HP, Monotech, Gidue advocate digital in label
Digital technology in label printing is setting new parameters in long-run as well as short-run job. This was the consensus among the manufacturers of digital label printers at the LMAI Conference, which was held at Jaipur from 16 to 18 July 2015.
20 Jul 2015 | 3686 Views | By Rahul Kumar
Speaking on the subject, A Appadurai of HP, known in the industry as ‘Durai’, gave the example of the massive campaign that the beverage giant Coca-Cola did with HP, where millions of Coke labels were printed on HP Indigo and not a single label was same. Appadurai, the man behind the successful installations of HP Indigo pan India, also gave the example of a condom brand, where he said print buyers can now enter into a customer’s bedroom by producing persoanlised condom packs.
At the end, Appadurai argued that this helps both the printer and the print buyers. “Personlisation and value addition are the keys for a print buyers, while short turnaround time and variable data printing are the keys for a printer,” he said.
Tej Prakash Jain of Monotech Systems also advocated digital in label printing, even as he compared liquid toner, liquid electro-photography and inkjet. “Digital printing in an art more than a science,” he said.
While reiterating that short-runs in digital reduce waste and add to profitability, Jain seconded Appadurai, saying that even a long-run job is equally possible in digital. “Digital is growing and so is the demand for labels. Now, you can print CMYK, white and another two colours in digital,” he added.
Maurizio Trecate of Nuova Gidue, on the other hand, focused on ‘digital-flexo revolution’, saying that the manufacturers have extended colour gamut and digital automation in printing and converting.
“Printing inks and anilox will be always there in a printing press,” said Trecate. “Digital printing is easy for print operations, it is known for clean production and consistency in colour and quality, and finally, it is perfect for short-runs.”
According to Trecate, another advantage of digital is that there is no investment on plate. “Thus, digital reduces turnaround time. In digital, the job switch is just a button away, and an eight-colour press can print infinite colours,” he added.