Finishing & Screen Printing

Dupli-Print, Domont: “Finishing Is Just as Important as Printing”

Monday 11. March 2013 - Founded in 1993 as a digital printing house, Dupli-Print in Domont near Paris is the leading company in France for digital solutions thanks to its many innovative products.

The most recent investment to optimize its inline print finishing behind an HP T350 digital printing press is a SigmaLine from Muller Martini featuring a SigmaFolder, SigmaCollator, Pantera perfect binder, Esprit three-knife trimmer, Uno compensating stacker and a film-wrapping unit.
“Digital printing is a dynamic business that is constantly undergoing development,” says Frédéric Fabi, President of Dupli-Print. “That’s why we need to continue investing to keep pace with the latest technology. However, ultimately it’s not the machines that make the difference, but the market first, followed by sales. We need to be not only innovative, but also successful with our solutions.” Marketing and sales: these comprise three business segments at Dupli-Print, which was founded 19 years ago by Fabi and today has 104 employees working in three shifts on six workdays.
? Personalization: The company’s own 123mailings.com website allows it to manage the printing of mailshots and transactions both offline and online. In just a few clicks, customers can have their communication and administrative documents personalized, printed, placed in envelopes and mailed thanks to net-printing technology from Dupli-Print.
? Communication and Printing: Dupli-Print’s machine line-up for digital and offset printing covers ultra-short print runs up to industrial protection – both for classic printing as well as unique jobs. Thanks to its extensive machinery, Dupli-Print can cover the entire production process – from desktop publishing to sorting according to mailing routes.
? Service: “Clicalbum” and “Dupli-card” are just two examples of new products from Dupli-Print that fulfill customers’ digital printing needs. These e-printing solutions, which are often coupled with the company’s net-printing technology, are easily accessible online.
Dupli-Print has an increasing number of private customers – for example, the company directly produces books for several customers. However, the main area of business is clearly its B2B segment. Dupli-Print produces (photo) brochures, magazines and books for businesses, publishing houses, universities and schools. Thanks to its strong design and advisory department, Dupli-Print supports its customers during the entire process, from the initial idea to distribution.
“We want to offer our customers improved, comprehensive solutions,” says Fabi. “That’s why we often sit down with them – even when most of our contact takes place online – to discuss the many opportunities presented by digital printing and digital technology.”
A More Efficient Line
In addition to three sheet-fed printing presses for classic commercial work, Dupli-Print uses no fewer than eight digital printing presses for its diversified range of products – including three color printing presses. Its latest investment is a T350 from HP. Put into operation this past summer, it is part of a complete inline production system together with a SigmaLine from Muller Martini, consisting of a SigmaFolder, SigmaCollator, Pantera perfect binder, Esprit three-knife trimmer, Uno compensating stacker and a film-wrapping unit. This system is much more efficient than the company’s previous system.
“We conducted an extensive evaluation involving technical studies and also looked at the SigmaLine in several plants,” says Fabi. “That convinced us that the solutions from Muller Martini are just the right ones for us, as finishing in the sense of added value is just as important as printing – that goes for both production speed as well as the quality of the end product.”
According to the company’s president, another important aspect of the purchase decision was the after-sales service from Muller Martini: “Our machines have to run around the clock, which is why it’s important to have any problems remedied quickly.”
The new production system is controlled by the data and process management system Connex and enables Dupli-Print to increase the size of its print runs in digital printing considerably and offer customers more attractive prices. The T350/Sigma/Pantera combination is used for the digital production of books and brochures with print runs of up to 2,500 copies, which are bound using the Pantera machine.
The new system, which the machine operators at Dupli-Print have learned to run smoothly despite the great technological challenge, also allows the company to target new customer segments directly and open up new markets. “Ultimately, we made these investments to expand our customer base and increase our business volume,” says Fabi.
The company’s main efforts are focused on expanding its customer base in its own country. At present, a large proportion of Dupli-Print customers are located in France. “However, we also have customers in neighboring countries, and we have set a clear goal to increase our exports,” says the company’s president.