Self-adhesive label converter EKS-Label GmbH
(Kirchlengern, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany) has invested in an eight-colour
DSI (Digital System Integration) UV-inkjet press from SPGPrints, in order to
meet the growing demand for short runs of self-adhesive labels.
The custom-built 330mm (13”) DSI press
features the standard CMYK plus orange and violet, enabling reproduction of 90
percent of visible colours, a digital primer and opaque white. With top-speeds
of 35m/min (114fpm) and including converting technology from AB Graphic, the
press gives a productive single-pass solution. Esko Automation software
provides simplified file management with minimal manual intervention, allowing
several jobs to be scheduled at once, and significantly cutting prepress times.
The press will relieve EKS’s existing
letterpress and offset presses of production runs between 100 linear metres and
3000 linear metres, allowing the analogue printing operation to focus on long
jobs.
A deciding factor in the EKS’s investment
was the DSI’s high specification. LED pinning between the colour stations
ensures high-quality, consistent ink laydowns at fast printing speeds, and a
chill drum maintains the stability of heat-sensitive film substrates. This
gives full scheduling flexibility to EKS, because much of the company’s output
comprises PP, PE and PET materials, mainly to customers in the food, cosmetics,
chemical and pharmaceutical sectors. The digital primer - an optional feature -
achieves the embossed effect without material waste, because it needs only to
be applied to the image area and eliminates the need for pre-coated paper.
SPGPrints’ proprietary inks are specially
formulated to ensure high performance on the DSI press, which features Xaar
print-head technology. With high-gloss and BWS-7 light fastness, the inks offer
resistance to sunlight, scratching and chemicals. The opaque white, with 93
percent optical density, provides an effective alternative for no-label look
applications.
Nicole Fischer, managing director of
EKS-Label, comments: “With its high specification, colour range, software and
ink performance, SPGPrints’ DSI press enables us to maintain our flexibility
while meeting the market’s changing service requirements productively and
economically.”
