Hyperspeed Digital Labels – An urgent job completed in a couple of hours
Short runs of digital labels have a range of benefits over flexographic labels. One of the benefits on our Jetrion 4900 is the lack of tooling needed to get the jobs done. In this instance, our customer Jim had an urgent labelling need – above and beyond our normal target turnaround.
Here at Positive ID Labelling we will jump through hoops to help our customers and this case study is an example.
We would normally process a digital labels order in a day-by-day sequence:
That is the norm for the Screen or the Xeikon but the Jetrion can do all of that in a single pass – meaning the staged work on days two, three and four happens on day one!
The Jetrion is one of our older digital label printers from when the company first entered the digital labelling market. It is an in-line, single-pass machine incorporating five key stages for label manufacture.
In extreme circumstances, using this machine, we are able to turn around an order from start to finish in a couple of hours or less.
Urgent Digital Labels
Jim needed his labels fast to fulfil an order that week.
We already do over 160 designs for him, having won the business from a major competitor back in June 2023. So, the artwork was not the issue; we already had it, but running this urgent job through the Screen would not meet Jim’s needs.
We advised Jim that we could do an ultrafast turnaround on the digital labels using a different machine and told him there could be some variation in the output from his usual labels made on the Screen.
He accepted the risk and asked us to go ahead and make his labels on the different machine. So the wheels we set in motion.
The artwork files for the labels needed a minor adjustment to work on the Jetrion, including removing the bleed and expanding the artboard, then adding the laser die line. The die line is simply identified as a spot colour called “Die Line”, and then a solid magenta line is marked on the image and set to overprint stroke.
That was 5 minutes’ work.
The file was then placed in the job queue, ready for processing using the Fiery Rip – a piece of software that splits the image into its CMYK components and encodes the file to be printed on each of the ink channels on the press.
That was another 5 minutes’ work.
The job file was now ready to be run on the press, so on the press, we put the polypropylene material on and loaded the job. The initial run is then used to target the laser and ensure a perfect cut.
That took us up to 15 minutes, and we have “ink on paper and cuts in material”.
Digital Labels Colour Check
Digital printing presses are notorious for variation in their output. Our new Xeikon and Screen presses are far more advanced, but the Jetrion is old-skool and needs a dab hand operating it.
A quick check of the original sample labels we were aiming to colour match showed we were coming up lighter than the target. So, into the printer settings and a little tweak up on the voltage on black to darken the image and test again.
Bingo! 20 minutes into processing the order and we have a commercial match on colour, ink on paper and an accurate die line cutting the label. Ready to print.
Digital Labels Printer Speed
Our three digital presses operate at different speeds:
- Xeikon: 10 metres per minute – 330mm wide material – 1200dpi dry toner
- Jetrion: 20 metres per minute – 230mm wide material – 360dpi UV inkjet
- Screen: 30-50 metres per minute – 330mm wide material – 600dpi UV inkjet
The entire job consisted of 10 label designs, 500 of each design except one, which was for 1,500. That gave a total of 6,000 labels requiring 360m of material.
Allowing 2 minutes per type change and 20m/min running speed, the whole job was completed and boxed in around 40 minutes. Adding back the 20 minutes in pre-press and preparation on the machine, the labels were ready to go in one hour.
Commenting on the order, Helen Dennis, Commercial Director, said:
It is always a thrill to get a surprise job like this and then be able to “wow” the customer.
Working with Jim over the last 3 years has been great. He is a fantastic customer, easy to work with and we have built a great working relationship where we understand what he needs and can deliver to that target.
This was an unusual request but the combination of our internal systems and processes, coupled with the Jetrion press meant we could get the work done exceptionally fast, ideal for Jim and a great challenge for us.
Commenting on the event, Pete Howells, Technical Director, said:
She may be old but that Jetrion can achieve some remarkable things! There are very few single pass inline machines on the market – and only a couple of these old Jetrions remaining in the UK.
For short run, urgent work, it is astonishing how quick jobs can be turned out.
It also comes in handy for proof of concept or trialling packaging designs. A physical copy on adhesive material customers can apply to their product and see in real life.
I had an amazing experience working with Positive ID Labelling, especially Natalie. The labels were absolutely brilliant quality and exceeded my expectations. Natalie was fantastic throughout the whole process. Communication was amazing from start to finish. She was so helpful, guided me through everything, and made the whole experience stress free and enjoyable. She was also genuinely funny and a pleasure to work with, which made everything even better. I’ll definitely be working with Natalie again on future projects and would highly recommend Positive ID Labelling to anyone looking for high-quality labels and excellent customer service.
Fantastic label printing service. Labels to a very high specification. Helen was great at sorting out our requirements, quotes, and order.
We’ve had a great experience working with this supplier, especially with Natalie - she is always very responsive, professional, and friendly. The pricing is highly competitive and the sales service has been excellent from start to finish. If I could offer one suggestion, it would be to improve the account and invoice management process. It would be really helpful if there were a system for clients to easily track their past orders and invoices in one place. Overall, very pleased with the service and look forward to continuing our collaboration.
Absolutely brilliant service from start to finish. The team are brilliant and the product was excellent quality and exactly what I wanted. Natalie is amazing as are her colleagues. Will definitely be a returning customer. Thank you
What you can expect from Positive ID Labels
Need your labels fast? Give us a call on 01332 864895 to see how we can help.
