Nottingham-based Direct Labels UK has installed a Konica Minolta AccurioLabel 230 toner press to complement its established inkjet digital label printing capability.

For digital printing, Direct Labels UK already ran a Domino inkjet engine. This has been added to with the Konica Minolta AccurioLabel 230, which will ensure that the label specialist can offer the flexibility needed in the current climate and deliver any quantity of high-quality labels in just a few days. Direct Labels UK also offers flexo printing.

In response to changing label buying trends, Direct Labels UK has continued to invest in more printing and finishing equipment. Specifically, as a result of COVID-19, the company has seen demand for more flexibility grow, with customers reducing the number of labels in each order but ordering more frequently.

‘Out of adversity comes opportunity, and we are taking that opportunity and extending our offering to cover all possible label needs for our customers, whether they are small start-ups or bigger companies,’ commented Chris Eveson, managing director at Direct Labels UK.

‘We can now take on very small jobs that we would previously not have been able to look at, because it is so cost-efficient to print on the AccurioLabel 230. We are also moving work over to the press simply because of how quick it is to run the jobs on it.’

The Konica Minolta press has already gained a lot of interest and landed the company several new high value jobs.

Mr Eveson continued, ‘Our unique combination of digital toner and inkjet presses, along with flexo, makes us extremely competitive. We now have the capacity to print digital labels at 100 m/min and print anything from 25 labels and upwards on demand. As our motto states, we are ‘Digitally Adding More Shelf Appeal’ for our customers.’

The toners featured in the Konica Minolta AccurioLabel 230 are TÜV Rheinland compliant, making them suitable for food packaging labels. The international product certification service has tested the toners according to the PROOF Criteria Catalogue for Printed Papers in Contact with Foodstuff. The compliance aspect was important for Direct Labels UK, when making its investment decision, as Mr Eveson explained. ‘Investing in the AccurioLabel technology will allow us to extend further into new markets, such as food packaging, and find more customers.’

The ability of the Konica Minolta press to print on textured materials is also highlighted as an advantage to Direct Labels UK and its customers.

As well as printing, Direct Labels UK has invested in finishing machines that will help maintain production speeds and add more embellishment options, as the company gears up for more growth.

Mr Eveson concluded, ‘As a result of all our investments over the past four years, which amount to some £1.2 million, customers can expect us to keep to our usual three- to five-day turnaround despite a big increase in workload.’

Steve Lakin, label press sales consultant at Konica Minolta Business Solutions UK, said, ‘We are increasingly seeing companies that are already printing digital labels take on the AccurioLabel 230 to complement their existing inkjet presses, and they soon find that they are printing many more jobs on the machine than they initially planned.

‘I’m very pleased to welcome Direct Labels UK to the Konica Minolta family as I know this press is the perfect choice for its needs.’