Visitors to the swissQprint stand at Fespa gained an idea of just how capable the large format printers from Switzerland are. Live demonstrations and exhibits suggested broad application areas, extending far beyond the obvious ones. Two swissQprint flatbed printers, a Nyala 2 and an Impala 2, worked non-stop at Fespa. Printing demonstrations were supplemented by a display of samples, offering an insight into the wide range of applications made possible by these Swiss machines. Even everyday-seeming jobs revealed special features upon closer inspection.

Inkjet printing normally leaves a very thin layer of ink on the substrate. But the same technique is also able to "lay it on thick": by applying multiple ink layers, swissQprint can also produce 3D structures. Possible applications: braille on product packages or guidance systems, textures on interior design elements or direct marketing items, reliefs on signs, and much more.

Similar results are provided with the selective placement of varnish. This enhances advertising media and increases its impact. So not only can can there be a 2D reproduction of a football or a freshly poured tankard of beer; that image can also have visible and tactile studs. swissQprint calls the effect Drop Gloss. Apart from this, varnish can be printed in combination with process colours – without any loss in production speed. This is of use when lower gloss is desired, or for increasing surface hardness and resistance to solvents. Incidentally, all swissQprint machines offer a special silk gloss mode that imparts a smooth sheen to their printed output – and this without using a varnish channel.

The summit of varnish application is the printing of optical lenses. The swissQprint droptix process produces 3D optical effects using varnish lenses that magnify the underlying printed design. Compared to printing on lenticular media – which swissQprint can also do – the lenses can be deposited selectively, for example, to leave a logo or product images in the clear while the special effect dances around them. Fashion and cosmetics brands use this as an eye-catcher for in-store and shop window displays.

Precision is the prime prerequisite for lenses as well as lenticular printing. The precision of swissQprint systems is also in evidence with other demanding applications. For example, in multilayer printing, where colour and blocking layers are superimposed with 100% accuracy on transparent media, so different images show on either side. With swissQprint, a type size of 2 points stays clearly legible even with white printing. Colour expanses are uniform, gradients are smooth and skin tones look natural. This is particularly true in Fine Art mode, and when light colours are used to supplement the CMYK standard. It is why photo finishers and fine art reprographers choose swissQprint.

The Swiss large format printers are notably at home in advertising technology, where they print commonplace substrates of every conceivable size: from personalised customer loyalty cards up to 3 × 4 metre construction site signboards, and flexible roll stock up to 3.2 metres wide. Print samples on glass, aluminium and stainless steel were among those presented at Fespa by swissQprint; slate and wallpaper also served as substrates. These are materials which resourceful designers use to set accents in advertising technology, event equipment and interior design. Corrugated board is the number one medium for companies specialised in POS displays and packaging prototypes. Last but not least, natural materials such as paper, wood and leather are to be regularly found on the flatbeds of these precision printers.

At Fespa, swissQprint demonstrated how direct digital printing holds huge application potential that remains largely untapped in practice. And that presents an opportunity for printing firms. If they have courage to step off the beaten track and offer special applications, lucrative niches can open.