Fujifilm’s Onset Offers High Quality and Efficient Output at Schiele Group

John Schiele, President, Schiele Group, and his Onset R40i.

The Onset R40i, distributed exclusively in North America by FUJIFILM North America Corporation, Graphic Systems Division (Booth 1119), is a wide-format, flatbed UV press that prints with a full bed print array (123.6 by 63-inch print area) that eliminates the gloss matte banding normally associated with traditional step and repeat inkjet printing.

“Since we’ve had the Onset R40i, we’ve been hiring additional sales staff. This is a great area of growth for us,” says John Schiele, President, Schiele Group. “This machine is amazing. It runs and runs, and we never have to reprint anything.”

Running two shifts per day, five days a week as new jobs come in, Schiele Group is running several hundred different items, sizes, shapes and a lot of backlit on their Onset.

“This machine is very consistent,” Schiele says. “It’s easy to produce two-sided output, with perfect registration. With our previous equipment, it was just brutal to print one side, and then attempt to feed it back through.”

Among their roster of clients, Schiele Group manages output for grocery stores, cosmetic companies, the auto repair industry and also large-scale displays at corporate conventions. 

A previous flatbed caused him many problems, such as the ‘lawnmower effect’ and balancing the light colors, along with electrical and mechanical issues. “I ended up returning it,” Schiele adds. “And then I was able to acquire the Onset, and in regard to quality, there was not a press out there that had any better quality.”

Schiele is pleased with the full width of range on his Onset, particularly when solids come off the bed. “I don’t have to worry about banding,” Schiele says.

In 1948, Henry Schiele opened a small print shop in an old barbershop. With two small presses, a desk and a phone, Henry began the modest enterprise that would eventually grow into the integration of eight companies that make up the Schiele Group. The values by which Henry lived are still what guide Schiele Group today. They include hard work, personalized service and a drive to always do their best. These values have helped the Schiele Group grow into one of the largest printers in the Chicago area. Today, the Schiele Group is a multi-plant enterprise that produces more than two billion pieces of printed materials a year.

“I have a great partnership with Fujifilm. And I appreciate being included in their research and development. To that, I’m very well taken care of by Fujifilm,” Schiele concludes.