EN Durst Ceramics Printing Gamma`s in Production
Ceramica Sant Agostino The digital path of renowned Italian tile manufacturer University city Ferrara is the most bicycle-friendly city in Italy. The Renaissance-era old town of Ferrara is surrounded by a 9 km-long city wall and can only be explored on foot or by bicycle. You d also need a bicycle to make your way around the giant production halls of ceramic manufacturer Sant Agostino located in the province. The company is one of Italy s leading tile manufacturers, known in particular for its high-quality designs which wouldn t have been possible without digital inkjet technology from Durst. Sant Agostino was founded in 1964 and produces wall tiles (earthen ware/bicottura) and floor tiles (porcelain stoneware/gres porcellanato). The company has 320 employees and is headquartered not far from the center of Italian ceramic production in Emilia- Romagna. Sant Agostino s high-quality products are export hits. To meet the wide variety of demands and expectations of its customers, Sant Agostino has its own design studio and also collaborates on projects with renown architects and designers. The digitalization of production at Sant Agostino began with wall tiles in 2008 with the installation of a Durst Gamma 70 inkjet ceramic printer. Durst was chosen because the company s printing systems offer optimum material handling and print quality. High print resolution, homogeneous color surfaces without banding and a high degree of ink application were important factors to Sant Agostino. At the same time, Sant Agostino began using a third-party digital printing machine for floor tiles and porcelain stoneware as it could be integrated into the production line more easily thanks to its more compact size. As tile production became increasingly complex, however, Sant Agostino once again decided on a Durst printing system. Ceramica Sant Agostino S.p.A. Ferrara, Italy www.ceramicasantagostino.it The complexity arose when customers clearly saw and understood the difference between traditional and digital printing methods, said engineer Andrea Felisatti, who is responsible for tile production at Sant Agostino. That s when customers started wanting more. They wanted perfect resolution and images rich in contrast and without graininess. To meet these demands and keep up with the competition, we invested in digital printing technology. Durst printing systems were our first choice because of their performance and reliability. In the mean time, Sant Agostino in Ferrara has installed five Durst ceramic printers, including the Gamma 75 HD, Gamma 75 HD-R and Gamma 120 HDS. Five additional Durst digital printers, which altogether produce an annual total volume of around 6 million square meters, are located at other locations of the group.
Since the beginning of our cooperation with the company, Durst s digital printing systems have continued to evolve, said engineer Andrea Felisatti. It s not so much in the area of print performance, which was great from the get go, but rather in terms of print volume. Today, we are able to produce much greater quantities with the same level of quality. That s real added value. One of Sant Agostino s main reasons for changing to digital production was the strong color deviations which would sometimes occur when using the traditional production method. The company produces series with more than 120 different color tones, which must exhibit absolute precision, detail and top-quality color transitions. With the Durst ceramic printing systems, such results can be produced continuously. There are some disadvantages to digital printing too, though, such as the failure of nozzles, which leads to striation, said engineer Andrea Felisatti. But Durst has this problem well under control, and failures are the absolute exception. Should a problem crop up, though, the very well-organized Durst service team is there for you. This creates trust and promotes co-operation. Plus, when a problem with an installed printing machine is identified, Durst informs all its other customers so that preventive countermeasures can be taken. Sant Agostino will continue to invest in innovative technologies in the future, which allows the company to provide global markets with high-quality products. Sant Agostino is excitedly watching developments in digital glaze printing and new technologies for the automatic detection of textures on tiles, which will enable them to be printed with suitably prepared graphics/designs with high precision.
