Foto & Croms Reus chooses the SureColor SC-S70600

Foto & Croms Reus was one of the first businesses in Spain to install Epson's SureColor SC-S70600.

Foto & Croms Reus was looking for a printer that would allow it to increase the number of jobs that it was capable of completing, without impacting the quality demanded by its customers. The company found the answer thanks to Epson and Standkolor.

Like many other businesses from the pre-press world, Foto & Croms Reus (Tarragona, Spain) is a family business that has evolved towards new technologies, becoming a graphics studio where digital printing now plays a key role.

The company started off in photomechanics doing photolithographs, scanning and colour proofs. Today, it is a printing service provider that, thanks to its latest equipment addition, a 10-colour SureColor SC-S70600, can offer customers a much wider and more versatile range of services, especially since it can also print with white and metallic ink.

Epson visited Foto & Croms Reus when the company was in the middle of moving offices. The SureColor SC-S70600 was already up and running at the new premises and Xavier Bieto, Manager of Foto & Croms Reus, explained why he chose this printer: “We've always made colour management a priority. We come from the pre-press world and the first plotter we worked with was used for doing colour proofs. We later added two more Epson plotters because of the range of colours they offer. The last one was a GS6000, which we've used to print metres and metres of materials.

“We then needed to find a new machine to do lots of other things. Our first idea was to buy a hybrid printer that would allow us to print in high-quality on flexible as well as rigid materials. However, when we saw the SureColor SC-S70600, we were convinced that it was the right solution, especially as it included the white and metallic inks.”

Yes, we were looking at lots of others, but none were as convincing as Epson's SC-S70600. It was the best choice for us because of the white and metallic inks, and also because it incorporates the colour grey, which we use to get slight gradations and we can reproduce a clear black. Quality and reliability in the reproduction of colour is very important for us and for our customers.

We got the printer less than two months ago and we've already printed on photographic vinyl, tarpaulin, canvas and wallpaper. The quality is really good. I remember that the first thing we printed was a job for one of our customers that we've had for years, a swimwear manufacturer, who asked us for personalised posters to promote their new collection in their clients' shops all over the world. We needed photographic quality for that job. Years ago, we used to print posters using a water-based plotter, then on the GS6000, and now we've tried it for the first time with the SureColor. The results have been perfect, with great precision in the detail and very realistic skin tones.

Our idea is to be able to create 70% of what we do with this plotter. We now often work with end customers who ask us for short runs. This printer makes everything easier. In addition, the white and metallic ink has opened up a world of possibilities for us. If you have these inks, you have to make the most of them. We want to experiment with new materials that we couldn't use until now, like backlit film and sandwich printing. Without giving too much away, taking advantage of the fact that we have new facilities, we're going to decorate the whole customer service area with elements printed on different materials using the SureColor.

The vast majority aren't familiar with it; they don't go beyond canvas, paper or vinyl, and loads of applications can be carried out with other materials that we still need to experiment with. It's our job now to look for these new applications and show them to our customers.

Undoubtedly. I can see us working more in the area of interior decoration, for example. The field is very wide-ranging: personalisation for kitchens, bedroom wardrobes, walls, home appliances, etc. I'm already experimenting in my own home! In addition, I have a customer who owns a furniture shop where we are planning to offer personalised furniture with images of whatever customers want. Here you need to be careful with the quality of the images we deliver. But we have everything planned out. In our new premises, we're going to fit out a space like a photo studio where we're going to allow customers to take the photo they want to use to personalise their furniture, walls, etc.

If we compare it to the GS6000, there are lots of improvements. In addition to the overall colour appearance, highlights for us are, for example, the collection system, which works much better, especially for long runs, as well as the loading system, which is much simpler.

We've been working with Standkolor for years. This is now the third machine we've bought from them. They are really close to where we are and we really appreciate their proximity and flexibility in their service. We don't have a stock of materials or inks. Standkolor always provides a quick, effective response.