Rotherham-based Hine Labels has doubled capacity by investing in a speed upgrade for its Xeikon 3030 machine, increasing throughput speed up to 19.2 m/min.
Bill Hine, managing director
The 3030 installation took place back in February 2009 and was the company’s second digital press following its initial Xeikon 330 purchase in December 2007. Since those early beginnings the share of digital production has grown at a considerable pace.
Bill Hine, managing director, said, ‘We needed more capacity. For us, the typical overall run length per order has not changed significantly, however, that one order now asks for a lot more label types than before. It might be broken down now into maybe a dozen or more different versions. It is all about smarter marketing on behalf of the customer, combined with the fact that they now know that, because of digital, we can produce these shorter individual run lengths of each label at sensible prices. This has been key to driving the growth for our digital production.’
Duncan Sargeant, UK label sales manager for Xeikon, commented, ‘The 3030 was configured to run at 9.6 m/min, which was considered very productive at the time of installation. Developments in the technology now allow us to upgrade that machine to effectively turn it into a Xeikon 3300 which runs at 19.2 m/min. It has provided Hine Labels with a massive increase in production capability for an investment that was a fraction of the cost of a new machine, and without the undoubted upheaval that a new installation would cause.’
An Esko-based front end allows the company to handle files for print production before deciding which technology it will use for the final process. ‘Many jobs dictate either by run length or delivery schedule which process we should use, but others remain flexible until the last minute. We can switch production to flexo or to digital right up until the last minute and our systems will adjust the files as necessary to ensure the same quality of label is produced,’ said Mr Hine.
The five colour printing engine in the printer provides for the four standard process colours plus a choice of spot colour, special security toner for anti-counterfeiting applications, or an opaque white for the ‘no label’ look on transparent material. The press is capable of handling a wide range of substrates including self-adhesive films, co-extruded films, unsupported films, paper, transparent and opaque foils and paperboard. The environmentally friendly dry toner electrophotography imaging process enables the use of conventional substrates without the need for coating or pre-treatment.
