour printing. CYM printheads can be “parked” when printing mono, to reduce ink consumption. Plus, an extra printhead can be installed adjacent to the other printheads to handle MICR and other specific function inks.
With its unrivalled quality and speed, the Truepress Jet 520NX is a superior solution for transactional printing. Fine-tuned for optimum performance, it offers a wealth of new functions to enable a wider range of applications. For instance, it supports variable printing using functional inks. This includes magnetic ink for MICR.
TagG also values the easy operation and maintenance of SCREEN’s digital presses, as well as the relatively small size of the Truepress JET 520HD NX, which allows for virtually unlimited space configurations to accommodate the efficient positioning of unwind and rewind systems. Layouts can be arranged to suit installation space and orientation of the production line: I-shape, U-shape, L-shape or H-shape design. Maintenance can be performed without cutting paper, and print operation is performed effortlessly from its user-friendly touch panel. SCREEN’s after-sales service underpins TagG’s choice of the Japanese manufacturer’s innovative printing technology. SCREEN provides exceptional ongoing customer support, with specialist teams helping existing customers to identify optimum settings for a specific application or print job at the customer site and providing additional technical support and guidance for machine operators.
SCREEN and TagG co-developed native IPDS controller
Screen x TagG
Founded in 1991, TagG Informatique is a specialist in variable data processing, print and finishing. Over the years it has also built a reputation as a developer of controllers and RIPs (raster imaging processors) for production printers. With 115 staff, the company serves over 200 customers in industries such as banking, insurance, healthcare, mail order companies, supermarkets and car manufacturers.
“TagG is a well-respected print company in the French print market, and one of SCREEN’s biggest clients. Companies like TagG partner with SCREEN because we are an industry leader that continues to drive innovation and provide customers with the tools to succeed,” said Thomas Lossec, SCREEN’s Sales Director France.
SCREEN and TagG have been working as partners in other areas too. The two companies co-developed a fully-integrated native IPDS controller. The IPDS (Intelligent Printer Data Stream) workflow and SCREEN’s EQUIOS workflow software, both based on the Adobe PDF Print Engine, can be used on the same platform, enabling users to flexibly switch between optimised flows according to their jobs.
