Rita Soares
Sérgio Rodrigues
Rui Costa
CEO of Orgal
He studied Civil Engineering, but the family business proved more enticing when choosing a profession, whereby his studies went on to include Graphic Engineering. He has been at Orgal since 1989, a company founded in 1969 by his parents, Orlando Costa and Maria Helena Costa, and has now taken the helm. The pride he has in the work done by Orgal is clear to see, as is his admiration for innovations he has witnessed in an ever-changing field, where the word ‘deadline’ has to agree with the word ‘perfection’. A dedication that, of course, justified the choice of tagline «graphic arts with emotion».
What is it like to be part of a profession as old as the printer itself?
I’m only part of it because of my parents. It gives us the opportunity to meet people and companies or activities that amaze us, as varied as you could possibly imagine, and in some cases it is very rewarding.
Do you hold any nostalgia for old machines and techniques from the printing world?
Orgal is turning 50 and I’ve seen most of them. I was witness to major technological transformations that allow us to work better, with more precision and with measurable results. In spite of being passionate about the arts, such as painting or sculpture, I prefer the printing industry to graphic arts, perhaps because of my engineering background. Even so, I think, when you consider this as an industry, we can work with passion and emotion in each job or in the relationship we have with our customers, which become closer and make being here worthwhile for us.
What is the greatest challenge in this industry?
Every job we have is unique; there is no stock that we can produce, and the work of one customer is no good for another. These technological developments are primarily used to produce in less time, and ultimately undermine the quality of the final work instead of improving it. The challenge is to be able to produce flawlessly and with the highest quality; for us to feel pride when we see a job we have done; and to tell our children or friends that we did it.
«In spite of being passionate about the arts, such as painting or sculpture, I prefer the printing industry»
How does a printer relate to a book or a magazine when he gets home after a day’s work?
It is usually when we get home that we can enjoy the end result of the work that passes through our hands. I really enjoy books; I never tire of looking at them.
Do you still believe that digital media will eliminate paper or that this prognosis is no longer valid?
I don’t know. The last study I read, from the United States, said that digital growth had slowed and traditional books were on the rise. In the meantime, a new generation will come along and it will depend on their attitude towards books. Maybe they’ll end up in both digital and print formats. We have clients who had stopped producing catalogues because everything they had could be seen online, but now they have gone back to producing catalogues. Of course, paper is the most recyclable raw material we have, and when properly managed, it is entirely sustainable. We can say that all the paper used in Europe fulfills these requirements. This is, incidentally, one of our concerns and as such we are FSC and PEFC certified.
