ViaPrintix chooses Agfa’s Jeti Tauro H2500 LED
ViaPrintix (Mechelen, Belgium) was founded less than 15 years ago but has been experiencing steady growth. It now occupies a solid place in the local sign printing market. To continue its growth, the company has invested in Agfa’s highly productive Jeti Tauro H2500 LED large-format inkjet printer.
Two tennis courts! That is the area the Jeti Tauro H2500 can print in one hour. Admittedly, with its dimensions (6.8 m wide with a printing width of 2.54 m) the machine also makes an immediate strong impression.
15 to 20% growth
At the beginning of April, ViaPrintix from Mechelen took a Jeti Tauro in use. In an uncertain economic situation, that move may seem like a risky gamble, but Wesley Dewachter, who owns the company together with his partners Johan Ceuleers and Alain Jacobs, sees that as one an essential investment for the future.
“We have several good years behind us,” he explains. “Despite the health crisis and the inflation period that followed, the company is doing well; we grow 15% per year. And even though we are extremely satisfied, we still want to move forward. We want to keep up the momentum – and even achieve a growth of 20%.”
Nico Sleeckx, Agfa Sales Manager Belux (left), Wesley Dewachter and the Jeti Tauro H2500 LED
ViaPrintix specializes in… special orders. That is, projects with a certain complexity, which combine different sign techniques. In short, “everything that other service providers shy away from”, summarizes Wesley. “We work a lot for the retail and the hotel industry. This ranges from interior decoration to luminous billboards and permanent metal structures. An example is the work we did for the Botanic Hotel in Antwerp. In the beginning, they had contacted us to manufacture signs, but the project soon expanded. We have manufactured 7 m high bows in Corten steel – in the style of their logo. Those arches form a route to the reception and are the landmark of the hotel.”
An instrument to grow
A year ago, ViaPrintix asked a consultant to help prepare a new strategic growth plan. “We scrutinized everything in the business that we could, in particular concerning our printing equipment. That prompted us to upgrade from our Anapurna H3200 to a Jeti Tauro H2500.”
The two printers use the same technology – inkjet with LED UV curing and a hybrid feed, i.e. boards or rolls – but the productivity of the Jeti Tauro is much higher than that of the Anapurna (32 printheads compared to 16).
“The Anapurna was not even three years old, but already running at maximum capacity. Either we had to start to work in shifts, or we had to invest in new equipment. The Jeti Tauro gives us that extra margin that we need. Now we can have our two Zund tables work at full capacity and streamline production, which improves the peace of mind of our employees. If necessary, we can even increase the productivity of the Jeti Tauro by installing a loading robot.”
Low ink consumption, wide color gamut
Another advantage of the Jeti Tauro H2500 is its low ink consumption. “The lowest on the market!” underlines Agfa Sales Manager Belux Nico Sleeckx. The secret? “A combination of specific printing software algorithms and the composition of the inks. The result is a very thin ink layer, without loss of quality though. On the contrary, with its 6 colors (CMYKcm) + white, the system achieves a very wide color gamut.”
Naturally, the Jeti Tauro represents a considerable investment for ViaPrintix. “But I am convinced that it was necessary”, concludes Wesley Dewachter. “We had already experienced the cooperation with Agfa; we knew the quality of the equipment and the service. So we didn’t hesitate for long.”