Bristol Labels Ltd has invested in an Epson SurePress L-4033AW inkjet label press with an Esko digital front end and a GM DC330 finishing system.
The company hopes that the investments will help to offer customers a dynamic digital label printing service and boost production capacity by 20%.
Over the past 12 years, managing director Paul Stokes and his eight-strong team has grown Bristol Labels into a £1 million turnover operation which specialises in producing labels primarily for breweries, ice cream firms, chemical products and cosmetic manufacturers.
The new seven colour press will be installed on 17 June. It uses the Epson AQ aqueous ink set, including opaque white, orange and green, to produce high quality, wide colour gamut labels on a wide range of materials, including clear and metallic substrates. Mr Stokes said, ‘Speed wasn’t an issue. I wanted the best quality, water-based inks and the ability to use the same standard substrates that I use on the Nilpeter press and the SurePress was the best solution.’
The new press joins an existing eight colour Nilpeter flexo press and will open up significant new opportunities for Bristol Labels. ‘The business of label printing is changing and this investment ensures we keep ahead of the game,’ said Mr Stokes. ‘While 10–20,000 label orders used to be the norm, now 3000–5000 label volumes, ordered more frequently is pretty standard. We can get jobs onto the inkjet SurePress in less than half the time it takes to prepare jobs for the analogue press so it gives us considerable flexibility, in addition to the ability to produce customised label batches and individually personalised labels very easily. Immediately we can bring in house the short run jobs we have previously contracted out, and that alone will have a direct impact on our bottom line.’
Two new sales people have just joined the company to drive the next stage of the company’s growth and a new design service will help customers with product branding, packaging and label design, or a complete product launch campaign encompassing labels, packaging and marketing materials.
