The large format printer has been operating since February 2015 at Atelier Bischof AG in Tübach (Switzerland), where it runs practically non-stop. "This is the kind of milestone we would normally celebrate", laughs Roger Neff, manager of Atelier Bischof AG in the Swiss town of Tübach. But the party must be postponed because production is currently in high gear. The milestone he refers to is the 50,000 square metres attained by the swissQprint Nyala 2 flatbed printer in December 2015 – just ten months after commissioning. "That is quite an achievement", adds Maurus Zeller, product manager at swissQprint. All models considered – Nyala 2 being the most productive – an average customer gets to around one-third of this output per year.

It was early February 2015 when Atelier Bischof took delivery of their Nyala 2, which happened to be the 500th machine to leave the swissQprint factory. It has proved an industrious all-rounder ever since, working two shifts a day as a rule, or even three at peak times. Operators appreciate the system for its reliability. "When time is short, breakdowns are the last thing you need", explains Inti Willmer. He works every day with the Nyala 2. And it is exciting work: so much is possible, and yet changeovers between jobs are fast and easily accomplished. He may be working through palettes laden with large format rigid foam panels, and five minutes after they are done he could be loading up a series of A4 acrylic glass or a roll printing job.

Roger Neff adds: "The big advantage is that we can handle whole campaigns using one and the same printer." Colour consistency from banners through to POS stands is thus assured. For Neff, acquisition of the swissQprint printer held promises of bigger runs and more productivity than before. The Nyala 2 has delivered. "The efficiency boost helps us compensate narrower margins", adds Neff; right now there is a struggle for survival in the market. He usually reckons on three to four years for this type of production resource to recoup its cost. "But if we continue utilising the Nyala 2 like we have to date, it will get there much earlier", Neff calculates. 

Added value increases the moment Atelier Bischof AG can deliver something out of the ordinary. Recently, a brand owner ordered a large print-run of display stands for putting in pharmacy shop windows. The special elements in this Switzerland-wide campaign were acrylic panels with an optical 3-D effect. The Nyala 2 uses varnish to deposit lenses responsible for producing the droptix effect. It is an effective eye-catcher, and customers are happy to dig deeper into their budgets for it.

Last November, swissQprint introduced a quiet and more economical vacuum system. Atelier Bischof AG had their conventional pumps replaced right away. That has drastically reduced noise levels, which the workforce appreciates. Neff the businessman is also an appreciator, as he looks forward to savings in electricity. The Nyala 2 will celebrate its first anniversary at Atelier Bischof when February 2016 comes around. Neff aims to pop the corks at least by then, when he anticipates that the square metre counter on the swissQprint printer will stand at 70,000.