Durst, the industrial inkjet specialist is announcing seven further orders for the successful Gamma 98 XD from the largest Brazilian tile manufacturer Portobello. The company already uses six ceramic printers of the Gamma 75 and 120 Series in its production, and was able to raise its turnover to more than 1 billion BRL (about 320m USD) thanks to the production efficiency of the systems.

Due to the continued boom in the Brazilian construction industry which is spreading to the Northern regions in addition to the mega cities, Portobello, which is known for its premium tile design and quality focus, has recently opened a new production site in Alagoas with more than 1,000 employees. At this site, Portobello will henceforth produce wall- and floor tiles for the domestic market (ViaSeca) and for export under the new sub-brand ´Pointer`.

The benefit is, that the lower-priced Pointer products are manufactured on the same Durst Gamma 98 XD with up to 8 colors, just like the premium lines. Three of the seven new ceramic printer systems have been installed at the headquarters in Tijucas, Santa Catarina and four at the new factory. The four Gamma 98 XD at Pointer have already produced more than 6.000.000 m² since April. Last year, Portobello achieved a production volume of 30 million square meters, but current figures for 2015 are promising new production record.

´Durst Ceramic Printer Systems have provided us with continuous growth since 2011, and the investment in the new generation allows us to continue on this course of expansion`, says Stefano Galli, Head of Design and Development for Portobello. ´The Gamma 98 XD features an impressive productivity and print quality, but also a new service concept, which enables us to carry out maintenance jobs on our own. The nearest Durst service location is a four-hour-flight away from Pointer, and with our production targets a 24/7 production is vital. We have managed to produce large quantities with an outstanding reliability and without any downtime. With regards to the print quality, we do not differ between the premium line and the mass market, so we use the same printer systems for both products. Above all stands our Portobello quality assurance, even if the label says Pointer.`

Gamma XD Series
With the Gamma 98 XD and the Gamma 148 XD, Durst introduced two new printer systems at the Tecnargilla 2014, with a modular design for 3 to 8 printing bars and print widths from 319 mm to 956 mm (Gamma 98 XD) and 319 mm to 1403 mm (Gamma 148 XD). The new Gamma XD Series features the latest Durst High Definition Printhead Technology with dual ink circulation and the new Adaptive Dot Placement Technology guarantees banding-free printing with a high image quality and color homogeneity. The new printheads are designed to be easily and quickly replaced and re-adjusted by the operator to minimize downtime. In addition, a new printhead cleaning system guarantees a long life cycle for the printheads with long maintenance intervals and without loss of ink due to purging of the ink onto the transport belt.

The new Gamma XD Series decorates tiles, with a special Grayscale function, with a native resolution of 300 dpi and print resolutions of up to 300x1000 dpi and printheads with different droplet sizes up to 200 pl.