Dantex has installed a new Screen Truepress L350UV Inkjet Label Press at Limpet Labels UK.
Limpet believes that having a range of printing technologies is the key to offering customers the best possible quality and service for their requirements.
Limpet were already running a Xeikon 3000 digital press alongside their Flexographic machines and are now, thanks to the Truepress, able to offer high-speed UV inkjet.
With ultra-high-speed UV inkjet there is no compromise on quality. The printed results are exceptional. This has the biggest advantage for customers who need shorter production runs more frequently. It is not only its speed, flexibility, and shorter-run capability that gives it the edge on flexo but versioning too.
Truepress Jet L350UV delivers exceptional quality and fast, stable output. Job setup and maintenance require minimal time, giving ultra-fast turnaround and minimal downtime. Truepress is able to achieve a printing speed of 50m per minute and widths up to 322mm, at up to 16.1m² per minute and produces photo-realistic images with simple maintenance.
Screen Truepress Jet L350UV digital label press was voted ‘Best Label Printing Solution’ in the 2014 EDP Awards.
Limpet Labels MD Lee Goode said: "Great savings can be made as there is very little setup, and of course no plates, plus a variety of labels can be run at the same time. Some customers would simply not be able to afford to produce the very-high-quality labels they do for their extensive product ranges without digital."
Limpet Labels sales director Jon Dudley said: "We are one of the very few label printing companies that produces both digital and flexo labels in-house."
Of course, customers demand the highest quality and want high-end designs to present their products to full effect, but they also require variable information, sequential numbering, barcodes and other security features to which digital is also highly suited.
Dudley added: "Limpet has met the demand for speed and quality with the Truepress. In most cases digital produces a cleaner image than its ‘traditionally’ printed equivalent and some customers are willing to pay a little more for it on longer run jobs."
The best-fit technology for any given print job depends on price, job type and run length, as well as customer expectations. The point at which digital jobs cost less per copy depends on the type of job and set-up costs, but up to this ‘breakeven’ point digital printing costs far less for short runs. The higher the breakeven point, the more reason to print digital.
Limpet know that most customers are not necessarily going to go with ‘just flexo’ or just digital’, but they are able to advise on the best way to achieve the labels they want. Limpet pride themselves on being able to produce 100 to 100 million labels and can do digital, high-speed digital, flexo, long run, short run, with very-high-quality standards across all press types.
Goode added: "Digital plays its part within a company already using flexo technology, label printing is a jigsaw puzzle and you need all the pieces. Digital is an integral part of that. Incorporating the Truepress was quite easy for us, our press operators have a great deal of experience and have the transferable skills to adapt quickly and successfully. In
fact, one of our press operators, Kevin Jones, says the Truepress is ‘a printer’s dream’.
"We had a great deal of support and training from Dantex from the start and throughout the installation period. Since investing in the new system we are very pleased with its high-quality printed results, as too are our customers".
Jon Dudley added: "This is a major advance for us and we are really excited about it. The quality of output from the Truepress is fantastic. Keeping flexo rather than going totally digital sets us apart from many other label printers that have chosen to go ‘digital only’. Ultra-high-speed bridges the gap between digital and flexo, meaning we can now offer the best possible prices for short, medium and long run printing."
The Learnshops seminar programme at Packaging Innovations this February will feature industry experts and innovative brands presenting their case studies and discussing ways that new technologies are being, and can be, implemented.
Dantex, Limpet Labels and Brand, CLB Valeting, will discuss how having a range of printing technologies is the key to offering customers the full label printing package, with emphasis on how high-speed inkjet technology plays an integral part. They will look at recent developments in the industry and how packaging producers and their customers can benefit.