Ruckriegel Visit
Frank Ruckriegel, John Lipari, Susan Heffernan, Ed Avis, and Tony Militano tour Ruckriegel's digital printing business in Frankfurt.
The APDSP members' 2018 trip to the German reprographics association convention (motio) kicked off Thursday with a tour of Frankfurt, including stops at two reprographics/printing companies and dinner in the famous Sachsenhausen section of the city.
APDSP members on the trip include Tony Militano from CarbonCopyDigital, John Lipari and Susan Heffernan from Plan & Print Systems, Lisa Tipps from Dynamic Reprographics, and APDSP Managing Director Ed Avis.
The first stop of the day was at Druckriegel GmbH, a digital printing firm owned by motio
John Lipari viewing the digital printing equipment.
member Frank Ruckriegel. The company is leader in digital small-format printing, including complex print-on-demand jobs that combine digital personalization, monochrome and color sheets, binding, packaging and shipping. The company prides itself in being able to handle important, on-going projects from job submission to shipping.
"My profession is to make customers happy," Ruckriegel said.
The company, located in a 2,600 square meter facility that previously housed a car dealership, uses equipment ranging from Xerox iGen digital presses to wide-format HP inkjets.
Ruckriegel welcomed the group by flying the U.S. and Canadian flags in front of his office, and he provided a lunch comprised of delicacies from the region.
The second stop on the tour was Irmschler GmbH, a traditional reprographics firm owned by motio member Michael Irmschler. The three-generation firm was founded 74 years ago, and Michael has been in charge since 1990.
"We were the first firm in the area to offer plotting service," Irmschler said. The company
Folding Machine
Tony Militano, Susan Heffernan, and John Lipari listen to Michael Irmschler describe his company's folding machine. Irmschler is owner of Irmschler GmbH in Frankfort, Germany. This photo was taken during an APDSP visit to Germany in 2018.
launched its plot service the same year Irmschler took over, and digital CAD printing is still a key component of the company's success.
One thing that distinguishes the digital large-format CAD printing in Germany from North American firms is that nearly all of the prints are folded, not rolled. Irmschler showed the North Americans on the tour how the folders work, creating neat little packets of prints that can be put into binders.
Another key difference between German and North American repro firms is that nearly all the CAD printing in Irmschler's firm is in color, compared to about 10 percent for the North Americans.
Other key service lines the company offers include large-format scanning and large-format color graphics work.
After visiting the two firms, the APDSP group toured parts of downtown Frankfurt and then
Gathered for the Feast
Susan Heffernan, John Lipari, Lisa Tipps, and Tony Militano in Zum Eichkatzerl Restaurant.
enjoyed a traditional German dinner at Zum Eichkatzerl Restaurant in the Sachsenhausen area. The meal included copious amounts of classic German cuisine such as pork cutlets, schnitzel, sauerkraut and spaetzle. It was washed down with apple wine, a specialty of Sachsenhausen.
Stay tuned for much more information about the trip in the next issue of APDSP Today.