Artisan Triumphs with a Trinity of Onset Presses

Onset X3

Artisan Complete, a Toronto-area print provider, is victorious in its quest to win more work with a trio of presses from Fujifilm (Booth 8220), featuring two Onset X3s, and an Onset R40i (also known as QR40). 

“We started in digital wide-format with the very first Inca Columbia Turbo in 2004,” says Peter Balzer, CEO, Artisan Complete. “As our business grew, we upgraded to two Onset S70s, and they have since been replaced with the two Onset X3s. Speed to market is the solution our clients are looking for; the X3s are fabulous machines, which enable us to meet our clients expectations.”

Artisan Screen Print was formed in 1971, and has evolved to become a full service provider at the forefront of at-retail communications. Now spanning more than 300,000 sqft within four facilities, it has become a POP design and production powerhouse of more than 200 employees. 

Victor Jorge, VP manufacturing, Artisan Complete

Artisan is not only a wide-format printer, it’s also a provider of retail solutions, helping bring products to life, tell compelling brand stories, and build brand equity while engaging with consumers in both traditional and non-traditional retail environments. “The Onset X3s provide us the capability to print high-quality photographic reproductions on non-flat surfaces, decorating directly onto these substrates, allowing for overall better flexibility, which we previously were not able to do,” adds Allen Lemieux, VP product development, Artisan Complete. 

“It’s very efficient to run digital,” says Victor Jorge, VP manufacturing, Artisan Complete. “We are at near-litho quality with the X3s. They are workhorses. And with the R40i (QR40) we are able to output white and orange for specialty work. Clients expect faster turnarounds and higher quality, which is why we’ve made huge investments in digital, because that’s the client demand.”

Artisan is currently part of an elite group of print service providers in North America with three Onset presses under one roof. Additionally, the two Onset X3s include three-quarter automation, allowing for increased throughput by reducing manual handling.

“The three-quarter automation on the two X3s is the best scenario for Artisan,” says Jorge. “We now have speed and quality, and are regularly running well over 200 sheets an hour, with upwards of 1,000 bed passes being a normal run, with a variety of substrates.”

Artisan recently completed a campaign for a well-known global client, and successfully ran it on all three of their Onset presses.

“With the two X3s, we were able to split the runs, with the exact same output,” says Jorge. “We also were able to run white on the R40i (QR40). The colors all matched, and we were able to meet the client’s deadline requirements. The Onsets have transformed our business greatly between the shorter, inefficient runs we were doing litho, and the same on the screen-printing side.” 

The Inca Onset X3 is a stand-out within Inca Onset’s range of full-bed array wide-format UV flatbed inkjet printers. The 14 channel capacity features three sets of CMYK, with the option of two white channels of ink or one channel of orange ink, and a 14-picoliter (R Class) drop size. The Onset X3 is capable of producing sellable output at speeds in excess of 9,600 sqft/hr (891 sqm/hr).

“We’ve been working with Fujifilm upwards of 20 years, and we have a great relationship,” concludes Jorge.