Italian metal decoration printer drives forward digital possibilities in partnership with Fujifilm STA's January 2019 investment in an Acuity B1 is just the latest step on a pioneering journey into digital print for metal decoration
19.05.2020
Marco Trotto Gatta, Director STA
STA s.r.l., based near Turin in northern Italy is a metal decoration printing specialist and wholly owned subsidiary company of Emmeti s.r.l which is the exclusive supplier of ICAS Spa - the world's leading cap and wire manufacturer for sparkling wine and Champagne bottles. The 1.4 billion caps and wire cages the company produces annually, and exports all around the world, represents approximately 70% of total global market share.
Until the founding of STA in the early 1990s, Emmeti had outsourced all printing work for its disc caps, but even as long ago as that, the market was beginning to demand more and more customisation and personalisation. Emmeti's lithographic print suppliers were unable to offer the levels of flexibility required by changing customer demands. The founding of STA as a lithographic metal decoration specialist was their answer.
30 years on, STA remains a forward-thinking company.
We began experimenting with digital technologies ten years ago, says Director Marco Trotto Gatta. There's a steady trend in the market for shorter runs and more customisation and personalisation - so we've been looking at the best ways to develop as a business in order to meet that demand for a long time. Our first digital press had some clear limitations: it was extremely slow, very dependent on manual processes, and the quality wasn't quite what we wanted. We were on the lookout for a high-quality digital press with offset-style and in-line architecture to make it easy to use.
We already had a close working relationship with Fujifilm who were a plates and pre-press supplier to us. Technicians and sales people from Fujifilm Italy were with us a lot - and it was through them that we first heard about the Acuity B1.
This was not a machine that had been designed specifically to print to metal - but we quickly became convinced that it had that potential. After running some tests and seeing the machine in action at Fujifilm's facility in Broadstairs in the UK, and after comparing it with all the alternatives we could find, we concluded that it offered the best combination of quality, in-line architecture and automation to take our digital print production up a level.
There were some teething problems, but we were able to offer advice from our own substantial industry experience and, working closely with Fujifilm technicians and with technicians from Inca Digital, the manufacturer, we've made excellent progress in adapting the press for high-quality, short-run metal decoration. Fujifilm has invested a lot of time into ensuring the machine does everything we need it to do. We're now printing between 100 and 120 sheets per hour on the Acuity B1 - more than 10 times what our previous digital press could manage. This allows us to do short run jobs that would previously have had to be litho-printed, and importantly it has also allowed us to take on customised, high-value work. We're now able to deliver some jobs in a matter of days that would previously have taken us several weeks.
For some of our smaller customers, who would previously have had to settle for single colour caps, it provides a huge opportunity to order custom designs. And for our bigger customers, where previously we had to charge them for a single, litho-printed sample, we can now cost-effectively produce multiple samples in varying designs and colours so that they can get a full appreciation of the possibilities.
The fact that the system is automated and the feeder and the stacker are all in-line as well, means that our operator is freed up to perform other tasks while the machine is printing. It's also very straight-forward and uncomplicated to use. This is important because unlike with offset print, where the level of quality you can achieve is very reliant on the level of skill of the operator, the Acuity B1 prints exceptionally high levels of quality at the press of a button. Furthermore, it doesn't have the downtime of our litho presses, where colour changes typically take 30 to 40 minutes per colour. This time can really add up too, as we only have one colour litho press.
We've also seen significant improvements in the registration since installation - now reaching the very high standard we set ourselves of 0.1mm.
