UK Label Manufacturer Positive ID Labels have announced the addition of a new press to their growing facility in Melbourne, Derbyshire. This latest investment is the Xeikon 3030 dry-toner print engine with inline GM finishing unit. This investment opens a new channel of label print options to their 5000+ customers.

This investment means the company now offers 4 print technologies for customers.

Available Printing Technologies

Positive ID Labels manufacture labels using flexographic and digital print technologies. They operate seven flexo presses, three plain label converters, and 2 digital presses. Their flagship flexo press is an 8-colour MPS EB370B.

Their digital offering now includes the 5 colour Xeikon 3030 dry-toner press. This complements their established Jetrion 4900 with laser die cutting capability.

The company is well-positioned to serve a range of market sectors and customers. This is thanks to the wide range of press technologies it has to hand – whether short or long run too.

Sectors the company focuses on include food, drinks, cosmetics, chemical and hygiene. The company caters to any order size, thanks to the range of equipment available to them.

Inkjet and toner technologies have been in use in offices for decades now. These print methods are now available in industrial label production. In recent years, press manufacturers have developed a wide selection of digital presses for print houses to choose from.

The main benefit of digital printing is the fact that printing plates are no longer needed. In turn, the “plate-making bottleneck” in traditional flexographic printing vanishes. This improves delivery by removing at least a day from a typical production sequence.

PID Chooses Digital Printing for growth

Positive ID Labels are no strangers to digital printing having bought their first digital press 2012. The EFI Jetrion 4830 was a very basic machine, part-exchanged in 2014 to the EFI Jetrion 4900. The 4900 incorporates a laser die cutting station, waste removal and rewind unit. Labels are made in one process to (nearly) any size or shape.

It is a feature highlighted by the Managing Director, John Mayers, as a major selling point.

“In the last 5 years, we estimate the laser cutting technology has saved customers around £600,000 in cutter costs alone. Coupled with no need for plates, we estimate our customers have saved well over a quarter of a million pounds per year!”

Mr Mayers cited the 4900 as being perfect for printing high impact beer bottle labels. Using UV white ink on metallic substrates, the press attains foil effects in one pass. These have become popular within the brewing community. The company creates bottle screen print effects by printing white plus CMYK ink onto clear materials. These transparent labels mimic screen printing at a fraction of the cost.

“The EFI Jetrion 4900 opened our eyes to the possibilities of digital print. It now generates over 40% of our print revenues! The 4900 has allowed us to manufacture from feed-stock to finished goods in the box in one process.”

Positive ID Labels installed their Xeikon 3030 Discovery machine in January 2020. The Jetrion 4900 suffers from a low print resolution of 360dpi on a 207mm print width. The Xeikon 3030 manages an impressive 1200dpi, producing pin-sharp images. It runs slower but is 330mm wide.

In 2012 when Positive ID Labels bought their first digital press, the economics made UV Inkjet a better choice. The upgrade to inline manufacturing on the 4900 added to profitability and turnaround times.

“Rewind finishing has always been a challenge in the production process so going inline was a panacea for us to grow our digital channel. The decision to add the Xeikon was straightforward. We were losing or having to outsource business on these resolution issues. There were also some premium markets what were unreachable with the Jetrion due to the wet nature of inkjet printing.” Mr Mayers explained.

The company can now offer a wider range of materials printed to a higher resolution than ever before. Positive ID Labels are now positioned to cater for all labelling requirements, large or small. “A Jack of all trades is better than a master of one” So the saying goes.

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Positive ID Labels has been manufacturing labels in the UK for over 20 years. Boasting a £2.1m turnover and over 5000 customers, the company has also acquired a number of small printing companies over the last 10 years. The company specialises in reel-to-reel label manufacture of all kinds including general labels, plain labels and price gun labels. It also sells thermal printers and software and develops bespoke printing solutions for companies across the UK and EU.