Contiweb equipment pivotal in new Kyburz production line

Swiss direct mail printer installed Contiweb equipment to achieve maximum productivity and minimize production costs

Contiweb has announced that Swiss print service provider, Druckerei Kyburz AG, has invested in a Contiweb Digital Fluid Applicator (DFA) and CDN non-stop unwinder for its Dielsdorf facility. The company had previously invested in 5 other splicers from Contiweb.

A family-run business, Druckerei Kyburz AG has been operating for 49 years to provide Switzerland and its neighbouring countries high-quality print products including self-mailers and brochures. Druckerei Kyburz AG started as a sheet fed and web offset printer and added later multiple web-finishing lines and digital print technologies. As part of the company’s ongoing aim to expand and stay ahead of the competition, the team is now installing a digital print production line in conjunction with Contiweb and Canon, including inline i-Web US finishing equipment. This line is created with a length of 2 x 40 meters over 2 floors, setting new standards in digital printing. The new production line enables Druckerei Kyburz AG to start with a blank roll of paper and finish with a ready product, without having to stop, with the aim of meeting the growing demand for heavily personalized, low to mid volume, high quality mailings.

Manual reel changing looked very traditional to us

Patrick Kyburz, CEO, Druckerei Kyburz AG states, “Our long-standing partnership with Contiweb, as we own five splicers, and our positive previous experience with Contiweb splicers that we use in our web offset printing lines and with the CDN, meant we were sure the machines would be a worthwhile investment. So much so that we didn’t even look at other options! We like how it has been built, and it looked sturdier to have the DFA and non-stop unwinder from Contiweb alongside our Canon ProStream 1800. As we started to prepare our unique line, the aim was to develop a tailor-made system to be able to efficiently implement our customers' extraordinary ideas.”

Mr. Kyburz continues, “The looming pandemic last year accelerated our designs on improving the business in any way we could. We essentially wanted to stay in front of the competition by making bold decisions, early. From the beginning of this process, we believed that we were not going to have a manual unwinder, we knew we needed a non-stop splicer. It is very common for digital printers to perform manual reel changing. For us – being a web offset printer – this looked very traditional. If you finish online, it is very important that the line doesn’t stop. At every stop you have the risk of a web break. Many printers coming from sheet fed are anxious and ask us if we are not afraid for web breaks using automatic splicers, but the risk of them occurring is much higher if you do this manually. Contiweb systems are extremely modern and reliable.”

Remoistening will help to let the press line run faster

Druckerei Kyburz AG uses Contiweb winding solutions in combination with the Contiweb Digital Fluid Applicator with the silicone application option included, to prevent the printed matter from damages in their own finishing line as well as in the sorting centres of postal providers. The DFA is a Plug’N’Play standalone remoistening applicator for digital web presses that works with a sleeve system, applying a very precise amount of water and (optionally) silicone to the web. The system has been developed to significantly improve and repair basic paper properties, and to increase the smoothness of the run through the press and finishing equipment.

Mr. Kyburz continues, “If you finish inline, the paper gets stressed. We believe remoistening will help especially with the Canon ProStream 1800 press. It has a huge dryer (up to 180 degrees) so there is a lot of heating energy. The paper becomes wet one side due to the ink, then it is dried, following that the process continues on the other side of the paper. Remoistening will help us to apply more folds and prevent it from breaking and let the press line run faster. Overall, both the installation of the DFA and CD was straight forward and easy - the Contiweb engineers have a lot of experience and were willing to explain the process informatively and efficiently.