Emotions ran high when Swiss printer Vogt-Schild Druck celebrated the inauguration of a new Rotoman press in an event attended by 120 guests.

The eyes of host Rolf Steiner glistened as he discussed features of the new press, which brings the company's machine park to state-of-the-art condition, ready to face the future.

For Derendingen-based Vogt-Schild, the Rotoman DirectDrive enables industrial production of the highest standard, and guests were able to witness the different highlights and technological innovations live via a big screen. Output of the new system will include magazines, placemats and business reports, with reduced waste. Smart printing starts at the paper feeder in the cellar rooms.

The Rotoman prints 65,000 copies of a 16-page brochure in a hour, and Vogt-Schild has doubled paper storage and equipped it with a semi-automatic unpacking station, as well as production preparation spaces, to avoid bottlenecks.

The new machine includes a fifth unit for special colours or scented coatings, so that a printed strawberry actually smells like a strawberry. A 14-metre-long drying oven enables a saving of 40,000 litres of heating oil a year, with heat now recycled to a paint shop nearby with the two companies benefitting from a warmth exchange system.