Spain’s Germark has become the latest converter to implement Actega Metal Print’s EcoLeaf metallisation technology, which it will use to target ‘lucrative’ spirit brands with cost-effective decorative effects for labels.
As part of the EcoLeaf beta program, Germark will use the technology to produce sustainable metallised decorative effect labels, for the first time, at a price point to attract the European spirit market. This is identified as an industry looking for new ways to achieve product differentiation and reduce its carbon footprint.
Label production accounts for over three quarters of turnover at Germark, with high quality printed labels produced using digital, flexo and screen. Currently, 50% of Germark’s label production is for the health and beauty industry and 50% for beverage. Typical applications include shampoo labels printed flexo onto film, perfume labels produced using a mix of silkscreen and flexo techniques, and a wide range of labels printed using digital.
Germark president Iban Cid said, ‘March and April saw us enjoy record months insofar as supporting supermarkets to meet demand, but the pandemic has since put a huge pressure on the local Spanish economy and our internal sales. However, thanks to its unique and cutting-edge capabilities, EcoLeaf will be a key tool in enabling us to meet this challenge and increase our export business in new and previously out-of-reach markets.
‘More widely, ‘innovation and export’ underpin our wider company vision and strategic roadmap, and EcoLeaf is a great fit for both. In terms of innovation, EcoLeaf now allows us to produce sustainable high-quality labels, something that all brands are looking for to support their environmental objectives, and one that will significantly reduce or potentially remove hot and cold foil from our production process in the future.’
The EcoLeaf unit has been installed on an existing 410mm-wide Omet flexo press at the Germark facility in Barcelona. The EcoLeaf roadmap includes the development of an inkjet-based option to digitally print the trigger image as part of the decoration process.
Jan Franz Allerkamp, Actega Metal Print managing director, commented, ‘Germark is a great business with innovation running through its core. This makes it an ideal beta candidate for us. We anticipate EcoLeaf to be a transformative technology for them and we look forward to working closely with Iban and his team over the coming weeks and months.’
