Technical manager Ben Haak (left) and director Ernst de Haas

 

VanDerEng Label Solutions in Heemskerk, The Netherlands, is benefiting on all levels from the installation of an EFI Jetrion label printer. ‘Improved print quality and increased capacity through shorter delivery and turnaround times. And all that with just one machine,’ said director Ernst de Haas. ‘That really is unique!’

Dutch company VanDerEng Label Solutions specialises in the production of logistics labels for track & trace of all types of industrial processes, from manufacturing to the end user.  The company, established in 1894, was originally a sawmill and joinery that produced just about everything that could be made from wood.  This included wooden labels, a line of business in which VanDerEng became increasingly specialised. Initially, the labels were made from timber, but from the 1960s onwards, a switchover to plastics took place. In 2007, Ernst de Haas took over the family business, and he initiated the modernisation of the plant and workflow.

 

Just-in-time deliveries

One of the issues that came to light during the modernisation was the lengthy production time of the labels. Ben Haak, technical manager, explained, ‘When we were still using the old litho process, the process to print the labels was very long. After a customer had seen and approved the proofs, a plate would be produced, and before you knew it, another week had gone by. Nowadays, our customers do not have time for that anymore. Just-in-time deliveries are increasingly the standard, and we did not have a ready made solution for this.’

The other problem that the company came up against was that customers were becoming increasingly demanding with respect to print quality. ‘Labels used to be purely functional, and it did not really matter what they looked like,’ said director Ernst de Haas. ‘This is no longer the case. Apart from good functionality, labels should also look good and preferably be multi coloured. Two colour printing was fine, but full colour printing was just impossible with the existing installation.’

 

Durable print

This wass when VanDerEng found out about EFI’s Jetrion roll-to-roll UV curable printer, a print engine that allowed them to meet all its customers’ needs. Mr Haak said, ‘We were looking for a solution to not only improve label quality but also decrease turnaround time, without pre- or post-treatment, and this is where the Jetrion UV curable print engine came in. The result is durable print and labels that are ready for use when they leave the machine.’

After installation, the company used the two print engines side by side for a while, but closed down the conventional system fairly soon. Mr Haak explained, ‘The Jetrion is so user-friendly that we were able to start using it immediately after only little training.  We thought we would wait a few weeks before making the transfer, but after only couple of weeks, we closed down the old print engine and we haven’t looked back since. We print all labels on the Jetrion now, whether it is on thick polystyrene material for coin tokens or on Tyvek for wristbands, they all go through, and I think that is very unique.’

Now, six months after the machine was commissioned, only positive notes can be heard at VanDerEng. ‘The Jetrion is benefiting us on all levels,’ concluded Mr de Haas. ‘We are getting much improved print quality so that we can now also serve a much broader market segment. However, the short production time is what is truly remarkable. So long as the file is in order, you can start printing within a few minutes. Especially for small personalised runs, which is where our strength lies, it makes a world of difference.’

 

Challenge

‘We were looking for a solution that would not only improve label quality but also reduce the turnaround time. All this without pre-or post-treatment.’

Solution

‘The Jetrion with UV curable ink system delivers durable print and is user friendly. The labels can be used immediately without any post-treatment.’

Results

‘The Jetrion is benefiting us on all levels. Improved print quality and increased capacity.  All this with just one press is what makes it so unique!’