Bourgeois Publicité Adds EFI VUTEk LED Hybrid Printer

Rennes, France-based screen and digital printing company Bourgeois Publicité installed an EFI VUTEkLX3 Pro hybrid flatbed/roll-to-roll superwide-format printer from Electronics For Imaging, Inc.
The 3.2-meter wide VUTEk printer features four-, six- and eight-pass modes.

“Our first criteria was to look for optimal print quality and white printing in a single stage in order to remove extra steps in production,” said CEO and founder Jacques Bourgeois. “Work in CMYK plus white is now done at a production rate of about 80 square meters per hour. It is 130 square meters per hour for eight-color work and 220 square meters per hour for CMYK. At those speeds, it is a very productive machine outputting the high quality we need.” 

In 1975, sign writer Bourgeois founded the small, three-person business near Rennes. Years later, he adopted screen printing and, later, digital print, because of changes in his business and the needs of his clients. Today, Bourgeois Publicité employs 25 and has state-of-the-art machinery.

The EFI VUTEk LX3 Pro printer’s versatility is useful for addressing a Bourgeois Publicité client base that includes large companies, city governments, institutions, boutiques, large retail chains and more.

“An SME like ours has to deal with a wide variety of markets and the needs of our customers, who are also very diverse,” said Bourgeois. “Hybrid flatbed/roll-to-roll technology is a good solution, as it makes it possible to print on both rigid and flexible materials such as cardboard, PVC, Akylux panels, vinyl for window graphics, paper posters, tarpaulins, etc., with a single machine.” 
In addition, the company found that the printer can successfully print very small text. “We can usually do that with offset, but I never thought I would achieve it with digital technology,” Bourgeois said. 
The printer features LED curing lamps and “cool cure” LED technology.

“It’s a reason for communicating with our customers, who are increasingly aware of these issues,” said Bourgeois. “Plus, the lamps do not get hot, so we can safely print on fragile or heat-sensitive materials. They no longer deform and remain perfectly flat.”