Caribbean Label Crafts (CLC) has invested in a Bobst DM5 all-one-one, all inline press, which it is to use to expand its offering to customers in the high-end spirits market by producing highly embellished labels in one process.

Based in Bridgetown, Barbados, CLC principally serves the spirits industry and produces and exports to the whole of the Caribbean region as well as into South and Central America. Founded in 1986, today the company exports 93% of its production to 32 different countries, with more than 80% of that going into the rum industry.

The company has recently updated its machinery by investing in a Bobst DM5 all-in-one, all inline label press to serve new markets and meet new customer demands. This investment decision has been made to support growth, increase production capacity and move into new applications, while streamlining operations and saving on waste.

CLC CEO Paul Evelyn commented, ‘We realised that the future of our business lies in hybrid printing, which is the combination of conventional flexo and UV inkjet, because we want to offer the widest range of options to our customers.’

DM5, as with Bobst’s other hybrid presses, combines the manufacturer’s proprietary flexo and inkjet digital printing equipment. Whilst having a hybrid platform combining technology from a single source was an important factor for CLC, the ability to print and convert in a single pass was another major benefit.

Greg Coles, who manages sales and customer service at CLC, said, ‘We’ve been involved in digital printing for 12 years now, but this is the first time we can put a roll of media on one end of the press and take fully finished products off at the other, and then deliver them.’

CLC is now ramping up the press and already noticing savings on time and materials. As well as working with a wide range of label substrates, including metallic papers and clear-on-clear with cold foil added, the company has successfully tried light folding carton and other applications on its new Bobst press.

Mr Evelyn said, ‘We are very happy with the partnership with Bobst and the DM5 is doing everything for us that we need. From what I have seen from monitoring the jobs we have run on the machine so far, I can tell you that we are having considerable savings in time and in raw materials. When we compare our numbers with what it would have cost us either doing the job conventional flexo or on another type of digital press, all the numbers are coming back where we want them to be.’