DeWild
The Challenge
The DeWild challenge to Gardners was twofold; Not only print over 60,000 large format foam pvc panels in a matter of weeks but also to pack them in store walk order so that Gamma, a large Dutch DIY retail chain, could refit more than 150 stores simultaneously in one weekend.
The Solution
It soon became clear to Gardners that the solution to this job lied not in the packing but in the prepress and more specifically the prepress software. Visually there was a requirement for 750 different panel artworks but the essence to success would be to treat each of the more than 60,000 panels as an individual artwork which would then be coded and produced in the correct order for packing and ultimately placing in store – ‘Pick to Pack to Place’.
Using ‘HP Smartstream’ technology to manage the variable data workflow and 2 HP 7500 flatbed presses to print the panels this is believed to be one of the largest digital flatbed productions ever undertaken anywhere in the world.
The Results
The job was produced in the required timescale and looked fantastic. However the real success was in-store – over 150 stores and more than 60,000 individual panels (on average 400 panels per store) fitted simultaneously in less than eight hours; a feat that Gamma and DeWild did not believe possible at the beginning of the project.
