The Art of Printing
The contemporary photographs are striking. The walls are lined with
portraits, landscapes, and still lifes. It is an unusual
environment for a print shop, but not for Matthias Fuhrmann,
co-owner of Druckerei Conrad along with Karl-Heinz Zahn and also
the driving force behind two galleries. "We are involved in the art
scene and organize temporary exhibitions on our premises. Word gets
around." As a full-service company, Conrad produces, among other
things, posters, exhibition schedules and catalogs, program flyers,
invitations, and art magazines. Its customers include museums,
galleries, agencies, and service companies.
Skill generates sales
The field sales team is heavily involved in the art scene. Many orders are generated through contacts with artists or galleries. For example, when Neo Rauch's work was exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Conrad printed the catalog. "Artists who commission us once to produce high quality print products often contact us again when they want to display their work elsewhere," explains Fuhrmann.
Skill generates sales
The field sales team is heavily involved in the art scene. Many orders are generated through contacts with artists or galleries. For example, when Neo Rauch's work was exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Conrad printed the catalog. "Artists who commission us once to produce high quality print products often contact us again when they want to display their work elsewhere," explains Fuhrmann.
Capturing tones perfectly
This customer loyalty is due to the company's feel for art and the great care it takes with jobs. Customers can be heard saying: "Go to Conrad, they've got the passion you need for such a job." And this care starts already in the prepress stage. To ensure consistently high quality, Conrad regularly prints test forms, compares target values, and adapts the characteristic curves to factor in any changes. Thanks to Prinect Image Control, the process takes only a few minutes. This approach pays dividends, particularly when it comes to critical color tones. "Anyone can print bright colors, but it starts to get tricky when you hit gray areas," explains Fuhrmann.
160,000 measurements in 25 seconds
Standardized printing is one of the basic requirement for any print shop with ambition. However, Conrad also attaches great importance to the skill of tailoring products to the customer's precise needs. Artists in particular want to be able to fine-tune the colors in proofs themselves in order to obtain the very finest nuances. However, as every print is a reproduction, compromise is sometimes essential despite all the efforts to the contrary - even if the differences are barely discernible. "When we're producing exhibition catalogs, we always get the artists involved in the process. That way, they can assess the proofs themselves and be sure that all their work is illustrated accurately," says Fuhrmann.
The print run only starts once the artists are happy with the results. Throughout the production run, the colors are kept constant by the Prinect Image Control system, which performs measurements and makes any necessary corrections fully automatically. Prinect Image Control is the only measurement system to measure not just a print control strip but the entire print sheet - taking up to 160,000 measurements in just 25 seconds.
This customer loyalty is due to the company's feel for art and the great care it takes with jobs. Customers can be heard saying: "Go to Conrad, they've got the passion you need for such a job." And this care starts already in the prepress stage. To ensure consistently high quality, Conrad regularly prints test forms, compares target values, and adapts the characteristic curves to factor in any changes. Thanks to Prinect Image Control, the process takes only a few minutes. This approach pays dividends, particularly when it comes to critical color tones. "Anyone can print bright colors, but it starts to get tricky when you hit gray areas," explains Fuhrmann.
160,000 measurements in 25 seconds
Standardized printing is one of the basic requirement for any print shop with ambition. However, Conrad also attaches great importance to the skill of tailoring products to the customer's precise needs. Artists in particular want to be able to fine-tune the colors in proofs themselves in order to obtain the very finest nuances. However, as every print is a reproduction, compromise is sometimes essential despite all the efforts to the contrary - even if the differences are barely discernible. "When we're producing exhibition catalogs, we always get the artists involved in the process. That way, they can assess the proofs themselves and be sure that all their work is illustrated accurately," says Fuhrmann.
The print run only starts once the artists are happy with the results. Throughout the production run, the colors are kept constant by the Prinect Image Control system, which performs measurements and makes any necessary corrections fully automatically. Prinect Image Control is the only measurement system to measure not just a print control strip but the entire print sheet - taking up to 160,000 measurements in just 25 seconds.
Professional and cost-efficient
Conrad relies on the perfect interaction between manual skills and state-of-the-art technology from Heidelberg. The company recently invested in a Speedmaster SM 102-8-P+L press. "This machine is extremely flexible and cost-effective. It enables us to print sheets on one side with up to eight colors or on both sides with four colors in a single pass," emphasizes Fuhrmann.
The coating unit delivers dazzling results and cost-effective inline perforation. The Preset Plus Feeder makes it possible to preset format and air values and to process voluminous book paper with ease. Thanks to the extended delivery, even sheets that have been printed and coated on both sides are added to the pile accurately and without smearing. This paves the way for smooth and high-quality postpress operations.
Paper is the biggest single factor in terms of both the CO2 balance and cost of printing. As a result, every millimeter counts. "We sometimes reduce the white margin down to seven millimeters. The dynamic sheet brakes in the delivery make this possible without having to compromise on the print quality or production speed," explains Fuhrmann.
Conrad relies on the perfect interaction between manual skills and state-of-the-art technology from Heidelberg. The company recently invested in a Speedmaster SM 102-8-P+L press. "This machine is extremely flexible and cost-effective. It enables us to print sheets on one side with up to eight colors or on both sides with four colors in a single pass," emphasizes Fuhrmann.
The coating unit delivers dazzling results and cost-effective inline perforation. The Preset Plus Feeder makes it possible to preset format and air values and to process voluminous book paper with ease. Thanks to the extended delivery, even sheets that have been printed and coated on both sides are added to the pile accurately and without smearing. This paves the way for smooth and high-quality postpress operations.
Paper is the biggest single factor in terms of both the CO2 balance and cost of printing. As a result, every millimeter counts. "We sometimes reduce the white margin down to seven millimeters. The dynamic sheet brakes in the delivery make this possible without having to compromise on the print quality or production speed," explains Fuhrmann.
Prinect Image Control
As the world's leading system, Prinect Image Control measures the whole print image while at the same time providing online color control for all printing units. More
Speedmaster SM 102
The Speedmaster SM 102 Excels in Terms of Productivity, Quality and Cost-Effectiveness. More