Roman Ceramics Digital Ceramic Print Made in Indonesia Roman Ceramics Megah, Indonesia www.romanceramics.com www.romangranit.com Should you ever experience the pleasure of visiting Roman Ceramics in Indonesia, you are likely to spend a night in the world s largest showroom of a ceramics producer. Roman Ceramics belongs to one of the country s major holdings, the Lyman Group. In addition to the BNI Tower, Indonesia s highest building and one Jakarta s landmarks, the Lyman Group is also a shareholder of the 5-star Shangri-La Hotel. The real showroom at Roman Ceramics plant resembles an antique Roman temple with statues and various marble-, granite- and wood reproductions. Roman Ceramics portfolio has far more to offer and is mostly known for its diversity in design, which was made possible with Durst s inkjet technology. In the early 70 s, the construction materials division of the Lyman Group founded the company PT Metropole Megah in Eastern Java, with the aim of producing wall tiles for the local market. All processes, from the production of required materials, to the finished product, were structured to be carried out by a single source. In the 90 s, a further company, PT. Satyaraya Keramindoindah in Tangerang, close to Jakarta, was founded. Both locations started producing for the international market and joined forces under the new name Roman Ceramics, with a focus on quality orientation and acquired the ISO 9001 certification. Today, Roman Ceramics produces in excess of 26 million square meters and exports its wall- and floor tiles to 50+ countries. Its core market though remains in Indonesia, because the continuous economic growth has created a huge demand, where even Roman Ceramics, with its great production capacity has a mere 6% market share. The internationalization was supposed to create new growth for Roman Ceramics; nobody was able to predict Indonesia s positive economic development at that stage. The focus on quality orientation, at the beginning of the economic boom, was crucial for Roman Ceramics, to quickly establish a position as premium manufacturer of tiles. The development of Roman Ceramics as a major global ceramics producer has Lie Poteng, today General Manager of PT. Satyaraya Keramindoindah accompanied over the decades. After studying in West Berlin, the industrial engineer began his career working for Citibank in Jakarta, and was appointed by the Lyman Group as Manager for tiles production in the early 80 s. At first, our annual production averaged around 400,000 square meters, reflects Lie Poteng. Today we are a large producer, but our objective was never, to be the quantitatively largest producer in Indonesia, but the market leader in design, innovation and quality.
In keeping with this management philosophy, Roman Ceramics invested in rotary screen printing as early as 1995 and so became a first mover in ceramics decoration, at a time, when other producers were still contemplating this technology. By 2008, the company had installed more than 100 different printer systems in both locations. Being an innovation- and technology driven company, Roman Ceramics followed the development of digital print from an early stage on and intensively analyzed the new possibilities. The introduction of digital print technology was mainly about timing, says Lie Poteng. We had already recognized the immense potential of this technology, and were aware of the fact, that we could reach a new level for quality, color variation and design options. We knew, this is the future and the alternative to replace all traditional production methods. The conception of new designs and photo-realistic motifs for conventional print processes is timeand cost intensive and limited to some extent. The indirect work processes do not necessarily lead to the desired consistency and quality. Therefore, defining all parameters, including the required ink amount, becomes a game of trial and error. There are no such obstacles with digital print, only fast and efficient processes, from conception to the final product. Today, the six Durst systems produce respectively an average of 5,000 square meters per day. Other printer manufacturers and ink suppliers have caught up to Durst, comments Lie Poteng. Therefore he appreciates Durst s focus on the Asian-Pacific region, with a local service branch and 24/7 support. Additionally, the design of Gamma Ceramics Printers as open systems provides the required flexibility for Roman Ceramics to run different ink systems. Lie Poteng is confident of Durst s innovative capacity, and is hoping to soon test-run Durst s latest project, the `Digital Glaze` technology. It combines printing and glazing processes and will define the new standards, to put Durst and its customers one step ahead of the competition again. In 2007, Roman Ceramics decided to acquire inkjet technology. Back then, the company had analyzed the inkjet technology of various manufacturers, but due to unsatisfactory industrial testing results, no investments were made. At the same time, Durst and the ink producer Torrecid presented the Durst Gamma 70, which fulfilled all of Roman Ceramics criteria. Because the reliability of the new technology was a key factor, Roman Ceramics decided, to observe all relevant further developments of Durst. By 2010, Roman Ceramics was fully convinced of Durst and its ceramics printers. No other manufacturer could match their productivity and reliability. Within three years, Roman Ceramics had invested in six Durst printer systems, among them the Gamma 70, Gamma 75 HDS/HDRS, and is currently planning to replace other rotary screen production areas with digital systems. Durst digital ceramics printers are technologically and functionally superior to other systems. Add to that, the excellent reliability and outstanding technical support, says Lie Poteng. For us, Durst s added value was decisive. This combines the efficiency of work flow software, transparent maintenance costs, close cooperation with the ink producers, the ink system s certification, the service availability, and the continuous training of our staff, as well as the systems production capabilities.
