Page 31 - Print21 March-April 2022

Business
slitter, lamination and rewind. Colordyne can provide roll-to-
roll standalone presses, suited to a first time investment, or a retrofit to add digital label production to an existing label press.
Beyond the Memjet machines comes a whole range of inkjet presses using piezo printheads and UV inks, some with aqueous inks and digital presses that are toner based. HP leads the way, with Indigo offering unquestioned quality, and the largest installed base of digital presses for label printing.
A transition from using Indigo in commercial print to Indigo for labels is possible and has been done.
The beacon for this opportunity
is Delga, in the UK. The company has its roots in producing packaging for the media industry, starting with record sleeves in the 1970s, and evolving into boxed sets, and from there into luxury packaging. It was a natural move then into label printing for the same customers. Another part of the group is printing commercial work, and a third
specialises in work for the
health service. There is
a requirement for labels
for the medical sector,
which the company
had been buying in to deliver the complete package for customers. At the outset it recruited an operations manager and a sales manager, both with experience in the labels sector. It retrained an operator from the Indigo 12000 HD to operate the W6900 and to learn about operating the Digicon 2 inline finishing system. In short, it took steps to minimise the risk of the investment.
“These barriers are coming down
and the opportunity is increasing.
The labels market is worth looking at.”
Less so for other products. But toner uses heat to cure the image, so some film substrates are not suitable.
Dry toner has been a success
for Konica Minolta, which first introduced a label press in 2014, and has moved up to the AccurioLabel 230 as the sort of press that should be attractive to commercial printers taking first steps into label printing. The same print engine and transport is used by MarkAndy as a digital press to complement its traditional flexo presses, though it now has two hybrid options, the Digital Series HD with its own design of inkjet unit,
the new Digital Series iQ with Domino inkjet.
It too has a press at a sheetfed litho house. Midland Regional Printers installed a Mark Andy Digital Pro3 midway through 2020. The company had two older flexo presses for labels alongside its Heidelberg XL106. MRP had followed its customers, producing marketing collateral, then cartons and eventually labels for the same range of clients.
The company says the diversification is down to a “why not” attitude when
it is asked about additional services. On a practical level the company
will get a customer sign off on the litho carton and then match flexo or digital colour to this. This can include a press pass on the Speedmaster in the morning, followed by sign-off on the label in the afternoon of the same day. Not many can offer that.
However, being able to offer the label and the carton or brochure for the same customer is something that will be required more and more.
ACQUISITION
If it is not achieved by printers deciding to invest in label printing technology, it can be achieved through acquisition.
There are any number of label businesses where owners are due to retire, or which need to become part of a larger group to retain customers looking for a broader range of services. Opportunity knocks.
This is an unarguable strategy
for print businesses aiming to
remain closely integrated with their customers. The only question is whether it is better to invest in the equipment to do this and to bring in the people to run it, or is it better to find a company that has the skills and at least some of the equipment, and make the acquisition. 21
Xeikon has been less focused
on transitioning commercial print customers to label printing, in the main because in recent years its focus has been on high quality label printing, with its electrophotographic presses, rather than on commercial printing.
Dry toner printing used by Xeikon has some advantages over inkjet, particularly over UV printing on film
substrates. The UV can result in a tangible raised image which is not present with toner. In some applications, shower gels for example, a tactile finish can be desirable.
All printed by Durst Tau: New label technology is enabling multiple applications
from the same equipment
MARCH/APRIL 2022 31