Leicester, UK-based printer Soabar has seen demand for digitally printed labels reach such heights that its output has more than tripled since the start of the COVID-19 crisis.

Most of the label jobs printed during the crisis are for existing clients who produce hand sanitisers, disinfectants, chlorine tablets and other hygiene products for the health sector. This has largely been delivered using two Konica Minolta AccurioLabel 190 toner-based digital label press, installed last year.

Soabar was an early adopter of Konica Minolta’s label printing technology, installing the first bizhub Press C71cf in England in 2016. Since then, work has continued to increase its digital capacity, resulting in the installation of the two Konica Minolta AccurioLabel 190 presses, alongside a sheet-fed AccurioPress 3070 for proofing. Soabar has also increased the running speed of the AccurioLabel presses, in effect giving it the capacity of three machines.

Soabar managing director Phil Achurch commented, ‘The reliability of our two AccurioLabel presses has certainly been tested to the max in the past two months. We have seen demand for digital labels go through the roof, and if it wasn’t for the Konica Minolta machines, we would have struggled to support our customers during this difficult time.’

Rob Gallagher, production director at Soabar, added, ‘Our Konica Minolta presses are really saving the day for us and for our customers. We are now producing in excess of 70,000 linear metres per month, which is a three-fold increase of where we were at the beginning of the year. And there are still new inquiries coming in, so the opportunities are out there.’

Mr Achurch continued, ‘Although we had already been ramping up in our digital department over the past year, the crisis has accelerated that process and we have very quickly gone from digital accounting for 16-17% of turnover to nearer 50% of current sales.’

Soabar is also well-known for supplying textile labels, swing tickets and hanger tags to the clothes industry, but work for that sector has declined in most areas, although has been a steady increase in demand for wash care labels and similar for the PPE market.

‘Most of our work in textiles has disappeared, so without the AccurioLabel 190s picking up the speed of production, our business could have been seriously compromised,’ Mr Achurch. ‘It’s been a bit of a gamechanger for us really, and I think that as a natural consequence, there will be a lot more emphasis on the digital side of the business sooner than there would have been naturally. You could say that we’ve had a couple of years of growth in a just couple of months.

‘It’s been a worrying time for everyone, but I sleep better at night knowing that we made the right investment and that the future of our print production is secure with Konica Minolta.’

Steve Lakin, label press sales consultant in the UK for Konica Minolta, said, ‘Konica Minolta is committed to helping our customers deliver their services during the COVID-19 crisis. We are glad that our technology is able to help Soabar keep critical supply lines running during these unprecedented times.’