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Plant Tour - Andrés Imaging & Graphics
Rick Cappelletti, President
Chicago, Illinois |
Digital imaging the 21st century is light years away from 1975 when Andrés started as The Foto Lab, a custom-photo lab servicing top advertising agencies and large corporations. When company founder André Schellenberg passed away in 1994, Rick Cappelletti took over, and in the tradition of Schellenberg steered it to become one of the country’s leading producers of large-format digital photo and inkjet prints.
Big color always was a focus for Andrés, and in the early 90s was one of the first in the country to sphere head wide-format digital display printing. Today, the company has grown exponentially producing super-sized graphics and creative signage for some of the leading retail chains. Servicing more than 1,000 retail outlets required expanding the size of the facility for more production equipment and warehousing. In 2001, Andrés Imaging moved to a 4,181-square-meter (45,000-square-foot) building in West Town, and in 2007 acquired an additional 6,317-square-meter (68,000-square-foot) building. Cappelletti believes static graphics and signage will exist together, and Andrés Imaging will always grow with technology, including LED signage. |
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| The grand-format printer room houses all VUTEk roll-to-roll printers. |
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| Andrés Imaging’s conference room is a great place to show off client jobs, such as retail store signage for American Girl. |
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| An eight-color EFI VUTEk 3200r roll-to-roll, 1080 dpi UV printer at 171.9 square meters (1,850 square feet) per hour is Andrés Imaging’s fastest printing device. |
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| Tricky but doable, printing with white ink on Levi buttons. |
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| UV flatbed printing technology expands applications for signage and décor. Exotic rigid substrates, such as old bard wood plus white ink, allow Andrés Imaging to show its distinctive printing capabilities. |
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| Mariusz Placzel reels off an environmentally conscious BioVu print. |
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| Large-format printing requires mega-linear feet of tables for inspection, and handling materials for sewing pole pockets and heat sealing. |
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| One of the company’s MultiCam CNC routers cuts signage around the clock. |
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| Daniel Tarasek, the company’s Digital Print Team Leader, stands in front of a White Sox ballpark mural, which shows off multiple printing capabilities with vinyl, canvas, UVM/magnetic, Peel & Stick, Lintec and window perf. |
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| Daniel Tarasek in front of the company’s Durst Rho, the UV flatbed printer that is used for special rigid substrates. |
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