THE DATA FRONT

66 | l&l
The insider
A round-up of the latest global label
stories
client has complications with its plates, they can easily be sent
to the school for testing in a tightly controlled environment.
Trinity Design Group
In recent years, the company has developed the Trinity Design
Group. Addressing the need for flexo-focused artwork, it
serves as a boutique-style agency that is able to cater to all a
customer’s needs.
The company’s grounding in print knowledge has given the
design team a strong sense of quality control, as Gary Bibler,
president of Trinity Design Group, explains: ‘We design artwork
that translates seamlessly from prepress, to the plate and
onto the press. Our goal is to achieve a strong design that is
workable in all forms of media. We want to ensure that artwork
functions harmoniously with flexo.’
One successful example of this approach is Equa brand
bottled water, a product sourced from the Amazon rainforest
that will be launched shortly. The Equa management team’s
research had shown that consumers like the idea of water from
the rainforest. ‘They think natural and pure, pristine,’ explains
Jeff Moats, Equa water president.
To create a design which would ‘pop’ off the shelf, Equa
partnered with a graphic design firm in the UK. But as can often
happen, the brand had a difficult time translating the firm’s
creative graphic designs into visually appealing, printable labels.
Eventually Moats was referred to Trinity’s Design Group.
‘Bob and his team are extremely creative. They think outside of
the box and have helped us through this packaging process,
bending over backwards to push us in the direction to best
solve our problems.’ Both graphic teams are now working
together to deliver packaging and labels which convey the Equa
message.
‘It’s all about the presence,’ Moats explains. ‘Our new brand
must be able to rise above the clutter on the shelf.’ Equa will be
going directly after brands such as Evian and Fiji waters. ‘We
have chosen a circular design that gives an affinity towards the
contents and the source of origin, as well as looking graphically
appealing. The packaging must invite a trial, hook to sample,
then move the consumer to switch brands. We have confidence
that Trinity will help us achieve this goal.’
Trinity Digital
Trinity’s most recent step has been into the digital printing
market. The new entity, Trinity Digital, is serving both label
clients and local Florida businesses with just-in-time sheet
fed color printing, shipping print work including short order
brochures, cards and point of sale pieces.
Now many of the company’s clients are asking it to consider
setting up a full service digital label operation. Comments
Elizabeth Buchanan, head of sales for Trinity Digital, ‘There
are very few of Trinity’s flexo accounts that have access to this
technology. It appears that they are reluctant to pursue this
option themselves for various reasons and feel that we would be
the perfect source to supply the work.’ Smithson says that he is
closely evaluating the various technologies.
Labels&Labeling
L-r: Ken Davis, director, Hine Labels; Bill Hine, managing director,
Hine Labels; Greg Neesham, sales director, Punch Graphix UK
UK converter installs
country’s first Xeikon 3000
Hine Labels, of Rotherham, Yorkshire, has announced details of a
decision to upgrade its existing Xeikon label press to a new Xeikon
3000 machine. The installation will be the first Xeikon 3000 digital
label press in the UK, following its launch last September.
Bill Hine, managing director of Hine Labels, said: ‘Our original
Xeikon 330, installed at the end of 2007, allowed us a good insight
into the digital labels market, providing us with the opportunity to
talk digital with our existing customers, and to work our way through
the whole of the digital production cycle – which is, of course,
quite different to our traditional flexographic business. The further
enhancements in both image quality and production speed for the
Xeikon 3000 meant that it was the next logical step for us. Our
business comes from trade customers. They generally don’t have
a preference with regard to the printing process that we use. What
they want is high quality, color consistent labels in the shortest
possible production time. We have to face the fact that run lengths
are decreasing across many of our markets, and this is what tends
to determine which print process we use for a given job.'
The Xeikon 3000 produces images at 1200 dots per inch, with
four bits per spot, and offers an increased imaging width of 322mm
against the 307mm imaging width of the Xeikon 330 machine. All
machines are based on a 330mm substrate width. The web-based
press has a top speed of 31.5 feet of label production per minute,
and a monthly duty cycle of 1,500,000 feet. The 5-color engine
provides for the four standard process colors plus a choice of spot
color, special security toner for anti-counterfeiting applications,
or an opaque white for the ‘no label’ look on transparent material.
The press is capable of handling a range of substrates including
self-adhesive films, co-extruded films, unsupported films, paper,
transparent and opaque foils, and paperboard. The dry toner
electrophotography imaging process enables the use of conventional
substrates without the need for coating or pre-treatment.
‘Xeikon 3000 also offers an immediate upgrade path when digital
volume requirements increase,’ added Bill Hine, referring to the
ability to enhance the machines capabilities up to those of the
Xeikon 3300 label press. ‘It has certainly enabled us to open new
doors with existing customers. The ability to economically produce
shorter runs has a strong appeal in many market sectors, and we
have also become involved in a number of test marketing programs
– an ideal task for digital production, as we can create any number
of label variants within a short space of time.’