Brixen, Italy – Ten Herkel has chosen to invest in Benelux’s first Vanguard VK3220T-HS flatbed printer to better anticipate customer requests and respond flexibly and cost-effectively to broader application demands.

The Netherland business was established in 1982 by Bart ten Herkel as an offset printer. Five years ago, he was joined by his son Thijno and together they began their first steps into large-format roll-to-roll digital printing.

This paved the way for the Vanguard Europe investment that is supporting a service expansion into signage. Thijno says: “Now we are making the move to direct printing on sheet material. That saves an operation in certain applications and therefore time and money. This top model offers us a lot of flexibility. And on certain substrates you get a much nicer effect from direct printing. Think white printing or playing with spot varnish."

Bart and Thijno first saw the press when it was launched at FESPA 2023 in Munich and the investment was made after a thorough review. "All in all, I think we spent a year and a half working on that," says Thijno.

The final decision followed a visit, together with distributor Pixia BV, to Vanguard Europe's European headquarters, in Brixen, South Tyrol, Italy, next-door to the Durst Group headquarters, where the VK3220T-HS was put through its paces.

Bart explains: "We had brought print files from frequent work and the result was perfect. It is also a safe feeling that Durst Group stands behind this subsidiary, as is the fact that we can fall back on Durst Benelux's service organization."

The 3.2meter x 2meter flatbed Vanguard VK3220T-HS can be equipped with up to 15 Kyocera printheads (three rows) to produce up to 360 square metres per hour. Ten Herkel chose the configuration with 2 x CMYK plus white and varnish.

Ten Herkel’ Vanguard VK3220T-HS features a compact, user-friendly product design following collaboration with multi-award-winning Zanzotti Industrial Design, to offer a more intuitive, ergonomic and optimized experience for machine operators. It is controlled via Durst Workflow and Analytics enabling data-driven decisions.

It was chosen to complete Forex, Dibond, corrugated board and Reboard, but Bart and Thijno are also considering producing applications on plastic substrates such as acrylic. Thijno adds: "This is also why we chose the High-Flex Adhesion ink; it is extra flexible on the one hand, but also has good adhesion on difficult substrates. This gives us opportunities to create unique POS materials. You can monitor the quality better, switch faster, and offer a wider portfolio."

Pixia director Jeroen van Dortmont said: "We are delighted to announce this deal with Ten Herkel which underpins our confidence in the market that was so apparent at FESPA where we had so much great feedback. The investment for Vanguard VK3220T-HS flatbed printer is another example of how customers are looking for high quality, industrial speed production eco-friendly machines that are competitively priced in the market.”

Fabian Sottsas, Managing Director of Vanguard Europe, comments: “Following our outstanding success at FESPA 2024, we are delighted that our strategic regional partnership with Pixia has resulted in multiple sales. It continues our unwavering commitment to partnering customers like Ten Herkel to grow business profitably together as we continue to make important inroads into new markets as we continue our expansion.”