PRINTEX AG, Dagmersellen, Switzerland

For more than 30 years, PRINTEX AG in Dagmersellen (Switzerland) is an innovative company in the print media industry. It was founded in 1977 and since then the print shop has been developed and enlarged continuously. In the meantime, owner Josef Affentranger's team comprises 15 employees and four trainees who have the ambition to deliver an excellent quality of their print products and to enhance customer satisfaction.

To achieve this, the Speedmaster SM 74 five-color press which has produced for the last two years more than 15 million sheets is their key for success. Some of the particular options this press is equipped with are the color measuring system Prinect Axis Control, the Alcolor Vario dampening unit, CombiStar for an integrated dampening solution treatment and inking unit temperature control as well as the chamber doctor blade for the coating system.

For Josef Affentranger, the benefits of the Speedmaster SM 74 are, on the one hand, definitely the reduced make-ready times - production run can start after not more than 300 sheets - and, on the other hand, the overall machine concept that delivers outstanding print quality as a result of the stable sheet travel and straightforward operation. Not only flyers, brochures and company newspapers are produced on the Speedmaster SM 74, but in particular also coating applications for commercial print shops. The integration between prepress and pressroom is ensured by the software option InstantGate.

The up-to-date prepress department at PRINTEX AG ensures design, composition and image production for all kinds of print products as well as the execution of overall graphic concepts. To accelerate processes on a long-term basis, they invested in the Prinect Workflow four years ago which enables a central control of all processes and the transfer of presetting data to the pressroom and postpress. The Suprasetter A75 platesetter which is well prepared to cope with highest demands in the pressroom has also proven its qualities in continuous operation.

Besides the Speedmaster SM 74-5 with coating system, the pressroom comprises also a Speedmaster SM 52-2 with coating system, a Speedmaster SM 52-2 with numbering and perforating device as well as a Printmaster GTO 52-1. "This comprehensive number of printing presses gives us the possibility to assist our customers for realizing their print products, ranging from business cards to brochures with highest gloss", states Affentranger.

In the postpress area, a Stahl folding machine as well as a Polar EM 115 guillotine round off the product portfolio. Consequently, cutting, folding, perforating, numbering, punching, wire stitching, adhesive binding,, etc. can be realized easily and quickly.

Approximately 15 jobs with an average run length between 200 and 10,000 sheets are produced per day in one shift. Altogether, this amounts to approximately 2,000 jobs per year with a yearly plate volume of up to approximately 15,000 plates. For Josef Affentranger, the next investment could be made in the Service Plus Package for which he has shown great interest for some time already.