Rickard Ådén (left), Convertec, with René Klith, Jan Mikkelsen and Jens Nielsen of Limo Labels
The sale of two EFI Jetrion 4900 series digital presses has given Convertec, the distributor in Scandinavia, a leading position in digital label printing press sales, according to Rickard Ådén, sales manager. The two label converters investing in the new EFI presses are Ellco Etikett Trykk, a trade house in Skytta, Norway, and Limo Labels, based in Randers, Denmark.
The Jetrion 4900 series, which combines digital printing and finishing in one single system, is described by its manufacturer EFI as the most flexible and profitable way to print UV inkjet labels, with smooth passage from print file to finished roll without interruption.
According to Mr Ådén, ‘The 4900 reduces over-production as there is no lead time required, it eliminates unnecessary transportation of work in progress with its inline format, it reduces the need for a large inventory and reduces costs by removing the need for plates, dies, changeovers and cuts waste associated with makeready for both the printing and finishing processes – it is truly digital from printing to finished roll!’
Love at first sight
For Ellco, which began life in 1985 when three Norwegian label converters decided to set up their own business, the new digital press is a confirmation of a decision made in 2005 to install an HP Indigo line for roll-to-roll work on short run labels of 500 to 1000, often produced on difficult substrates. Previously, this work had been printed on elderly letterpress machines. Having seen what digital could offer, and with a need to expand its capacity, a visit to Labelexpo in Brussels 2011, where the EFI Jetrion 4900 was being demonstrated, convinced the company of the value it could offer.
‘We just fell in love with the whole concept of the line, and with the large number of short runs we produce, it simply looked to be the perfect fit for us. The UV inkjet process offers a light fastness and durability approaching that of screen printing, which makes the machine ideally suited for labels that will be used outdoors.
To date, it has completely fulfilled its promise,’ stated Christian Egedius, son of one of the founders and general manager at Ellco since August 2012. Of special interest is its capability on a wide range of substrates, notably films and those of a durable nature. ‘We see it as complementary technology to the toner based press, and broadens our scope for customers. Another bonus, is how little ink it consumes, which gives it extremely low running costs,’ he added.
Way ahead
With more label UV inkjet installations than its five nearest competitors combined, EFI has stolen a march with the Jetrion 4900, a view held by René Tøttrup Klith, production manager at Denmark’s Limo Labels. Principally a flexo label house, with a batch of Nilpeter presses of various specifications and age, the company knew that it had to think laterally to grow its business. ‘We could see the trend towards digital and the take-up of toner technology, but felt we needed to offer something different.
Having evaluated the competition, we chose the Jetrion 4900 for its ability to print and finish inline. Cost comparisons over the longer term also makes it significantly cheaper than a toner based press, and in the final reckoning, it’s cost per label that counts,’ he said, adding that the laser die-cutting, with its associated fast set up and zero tooling costs also made a convincing case for investment. Limo Labels appreciates the capability of the press to produce labels with high durability and functionality, particularly in a market like industrial tools. Production is split 50:50 between paper and film materials, and while the press is not as wide as the flexo lines the company runs, it is ‘wide enough for purpose’, according to Mr Klith.
High uptime, low maintenance and ease of use were also key considerations, with the press needing only one operator to run production. These factors help reduce overall production costs and offer a faster ROI than other digital print technologies. Since installation in May 2012, the Jetrion line has attracted new work, much of it from existing customers, and mostly in run lengths of less than 2000 metres.
According to Mr Klith, ‘We’re still on a learning curve regarding full utilisation of the press, and value the knowledge exchange with Ellco that Convertec has set up for us.’ This two-way link includes visiting each other’s plants for discussions on production techniques and the problem solving issues associated with incorporating new technology into an established workflow. According to Convertec’s sales manager, Rickard Ådén, ‘It is a valuable add-on service we provide for companies looking to pioneer new commercial avenues, and encouraged by EFI.’
The EFI Jetrion 4900M as installed in Norway and Denmark
Bottleneck
At Ellco, Christian Egedius claims the new press is so efficient it has created a bottleneck in administration and production, and pledges the company’s next investment plan will include the latest workflow software that the industry has to offer. ‘What used to take us a whole week to process is now run off in two days on the EFI press. This allows us to offer shorter delivery times because we can turn work around overnight, or even in a few hours if it’s an emergency.
The good thing is that quality doesn’t suffer when we do this, so the customer isn’t compromised,’ he explained. For those unfamiliar with the EFI Jetrion 4900 series, a walk along the seven metre long machine serves to show the industrial nature of this UV inkjet technology. Following the unwind is a corona treater which allows greater substrate capability. The print station controls, which are located at each end of the line, are based around a touch screen and located at eyeline height for easy ergonomic operation.
The print zone itself has CMYK plus opaque white ink, and has change-on-the-fly capability for non-stop running. The web then passes into the laser die-cutting station fitted with dual head lasers (and no cutting dies). Finally, it is fed into a festoon to minimise waste under continuous operation, and a semi automatic turret rewinder, with quick changeover, delivers rolls of finished labels for shipping. Full feature finishing such as die-cutting, slitting, back-scoring are all handled inline, but the press can be operated in offline mode so that jobs which are not ideally printed and die-cut inline, can be processed separately.
All rounder
The EFI Jetrion portfolio was recently expanded to include the 4900M, 4900-330 and ML models. Of these, the 4900M is the game changer because its integrated finishing capabilities produce a finished label in a single pass, removing time and cost from the manufacturing process.
This is vital as run lengths and job cycles continue to reduce. The modular design of the 4900M allows for additional capabilities to be added, as required. For example, a converter could start with a four colour narrow web digital press and upgrade with white and a 330 mm web width with inline laser die-cutting, flexo printing and a turret rewinder, if the need arose. One point of interest about these two installations is the difference between the two companies involved.
Ellco is a family business that began life and continues as a trade supplier with a staff of 20, while Limo Labels is part of a larger and acquisitive enterprise group, and has an annual sales turnover in excess of € 18 million with a staff of 65. That the EFI Jetrion 4900 should fit so well into both commercial environments is a testament to its all round capability.
