Ceramica Sant`Agostino The digital path of renowned Italian

EN
Ceramica Sant‘Agostino
The digital path of renowned Italian
tile manufacturer
University city Ferrara is the most bicycle-friendly city in Italy. The Renaissance-era old town of
Ferrara is surrounded by a 9 km-long city wall and can only be explored on foot or by bicycle. You‘d
also need a bicycle to make your way around the giant production halls of ceramic manufacturer
Sant‘Agostino located in the province. The company is one of Italy‘s leading tile manufacturers,
known in particular for its high-quality designs which wouldn‘t have been possible without digital
inkjet technology from Durst.
Sant‘Agostino was founded in 1964 and produces
wall tiles (earthen ware/bicottura) and floor tiles
(porcelain stoneware/gres porcellanato). The
company has 320 employees and is headquartered
not far from the center of Italian ceramic
production in Emilia-Romagna. Sant‘Agostino‘s
high-quality products are export hits. To meet the
wide variety of demands and expectations of its
customers, Sant‘Agostino has its own design studio
and also collaborates on projects with renown
architects and designers.
The digitalization of production at Sant‘Agostino
began with wall tiles in 2008 with the installation
of a Durst Gamma 70 inkjet ceramic printer. Durst
was chosen because the company‘s printing
systems offer optimum material handling and
print quality. High print resolution, homogeneous
color surfaces without banding and a high
degree of ink application were important factors
to Sant‘Agostino.
At the same time, Sant‘Agostino began using a
third-party digital printing machine for floor tiles
and porcelain stoneware as it could be integrated
into the production line more easily thanks to its
more compact size. As tile production became
increasingly complex, however, Sant‘Agostino once
again decided on a Durst printing system.
„The complexity arose when customers clearly saw
and understood the difference between traditional
and digital printing methods,“ said engineer Andrea
Felisatti, who is responsible for tile production at
Sant‘Agostino. „That‘s when customers started
wanting more. They wanted perfect resolution
and images rich in contrast and without graininess.
To meet these demands and keep up with the
competition, we invested in digital printing
technology. Durst printing systems were our first
choice because of their performance and reliability.“
In the mean time, Sant‘Agostino in Ferrara has
installed five Durst ceramic printers, including
the Gamma 75 HD, Gamma 75 HD-R and
Gamma 120 HDS. Five additional Durst digital
printers, which altogether produce an annual total
volume of around 6 million square meters, are
located at other locations of the group.
„Since the beginning of our cooperation with the
company, Durst‘s digital printing systems have
continued to evolve,“ said engineer Andrea Felisatti.
„It‘s not so much in the area of print performance,
which was great from the get go, but rather in
terms of print volume. Today, we are able to
produce much greater quantities with the same
level of quality. That‘s real added value.“
One of Sant‘Agostino‘s main reasons for
changing to digital production was the strong
color deviations which would sometimes occur
when using the traditional production method.
The company produces series with more than
120 different color tones, which must exhibit
absolute precision, detail and top-quality color
transitions. With the Durst ceramic printing
systems, such results can be produced
continuously.
„There are some disadvantages to digital printing
too, though, such as the failure of nozzles, which
leads to striation,“ said engineer Andrea Felisatti.
„But Durst has this problem well under control,
and failures are the absolute exception. Should
a problem crop up, though, the very well-organized
Durst service team is there for you. This creates
trust and promotes co-operation. Plus, when a
problem with an installed printing machine is
identified, Durst informs all its other customers so
that preventive countermeasures can be taken.“
Sant‘Agostino will continue to invest in
innovative technologies in the future,
which allows the company to provide
global markets with high-quality
products. Sant‘Agostino is excitedly
watching developments in digital glaze
printing and new technologies for the
automatic detection of textures on tiles,
which will enable them to be printed with
suitably prepared graphics/designs with
high precision.
For more information on Ceramica
Sant‘Agostino S.p.A., visit:
www.ceramicasantagostino.it
Ceramica Sant‘Agostino Durst Ceramics Printing
www.youtube.com/watch?v=22YrUYh8kco
Ing. Andrea Felisatti, Ceramica Sant‘Agostino
Durst Phototechnik
AG
Ceramics Printing
Julius-Durst-Strasse 4
39042 Brixen/Bressanone, Italy
P.: +39 0472 810111
F.: +39 0472 830980
www.durst-online.com
info@durst.it
Durst Phototechnik
S.p.A.
Divisione Vendite Italia
Via Julius Durst 4
39042 Bressanone (BZ)
Telefono 0472 81 01 21
Telefax 0472 81 01 89
www.durst.it
dvi@durst.it
Alberto Bassanello, Durst
The latest technical developments are constantly
being incorporated into Durst products. Illustrations
and descriptions are therefore subject to modification.
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Copyright Durst Phototechnik AG
04/2014