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78 | L&L
QUICK FACTS
l Mike Fairley predicts that by next year
one quarter of all new roll label presses
installed worldwide will be digital, rising to
40 percent by 2020. The current figure is
15 percent.
l 57 percent of conventional jobs are under
25,000m run length and 71 percent under
50,000m. 65 percent of digital full color
jobs are under 10,000m and 95 percent
full color under 50,000m.
THE event closed with a panel session with all the speakers
l Inkjet growth forecast is 30 percent from
2010 to 2014.
in a liquid, simulating offset inks. The
‘one-shot’ print process, where colors are
built up on the blanket before transferring
the complete image to the substrate,
provides perfect register, said Lakin. ‘It
can produce the same look and feel as
conventional offset and has the ability to
print seven colors. Customers can mix
their own spot colors onsite.’
In terms of new ink developments, HP
Indigo recently launched an invisible red
ink, now being used on a WS4000-series
machine in the Indian pharmaceutical
market to help fight counterfeiting.
Although it has the technology, Lakin
explained HP has not used inkjet heads
for its label presses because they can’t
(yet) produce high enough quality. ‘And
inkjet is a classic example of a print
process that must be pristine to ensure it
prints well.’
Domino’s Vlad Sljapic headed the
argument for inkjet; ‘its reliability,
simple design and construction brings
scalability. Inkjet can be made wider
and faster, has application versatility
in and off-line, prints color and black
and white and spot varnish and digital
foiling.’ The non-contact system makes
it possible to print on heat sensitive,
textured and pre die cut materials,
said Sljapic. ‘The number of colors
is unrelated to speed and there is no
practical imposition limit, so waste and
cost can be minimized, especially on
low ink coverage jobs.’
Sljapic sought to clear up some
‘misperceptions’ around inkjet. ‘Although
inkjet can print on uncoated surfaces,
coated substrates are recommended for
the best print quality.’
Adrian Steele, Mercian Labels, said
inkjet is restricted by a ‘lack of confidence’
in the industry. ‘It is still a niche market
and the user needs technology to cover all
markets to make it worth their while.’
Soren Ringbo, who manages Nilpeter’s
digital press operations, believes a
combination of UV inkjet and conventional
print is the future: ‘Inkjet is simpler than
the electrophotographic process, and
scaleable. In addition, non-contact printing
means the thickness of the substrate is
LABELS&LABELING
not so critical and it is possible to print
on rough surfaces.’ Neil Holiday, UPM
Raflatac discussed material selection
for each digital printing process. ‘What’s
needed is the same range of label stock,
good ink transfer and adhesion between
ink and substrate.’
FINISHING
Whether digital print should be finished
on- or off-line has been an ongoing
discussion. Delegates heard that some
78 percent of current digital installations
have off-line systems. Finishing systems
are overwhelmingly used for die cutting,
and 78 percent varnish inline. Some key
vendors, however, believe the future is
in-line converting. Vlad Sljapic of Domino,
for example, told delegates finishing
in-line is a growing trend. Sljapic also
believes that digital varnishing with inkjet
has a good future.
ABG’s Mike Burton said in-line finishing
reduces labor costs and has higher
productivity, whereas off-line finishing can
be maximized where multiple decorating
processes are required. At Labelexpo the
company showed both in-line and off-line
variants of its Omega Digicon 2 digital
label converters with semi-automatic
turret rewinds.
Burton said laser technology has
advanced rapidly, offering a non-stop
finishing line with no downtime. Although
laser has limitations with some substrates,
it can cut most papers, and PET and PP
if laminated/varnished. When questioned
about the high cost, Burton explained;
‘You need to consider how much is spent
a year on dies; in terms of time, money,
logistics, transport and operator error. It
can be used as a sales tool to win new
business.’ A low cost ‘entry level’ system
will be launched at Drupa using one
rather than two lasers.
MIS
Andrew Mckerlie of LabelTraxx explained
that a good MIS system is critical for an
efficient digital label printing operation.
‘Can your MIS cope with three times the
number of current orders? Because that
is what happens with digital.’
His colleague Katie Nightingale gave a
live demonstration of the system; showing
how the customer logs in online, receives
a quote through E-traxx, can choose
tooling, laminate, main stock, finish, even
labels per roll and can upload artwork.
LabelTraxx accesses all this information
to process the job and send to the
automated prepress system.
Later, in the panel session chaired by
Mike Fairley, a popular topic for discussion
was the willingness of customers to adapt
to online ordering, for which they have to
take responsibility for the quality of digital
artwork.
CONVERTER EXPERIENCE
Trevor Smith from Amberley Labels
told delegates about his company’s
experience with digital printing since
installing the UK’s first HP Indigo press,
a WS4000, back in 2002-3. ‘The brand
owner gets differentiation, order flexibility
and a high quality digital solution with
specific color matches, metallic material
and cost effective proofing. The result is
a consistent, high quality brand image,
ability to order to requirement, increased
sales and new customers.’
For Amberley Labels the future
challenges include business automation,
multi-layer requirements, finding cost
effective ultra short runs and continuing to
sell on added value, not price. In addition,
Smith said, ‘there is a wider range of
competing technologies. We are now
competing in a digital environment instead
of a conventional one.’
Xeikon press user Adrian Steele from
Mercian Labels said digital print has
rapidly become commoditized. ‘Make
sure you’re prepared to invest four years
and find niche markets as it is a very
competitive world.’ Steele noted that
variable data has yet to emerge as a
significant application, and ‘same day
delivery’ is also something of a myth. The
company delivers 90 percent of jobs in five
days. Looking at materials useage, Steele
reported just over half is paper, 37 percent
white PP and 12 percent clear. ‘Digital is a
new culture, its requires annualized hours
and there is wastage.’ Steele advised.