Finally - though the cap and cage market for sparkling wine and Champagne very much remains our core focus, our digital print capability means that we have also been commissioned by other manufacturers - including can makers - who are intrigued by the possibilities for high quality, customised short run work. Kevin Jenner, Industrial Business Manager at Fujifilm Speciality Ink Systems says: Shortening print runs have been the reality in the graphics market for at least the last two decades. In metal decoration the trend is the same, it's just at an earlier stage. What the STA experience proves though, is that investing in digital technology is not about mere survival in a world of shortening run lengths, it's about opening up a world of creative and added-value possibilities. And for the few, true digital trailblazers - the potential rewards are especially significant. Matt Brooks, Head of Products & Solutions at Inca Digital, the Cambridge, UK, based manufacturer of the Acuity B1 says: We appreciated the valuable feed-back in collaboration with STA during the infancy of the Acuity B1 to deliver an end to end in-line system which met STA's expectation and helped to realise their strategy for digital in metal d cor.
Files:
STA.JPG (600 Kbyte)
Acuity_B
Europe Stories
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
09/10/2026
September 10 2026, 06:00 (PDT) Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026
New Sports Intelligence helps providers better unders...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
01/10/2026
Third collaboration with celebrated composer
Spitfire Audio have once again teamed up with Grammy-nominated composer, producer and technologist BT, creating...
01/10/2026
FL Studio gets dedicated grid controller
Novation have teamed up with FL Studio developers Image-Line to create another dedicated controller for the popular...
01/10/2026
Six new USB interfaces introduced
Universal Audio's USB audio interface line-up has just been refreshed, gaining six new models aimed at musicians, prod...
01/10/2026
Siretta's SNYPER-5G cellular network analyser has been shortlisted for the IoT Global Awards 2026.
The IoT Global Awards recognise products, services and o...
01/10/2026
Mesh Broadcast Services Fits Big-Truck Audio Power into Compact Eclipse Unit with Calrec Argo M Canadian OB company Mesh Broadcast Services has fitted its Eclip...
01/10/2026
X-Rite Pantone Launches Spectura to Advance Connected Color Quality from Lab to ...
01/10/2026
Thursday 1 October 2026
Nominees revealed for 2026 Sky Arts Awards
Current slide, 0 0, undefined1
0
Irish National Opera and Jennifer Walshe: MARS
Jacob Al...
01/10/2026
Vital TV antenna replaced at SudburyHelicopter and broadcast engineers work together to upgrade TV services for 1.5M in the East
--
Share to Linkedin
Octobe...
01/10/2026
Arqiva appoints Simon Duffy as ChairSimon Duffy joins as Chair effective 01 October 2026
--
Share to Linkedin
October 1, 2026
Press Office
01 October 2026...
01/10/2026
Season 4 of the multi-award-winning hit entertainment series The 2 Johnnies Late Night Lock In is back, serving up another round of unpredictable laughs, unforg...
01/10/2026
New season begins Sunday, 4 October at 6pm on RT lyric fm and RT Listen
RT lyric fm's arts and culture documentary series The Lyric Feature returns on S...
01/10/2026
RT is proud to continue its commitment to supporting and celebrating the arts across Ireland this October, highlighting a vibrant programme of theatre, music, ...
30/09/2026
Add an envelope generator to any plug-in
Sync Audio's latest creation is a handy utility plug-in that can be used to combine and modulate other effects ...
30/09/2026
All-analogue tape-style drive joins Series A
Strymon's reputation was built on their digital knowhow, so many were surprised (and intrigued) when they a...
30/09/2026
Two new expansion packs released
Sonuscore have just introduced two new expansion packs for The Pulse, its production engine instrument for modern cinematic...
30/09/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...
30/09/2026
New Solution Expands Harmonic's Network Intelligence Portfolio and Brings Comcast-Developed Fiber Monitoring Technology to Broadband Operators, Providing Re...
30/09/2026
How to Shop Well Now starts Monday at 9.35pm
on RT One and RT Player
On the...
29/09/2026
Two new plug-ins launch alongside updated bundles
Zynaptiq have just announced the launch of two new plug-ins, alongside new and improved versions of two of...
29/09/2026
All-in-one bus processor revealed
Wes Audio's ng product range has come a long way since it was first introduced, and now includes a tasty selection of ...
