Julio Soto Impresores, as its name suggests, a family business with a long history. The company has its roots in the printing workshop founded in 1940 by Julio Soto Herranz and continued by Julio Soto Marina, grandfather and parents, respectively, of the current manager, Julio Soto Bodí.

Located in Torrejón de Ardoz, near Madrid, the company is dedicated to high-quality industrial printing with high-performance equipment. The long history of the company is reflected in the care and dedication applied to all production processes, more typical of times when printing was much more of a craft than a mechanized process.

The client of the company is the most varied, from supermarkets to banks or art galleries. “The care of the printed matter is something for which we are recognized in the market”, Indicates Julio Soto Bodí. It is not surprising that among the most recognized productions of Julio Soto are the books of art, painting and photography.

"The company started as a neighborhood stationery printer in the postwar period, evolving from typography to offset and, now, integrating digital printing”Says Julio Soto. "we've had typography until very recently. We retired the last letterpress press just three years ago”.

The Torrejón de Ardoz plant is equipped with state-of-the-art offset machinery. The evolution of this park of offset presses is the point of contact between Julio Soto Impresores and OMC. The progressive introduction of offset printing presses from 1960, the year in which the first was installed, made clear the need for more efficient equipment. "We were looking for machines with automation, which would simplify processes and reduce commissioning and adjustment times.”Explains Julio Soto. "Our choice was Komori as it was the offset printing machine that we consider to be the most technologically advanced of all those on the market at that time ".

In Julio Soto Impresor they have ended up replacing the three offset presses without automation with two Komori size 70 × 100 cm, four and five colors, working eight or ten hour shifts. With job change automation features productivity has increased so much that a press has been eliminated.

"In Julio Soto Impresor we are expectant and attentive to what happens in the market”, Says the manager of the company. "The recent proliferation of digital printing led us to wonder if this is the future. And, in view of the evolution of runs and sales price of digital printing, as well as printing formats, we have seen a clear opportunity that has led us to have digital printing capabilities”.

Trust with OMC, the fruit of good experience with Komori offset equipment, has been a very important factor in choosing the MGI Meteor DP8700 XL digital press. For the person in charge of the printing press, the versatility in terms of types of media that this digital press can handle is a key element, especially with regard to media that are not made of paper. "Being able to handle non-paper materials, such as window envelopes, is an important factor for us and the MGI Meteor DP8700 XL solves this as it can work with heat-sensitive media.”.

In addition to the excellent quality and consistency of the printing throughout all the jobs, Julio Soto explains that another of the advantages found in the MGI Meteor DP8700 XL is that the type of toner used allows a standard industrial laminate, with which that you don't need a special laminator. Other digital printers require specialized laminating equipment and processes because they use a silicone toner that is not compatible with standard laminating.

Another competitive advantage that the MGI Meteor DP8700 XL provides is that it has an expanded printing format, it can print on sheets of up to 33 x 102 cm. In Julio Soto Printers they take advantage of it frequently since it allows them to print folders with flaps.

The consistency of color and print quality makes it possible to carry out even print tests that are valid to be delivered to the customer as a final product. Proof of the versatility of this digital press is the example of delicate printing that Julio Soto gives us: “There are pieces that when we threw them in offset gave problems, for example four-color pieces on vegetable paper, in the MGI Meteor DP8700 XL they come out without problems and ready for manipulation”.

According to the manager, the adaptation of the MGI Meteor DP8700 XL in the company has been very easy and fast. "The first to operate the machine was a 56-year-old former assembler who has had no problem getting to grips with and learning to take advantage of the possibilities offered by the digital press.”Says Julio Soto. "Offset machinists when they come to see the strip are pleasantly surprised by the MGI Meteor DP8700 XL”.

One of the positive factors of the MGI printing equipment mentioned by Julio Soto is the purchase model. Unlike other digital presses in which the only option is a cost per click, this printer does not have a fixed cost per click but the consumable is purchased separately and independently of the number of printed pages. "The purchasing model is very attractive to us as a printer since it is more similar to the system we are used to. Not working at cost per copy gives greater peace of mind "says Julio Soto. "When you pay at cost per copy, performance is imposed on you externally. With the consumables purchasing system, the operating criteria is decided by yourself based on your own organizational needs.”.

To conclude, Julio Soto highlights that: “There is a clear trend towards very small runs and they are already asking us more frequently for variable printing, with simple customization. The complementarity of digital and offset printing expands the service opportunities we can offer to our customers”.