IS Dongseo expands digital production in Korea IS Dongseo is Korea s leading corporation for construction and construction materials. IS Dongseo Jinju, Süd-Korea www.inushaus.com In 1978, the company founded its Ceramic Production Division. The tile production factory was constructed in cooperation with SITI. It is located in Jinju, and was the largest in the entire region at that time. Today, two more production sites in Geosan und Hadong have been added to the Jinju factory and the brand INUS has been launched to represent the tiles and sanitary product portfolio. In 2013, IS Dongseo started its cooperation with Durst, to complement its product range with digital decorations. After an extensive testing phase with the Gamma 75 HD-R, IS Dongseo has just ordered its fourth Durst Gamma Ceramic Printer within a year. 49% of the South Korean tile market is made up of imports - mainly from China and Italy - with 51% coming from local producers. Its market share of 11%, makes IS Dongseo Korea s market leader. According to the Korean Standard Quality Excellence Index`(KS- QEI), they are also the leading brand with regards to technology and design. It doesn t come as a surprise then, that IS Dongseo is the preferred supplier for many external construction companies and wholesalers, and not only for company internal projects.
`The variety of our construction projects, provides us with a cutting edge insight into global trends and requirements`, says Se-Hwan Song, Factory Manager at the IS Dongseo tile factory in Jinju. `This is why we own more patents and develop more samples than any of our local competitors. Our products are also very popular in Japan, China, Myanmar and Australia.` IS Dongseo s Ceramic Production Division portfolio includes tiles for interior- and exterior walls, floor tiles, porcelain stoneware, USG- and ceiling tiles. In addition, the company produces eco-friendly functional products, such as heating tiles, antibacterial tiles and tiles for wet rooms. Since 2008, IS Dongseo has been exploring the potential of digital decorations. Despite their interest, they deferred the investment of a digital inkjet printer until 2013, because none of the available machines and inks provided the necessary reliability to live up to industrial production requirements. Then Durst launched the digital Ceramic Printer Durst Gamma 75 HD-R. The Gamma 75 HD-R is the fastest digital printer for high resolution decoration of ceramic tiles,` says Se-Hwan Song. This printer is 40% more productive than other alternatives. We are achieving a very impressive resolution of 360 dpi and a production speed of 48 m/min for standard tiles of 300 x 600 mm. The print quality far exceeds the quality and potential of traditional screen- and web printing. The unique printing system of the Durst Gamma 75 HD-R ensures impressive color stability in the production process and a high degree of homogeneity across the entire printing width. We are also very satisfied with the efficiency of the printhead cleaning system and the ink filter system, because which minimizes the machine s maintenance cycle. In short: The Gamma 75 HD-R was definitely worth waiting for.` Today, IS Dongseo produces over 50,000 m² of tiles per month with the Gamma 75 HD-R, and has opened a showroom especially for digital products on its company premises. Presently, the company is creating new forms of POS and presentation formats for its distribution channels, to maximize the marketing potential of its new product range. Within the next few years, the capacity will be expanded to produce 270,000 m² in all of IS Dengseo s production sites. In order to achieve this target, IS Dengseo invested in three additional Gamma ceramic printers in June 2014. We are very happy with the Durst technology and our partnership with Durst. We are confident of their service and support competence to guarantee a smooth operation of our systems,` says Se-Hwan Song. Seeing that digital inkjet technology will advance in the future, we only wish, that producers of inks will display a similar innovative drive to increase the range of applications and the production efficiency.` In May 2013, the Gamma 75 HD-R was installed at the IS Dongseo factory in Jinju and the operators were trained in its use by Durst service technicians. The intention for IS Dongseo was to produce premium quality reproductions of stone, slate, and marble structures and -mosaics. Consequently, the operators were also trained by Durst in the digital workflow with a focus on Color Management and the Durst CopyRip Software, specifically developed for the ceramic sector.
Durst Phototechnik AG Ceramics Printing Julius-Durst-Strasse 4 39042 Brixen/Bressanone, Italy P.: +39 0472 810111 F.: +39 0472 830980 www.durst-online.com info@durst.it Durst Phototechnik Digital Technology GmbH Julius-Durst-Strasse 11 9900 Lienz, Austria P.: +43 4852 71777 F.: +43 4852 71777 50 www.durst-online.com info@durst-online.at Durst Industrial Inkjet Application GmbH Julius-Durst-Straße 12 9900 Lienz, Austria P.: +43 4852 90900 F.: +43 4852 90900 55 www.durst-online.com diia@durst-online.at The latest technical developments are constantly being incorporated into Durst products. Descriptions, illustrations and specifications are therefore subject to change without notice. Durst is a Registered Trade Mark Copyright Durst Phototechnik AG 09/2014