29/09/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
29/09/2026
NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION IN OR INTO OR TO ANY PERSON LOCATED OR RESIDENT IN, OR AT ANY ADDRESS IN, THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ITS TERRITO...
29/09/2026
We tend to think we live in a digital world, with hopes and fears around artificial intelligence (AI), quantum computing, data centres and the next big technolo...
29/09/2026
Today, in partnership with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), Apple relea...
29/09/2026
Final Cut Camera, the professional filming app for iPhone, receives a major upda...
29/09/2026
RT lyric fm is proud to announce the annual Choirs for Christmas competition callout. Warm up those vocal chords and join us on RT lyric fm for a celebration ...
28/09/2026
EQ plug-in can now be played via MIDI
Scaler Music have recently released a new and improved version of their patented musical EQ plug-in, kitting it out wi...
28/09/2026
New synth developed in collaboration with philterSoup
Boutique effects pedal and Eurorack manufacturer Animal Factory Amps have announced that the new compa...
28/09/2026
Rohde & Schwarz adds an integrated multi-channel pulse analysis option to its FS...
28/09/2026
Monday 28 September 2026
Sky launches Full Fibre 1.6 Gbps for millions of homes
Sky has launched a new Full Fibre 1.6 Gbps product, rolling out from today, gi...
28/09/2026
Arvato Systems Highlights It's Role for Automotive Manufacturers and Suppliers
TISAX
Arvato Systems has successfully completed the TISAX Level 3 assess...
28/09/2026
Crimecall, presented by Carla O'Brien, returns tonight for a brand new series at 9.35pm on RT One and RT Player.
In tonight's episode, alongside appe...
28/09/2026
CELEBRATING 40 YEARS AT THE HEART OF NEW IRISH WRITING
LIVE FROM POETRY IRELAND, DUBLIN AND ON RT RADIO 1 FROM 7PM
DETAILS: www.rte.ie/writing | FOLLOW: #r...
27/09/2026
New compact pedal packs in 120 effects
The latest multi-effects pedal from Boss is a compact unit that promises to give any pedalboard a massive boost in s...
26/09/2026
Launched alongside three new expansion packs
In celebration of their 30th anniversary, Native Instruments have released a major update for their Maschine 3 ...
25/09/2026
Algorithm update & new DVA vibrato-detection engine
A new flagship version of Antares' iconic pitch-correction software has arrived, and along with a co...
25/09/2026
New flagship unit to arrive in early 2027
Two notes Audio Engineering have revealed that a new and improved version of their hugely popular reactive load bo...
25/09/2026
AI-free mixing tool gets an upgrade
Launched in October 2025, Tim Exiles Finalist is an algorithmic mixing tool that's been designed for those who don&#...
25/09/2026
Rohde & Schwarz Mobile Test Summit 2026 puts the spotlight on 6G - registrations...
25/09/2026
In our latest blog, Tim Pearson reflects on IBC 2026 and considers the main learnings against an industry that saw AI finally coming out of the labs and into pr...
25/09/2026
Friday 25 September 2026
How to watch an unmissable weekend of women's football on Sky Sports and NOW
Sky Sports and NOW will broadcast seven live games f...
25/09/2026
Friday 25 September 2026
YAGA trailer released, coming exclusively to Sky and N...
25/09/2026
Watch this space: a new strategic direction for UK media. Arqiva has submitted its response to the Governments Green Paper on the future of television distribut...
25/09/2026
Want to be part of this year's Late Late Toy Show?
Final call for applications in search for this year's stars
The most wonderful night of the year is...
24/09/2026
The next generation of multitrack recording for live sound
The latest version of Waves' dedicated live multitrack recording software delivers an array ...
24/09/2026
An idea machine for musicians
Described as an idea machine for musicians , the latest addition to Polyend's growing collection of guitar pedals combin...
Italian metal decoration printer drives forward digital possibilities in partnership with Fujifilm STA's January 2019 investment in an Acuity B1 is just the latest step on a pioneering journey into digital print for metal decoration
