The label printing industry has changed a lot in the last decade, and today printing companies that don't adopt digital printing are putting their ability to compete at risk. Here are some of the factors behind the rise of digital printing technology:
Making a business investment in flexographic printing equipment is not a decision to be made overnight. In general, companies don't invest in new kit unless it is necessary, so it can sometimes be a challenge to persuade directors/shareholders to release the capital. However, the technological changes that have taken place in flexo machines over recent years make a compelling business case for not delaying your investment.
Focus Label Machinery Ltd based in Bingham Nottingham is pleased to announce the installation of their modular and flexible hybrid digital inkjet d-Flex to Last Bros in Cheshunt. The group, which turns 70 this year, has installed a new Focus d-Flex hybrid UV digital inkjet press into its Labels division.
2017 has been a hectic and interesting year for the labels/Packaging and textile label printing business. Trends have developed and a lot has changed, often in surprising directions. The long heralded decline of flexographic printing has not only failed to materialise, but the opposite has in fact occurred. Wedded to digital printing technologies in a new generation of hybrid printing presses, flexographic methodologies and technologies are still going strong – offering unparalleled flexibility and productivity to enterprising businesses. Whatever else can be said of this year, whether uncertainty in the market due to Brexit, fluctuating currency prices, and pressure from Chinese manufacturers; it is the companies who have been bold enough to invest in new technological solutions that have reaped the most benefit from these changes.
The label converting process is an important part of label manufacturing. It consists of a number of processes that take place after printing; all with an essential role to play in producing the final labels. Each operation is supported by specialised equipment, which is sometimes used independently, or as modules as part of a larger printing plant.
In the ongoing debate about flexographic versus digital printing, or flexographic AND digital printing, a lot of the distinct advantages of modern industrial printing machines get lost in the background noise. It isn’t a case of one method being yesterday’s technology and the future being exclusively digital. Both flexographic and digital printing have changed almost beyond recognition in the past two decades. To look at, a printing press released this year may appear similar to one that was purchased in 2001, but below the surface they will be different animals. This is as true for flexo presses as it is for digital. Both have undergone a profound transformation. Here are the four main ways in which modern printers differ from their counterparts of a previous generation:
