Tilting the Playing Field

“If you don’t have a digital press you are at a disadvantage in the market,” affirms Tom Carroll, president of Labeltape Group in Caledonia, MI (www.labeltape-inc.com) and A-Flex Label Corporation in Willowbrook, IL (www.aflexlabel.com). The company runs a full range of labels on an impressive array of equipment but turns to its Epson SurePress inkjet press to keep pace with continually shifting customer demands. A-Flex began offering digital a few years ago using a small tabletop machine. It soon outgrew that device and acquired the Epson, which adds capacity and helps optimize how the company’s presses are used.

Like other shops with a mix of digital and flexo equipment, A-Flex generally uses the SurePress for shorter jobs, although this is dependent on the size of labels. “It’s really all over the place,” explains Carroll. “We might do up to 10,000 4 x 6-inch prime labels, but run 50,000 1 x 1 inch labels, or 10,000 each of multiple versions of a single label. The advantage is that the SurePress lets us handle these jobs even when the flexo presses are fully committed,” says Carroll. “Being able to avoid plate changes and use some standard dies lets us turn jobs much faster. And when we do need a die we can get a magnetic one overnight. Overall, it means we can meet the customer’s needs and let the flexo presses handle longer jobs with less interruption.”

Some jobs, though, may be run on either press, which can lead to certain challenges. “The digital press can produce a higher quality label than the flexo press,” he notes. “So, we have to make sure the flexo presses are set up to print the highest possible image quality.” In the interest of transparency, Carroll’s team makes a practice of always letting customers know which press will be used, even though the choice of press may not matter to the customer. The Epson SurePress at A-Flex is set up to use seven colors plus white, to provide the most flexibility for customer requirements.

And finally, the digital press also serves as an entry point for new business. Customers will start with short runs, shift to flexo as volume grows, then use both technologies depending on need.