How the Karibu saves tens of thousands of euros.

As a general signage contractor, declaro offers an extensive package of services ranging from consulting, planning and permit procedures to production and installation, in Germany and beyond. The company also routinely develops bespoke solutions for its customers. For Dietrich Amtenbrink, co-founder and partner, declaro’s state-of-the-art equipment is key: “Our extremely tight schedules mean that our machines have to operate reliably round the clock.”

In 2020, the company evaluated a new roll to roll printer based on high expectations for efficiency, reliability and quality. Ultimately, they chose a Karibu from swissQprint. “The price and projected operating costs met our criteria, and swissQprint has kept its promises in every respect.”

Versatile applications

The swissQprint roll to roll printer excels at a wide range of print jobs at declaro: mainly backlit applications, but also films, blockout textiles, wallpapers and banners. Even flag fabrics, which are generally sublimation printed, are no challenge at all for the Karibu. “What is particularly impressive is the high quality it achieves printing large solid areas”, Amtenbrink emphasises.

Significant savings

The Karibu saves declaro both time and money. “With our previous system, we had pricey maintenance agreements, a lot of visits from service technicians and of course the interruptions that entailed”, says Amtenbrink. “Now that we’ve switched to swissQprint, we’re saving over EUR 20,000 year. That is a tremendous sum!” he confirms. “swissQprint’s service technicians come out every six months for scheduled preventative maintenance”, adds Katharina Vogt, head of digital printing. The company also saves on energy costs, because the Karibu consumes less than half as much power as the previous system.

Smooth workflow

The team in the digital print department appreciates how easy the Karibu is to operate. Its cassette system and its patented Tip Switch Vacuum technology make changeovers from one print job to another fast and simple. Mesh printing runs smoothly, too, and above all without the hassle of cleaning. “Everything is functioning flawlessly and the Karibu is seamlessly integrated in our print-and-cut workflow”, says Katharina Vogt.

Handy features

“One of the Karibu’s key features for us is its ability to produce multilayer prints with accurate registration. It’s one of the reasons we chose this machine”, says Amtenbrink. Multilayer printing is used to create film and backlit products. One example project, which declaro completed in just two months, is a new logo launched by furniture retailer Jysk at its 300 stores. Jysk wanted a fabric for lightboxes to be printed in such a way that only the white logo gets illuminated, while the blue background remains opaque. Using the machine’s intelligent multilayer technology, declaro was able to meet this requirement efficiently while delivering premium quality. “In the past, we would have had to tediously cut and apply black films”, explains Amtenbrink.