LFP - Large-Format-Printing

Tubbax Digital Printing: “The VersaUV LEC-300 is our small screen printer”

Thursday 09. December 2010 - A year ago, the Belgian company Tubbax Digital Printing started using the VersaUV LEC-300 as an addition to its existing print and silkscreen service. Now, the printer/cutter goes at full speed. The machine mainly proves its strength in the production of labels and stickers.

Carl van Tongerloo is business manager at Tubbax Digital Printing (TDP). He tells us about the strengths of the LEC-300: “We mainly use the UV machine for sticker printing since more and more of our clients ask for small runs. Digital printing is for these kinds of jobs a cheap and high-quality alternative to silkscreen printing. But the additional possibilities, like white and gloss printing, appeal to our clients as well. For instance, we printed door stickers with Braille for the public institutions of the city of Leuven. We created the Braille by printing several layers of the glossy ink.”

Well-known companies like Coca Cola and Duvel outsource their print jobs to TDP. The company prints among other things the Coca Cola truck curtains and the Duvel displays. “These companies come to us with projects that require an excellent print quality. At the moment, we have 14 printers and we chose the ideal printer for each type of job,” explains Van Tongerloo. “The LEC-300 fills the void that was left by the other printers. Our other printers couldn’t produce the quality that was required for certain jobs. Moreover, we really like the fact that the machine prints and cuts and uses white plus gloss in one pass.”

Carl van Tongerloo realizes that they don’t use the LEC-300’s full potential yet: “We gradually discover new applications. We discover these new solutions by experimenting.” The UV machine allows TDP to appeal to new clients and to offer its existing clientele new possibilities.”

At first, digital printing was just an experiment for TDP. Now, it is a fully fledged production process. “At the time, we were one of the first European companies that printed digitally. The market still had to be developed. We experimented a lot in the catacombs of our current neighbours. Our initial customers were people who painted on fleet but were looking for a more efficient solution Fleet marking was our main primary activity for many years. Now, the focus gradually moves to indoor and outdoor shop and company advertising,” concludes Van Tongerloo.