Shorter+Faster

Web widths and run lengths

Label converter press web widths are roughly representative of the industry in general, with a median response of 17 inches width for flexo webs and 13 inches on digital webs. These widths are helpful when reviewing the next two charts, which tally converters' estimates of the shares of their label jobs attributable to different run lengths. Not surprisingly, conventional presses (probably all or nearly all flexo systems) have higher shares of longer runs, while digital presses have higher shares of shorter ones. Regarding the digital presses though, remember that our sample includes 24 percent using tabletop color label printers. Because users of such machines print typically very short runs exclusively (i.e., 26 percent being less than 100 feet), their responses weigh down the total response for really short runs.