David Webster (right) with Helmut Munter from Durst and the two Tau 330 UV inkjet presses
The Label Makers is not a company that shies away from leading the way. It was one of the first in the UK to see the benefits of UV inkjet technology. Now with five years under its belt in digital, it is expanding and upgrading its entire fleet of digital equipment. Neel Madsen spoke to managing director, David Webster.
When I took over as editor in 2013, one of my first visits to a label printer with digital technology was to The Label Makers in Bradford. It was on the way back from the Northprint show and it was a welcome relief to enter the bustling LabMak house.
I was there to see the UK’s first Tau 330 UV inkjet label press from Durst that had just been installed the month before. Managing director David Webster was not the least bit fazed by being an early adopter at a time when inkjet was very new to the label market. He said, ‘Someone has to jump in first and the results are very exciting.’
Fast-forward two and a half years to September 2015, and Mr Webster and director Zenna Parfaniuk are at Labelexpo shaking on a deal to take a second machine from the industrial inkjet expert. And from handshake in Brussels in September, it was not long until factory acceptance tests in Italy in November to full press installation in the second week of December.
Double inkjet delight
So why a second Tau 330 machine? Mr Webster explained, ‘We have found the technology to be fantastic in the lift and vibrancy that the inks have given to our customers’ labels, especially in the health and beauty markets where customers require the silk screen look. The lightfast ink capabilities are also very attractive to the industrial and horticultural market sector. Customers love the durability and light fastness that UV inkjet provides.’
He continued, ‘After installing the first Durst, we were very soon into a double shift operation. The new technology opened so many doors for us that we needed to invest in another press. During Labelexpo we had to decide which inkjet technology was the best for our new investment. After much consideration, we decided to stay with Durst, and in December last year, we completed the installation of the second Tau 330 press. This was again another first in Europe for The Label Makers. Within three days of unloading the machine, we were in full production.’
The new press comes with improved web tension control and a chill drum to allow The Label Makers to print flexible film and difficult heat-sensitive materials, and it has been configured, like its sister press, with a strong white for clear materials as well as six colours to help hit 90% of the Pantone colours. Variable data is being added as we speak.
And a Cheetah too
But a second Durst is not the end of the digital expansion story in Bradford, but the start of a large £2 million investment programme. The Label Makers is also a well established Xeikon house and it was with a toner press from the Belgian manufacturer that the company first cut its digital teeth some five years ago.
In the lead up to Christmas, its series 3000 press was dismantled to make way for the bigger and faster Xeikon CX3. This was successfully installed at the beginning of January and the newly painted digital rooms are now echoing with the sound of Cheetah technology printing at a top speed of 30 m/min.
Nicknamed the ‘Supersonic Pokémon’ by the team at The Label Makers, the new Xeikon CX3 arrived just one month after the inkjet press.
Not finished yet
With more printing capacity (which also includes a 25% increase in capacity in the flexo department following the purchase of a new 14 station MPS flexo combination press in January last year), the need for more finishing power arises, and help is on the way at The Label Makers in the form of two new Digicon lines from AB Graphic International.
At the end of February, a Digicon Lite series 3 will be the first to arrive. This is the first off the production line to have automatic slitting and edge trim set up. It will be much faster to run and set up, said Mr Webster, and it includes cold foil, spot varnish and laminating facilities.
The Lite will be followed closely by a much bigger monster, namely a Digicon 3 with two ‘Big Foot’ hot foil & embossing stamping modules that use 50 tons of pressure and can run three streams of foil using the same die. One module has been positioned near the start of the line and the other at the end to do the embossing. The machine also features three flexo heads and a flatbed screen unit to produce the high build screens that have become so popular. Automatic die loading, and automatic slitting and edge trim will make this new acquisition a very efficient machine.
Mr Webster concluded, ‘Digital is becoming of increasing importance within our company, and with this complete revamp of the department, all the additional investment will allow us to offer our customers bigger and better effects at a faster speed. We have an exciting year ahead!’
