From the US and China, to the UK, France, and Spain, printers are adapting their production lines to make a difference.
HP’s print service providers (PSPs) are mobilising industrial facilities worldwide to deliver print products and help in the global effort to battle the COVID-19 pandemic.
Many PSPs are working with limited staff to adhere to health regulations, while retooling production lines to support the effort.
This includes the likes of Illinois, US-based Nosco, which is using multiple pieces of HP Indigo digital label printing 24/7 to produce packaging testing kits, drug products, syringes for hospitals, face masks, and hand sanitiser. Millions of labels have already been produced and production will continue to support the needs of the pharmaceutical and healthcare market. In its everyday work, Nosco is a supplier of folding cartons, labels and flexible packaging using digital printing, and is focused heavily on pharma and healthcare.
Custom Label of California is a supplier with designated ‘essential business’ status, producing products for healthcare, food and more. ‘One of the largest increases in incremental volume is for packaging for ready-to-eat food due to the shift from dining out to making food at home,’ commented Lars Ho-Tseung, president and CEO at Custom Label. ‘Volume is also increasing for labels and packaging for over-the-counter drug products for flu symptoms.’
As a result of a spike in orders at Custom Label, HP has shipped emergency ink supplies the same day to the site to ensure no disruption in production.
In New York City, Duggal Visual Solutions, a commercial PSP, has teamed up with Kings County Distillery, in an effort to produce hand sanitiser. The two companies are producing, bottling and labeling the products that are in short supply in the US. Duggal is printing the paper-based labels on its sheet-fed HP Indigo 12000 presses.
Marc Lovci, vice president at Duggal Visual Solutions, noted, ‘Neighbours are helping neighbours, taking the tools you have to partner and create immediate solutions. Kings reached out at to our Indigo department to create the labels including die cutting and adhesive.’
In China, Foresee Images Technology of Shanghai has printed labels for medical equipment, such as sterilised wet wipes. The customer required labels with a same-day turnaround, within six hours, for a print job that typically requires a week to complete. To ensure protective measures were also in place, the printer had to disinfect the premise and provide shielded gear for staff who were quickly resourced to complete the production of uncontaminated labels.
In the UK, Bristol Labels is supplying a million labels a week for products that are being used for the NHS and Public Health England. Bristol Labels, like others, is prioritising essential work such as these labels.
Santi Morera, general manager and global head of HP’s Graphics Solutions Business, said, ‘We greatly appreciate our print partners and their employees for their unrelenting dedication and are pleased we can also play a part in supporting the huge effort taking place.’
Read up on the latest developments from the print industry in relation to the coronavirus (COVID-9) pandemic with our ‘Going viral’ hub ,which you can access here
