The age of automation

A collaborative automation demonstration returned to Labelexpo this September, when the trade show opened in Barcelona for the first time.

There, Martin Automatic, ETI Converting, LemuGroup and Lundberg Tech partnered to showcase how their technology can function together as part of an integrated, automated converting line — from unwinding rolls of material, to coating, laminating and die-cutting; through matrix handling; and finally rewinding, packing the rolls into boxes and palletizing them. This demonstration, first showcased at Labelexpo Americas 2024, will be a live job for Spanish label converter Mirmar.

‘The companies collaborating in this project have known each other for a long time,’ says Eider Lizarbe, group marketing manager at LemuGroup. ‘We complement each other perfectly and have worked together on multiple occasions. Each company is highly specialized and competent in its area, so by joining forces we can create one of the most productive label converting machines on the market.’

Automated label production processes like this one are becoming increasingly common at converter facilities around the world, as companies look to increase efficiency, reduce errors and operate with smaller workforces. At the same time, suppliers are meeting demand for these technologies by introducing new machinery with increasingly higher levels of automation.

Additionally, the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence, particularly in inspection and workflow management technology, is further advancing and deepening the possibilities for automation in the labeling industry.

It is this combination of automation and AI that experts say could one day produce ‘lights-out’ print facilities, where AI directs workflow, while machines run jobs automatically and robots move products across facility floors.

‘It’s not a question of if,’ says Diego Diaz, product manager of automation for Indigo at HP. ‘It’s a question of when.’

The benefits of AI and automation

Though they often complement each other, automation and AI are not the same thing. Automation is the use of machinery to perform tasks without human intervention, while AI is software that mimics human intelligence to solve problems, analyze data and adapt to new circumstances.

“Even the finest of motor tasks can be done with robots. Generally, robots can do them more consistently and more accurately than a person can do them. But it comes down to ROI”

For many converters, workforce challenges are a major driver for adopting these technologies. Many companies struggle to hire skilled press operators, especially those required to operate flexo presses. Automation enables converters to hire fewer press operators, while the workers they do have often require less training. Additionally, automation allows workers to spend less time performing repetitive tasks and instead focus on more innovative and value-added work.

‘Not just for big companies, but also for smaller ones, it’s getting harder and harder to find and retain those skilled workers,’ says Lemu’s Lizarbe. ‘With automation, we can handle manual processes with no manual intervention.’

Automation and AI also boost productivity and reduce downtime. Unlike human workers, they don’t need breaks. This greater efficiency will be particularly beneficial as the industry trends toward faster turnaround times and shorter runs, which also means increasing numbers of orders.

Automation and AI can also perform tasks with greater precision than human workers, increasing accuracy and reducing errors.

These technologies can also advance sustainability goals by helping converters comply with sustainability regulations and collect data on sustainability metrics and carbon emissions. Their precision can assist with using resources more efficiently and reducing waste.

Autonomous workflow

Suppliers across the entire production workflow offer products that use AI and automation. These companies are launching new technologies almost every day.

For labeling, the potential of AI and automation begins before printing. In addition to receiving the order, AI can help designers brainstorm artwork ideas and assist pre-press operators in putting together packaging and labeling specifications.

Esko has a range of products that use AI to optimize pre-press operations. This includes Esko Comply, which reviews artwork for regulatory compliance; Esko Print Clone for color matching; and Esko Phoenix, which optimizes the layout of labels on webs to reduce waste.

‘AI is effectively changing our world and changing the way we do things,’ says Jan De Roeck, Esko’s marketing director, industry relations and strategy. ‘It’s effectively solving real-world problems. If you validate that with customers, they will adopt it.’

For the printing process, presses can include nonstop unwinding and turret rewinders for continuous printing, or check color and quality automatically, reducing the number of operators needed.

Automation enhances flexographic presses. Flexo presses can now automatically adjust web tension, registration and print pressure.

Automation features are also reducing makeready time and waste, allowing flexo to become increasingly suitable for some short-run jobs.

Finishing equipment also provides more automation capabilities that can streamline the setup process, reduce changeover time and allow direct connection to factory networks.

AI can enhance inspection systems throughout the production process. At EyeC, for example, AI is improving the accuracy of defect detection, increasing efficiency and reducing waste.

AI is also powering MIS and ERP technology, such as at Cerm. The company’s AI-based Scheduling Optimizer can help improve workflows and efficiency.

Case study: Mercian Labels

UK converter Mercian Labels has achieved a high level of automation with non-stop digital printing. This initiative earned the company the Team Achievement Global Label Award at Labelexpo Europe 2023.

Nonstop digital printing has transformed Mercian Labels since going live with ABG Connect in September 2022. In the first two years of its implementation, the converter saw a fivefold increase in profitability, while turnover per employee improved by 22 percent, as productivity increased due to faster finishing automation. Accuracy in its products has also improved.

‘Manufacturing is a leveraged business, so it doesn’t take very much productivity improvement to significantly increase your profitability,’ says Dr Adrian Steele, managing director at Mercian Labels.

The most critical components of Mercian’s automation project are its Cerm software and ABG technology. By replacing its own ERP system with Cerm MIS and learning how to use it effectively, a
three-year process that began in 2016, Mercian laid the foundation for building an automation strategy. Automation at Mercian started ramping up in 2019 with the integration of an automated
ABG converting line. Connecting the Cerm MIS, ABG’s Connect, and ABG’s Digicon machine enabled the Digicon to run nonstop for complex, multi-SKU jobs.

To fully connect the hardware and the software, Mercian prints a QR code with instructions at the start of each SKU.

This process integrates with Mercian’s digital Screen and Xeikon presses, which connect with the Cerm MIS to receive the Job Definition Format (JDF) description and then print the QR codes.

The goal of this process was to achieve as close to light-out manufacturing as possible. However, Steele says the company has not quite achieved that, as Mercian has not been able to automate die-changing and core-loading due to practical and ROI considerations. These are the only two components of Mercian’s nonstop digital printing process that still require operator intervention.

For other converters looking to implement automated, nonstop digital printing, Steele’s advice is to have a good ERP system, a culture of continuous improvement and strong relationships with print technology providers. Developing a culture of accuracy in the order processing function is also key, as it’s easy to automate waste.

Mercian Labels plans to continue adding automation in the future.

‘The team is very proud,’ Steele says. ‘They know that they are leading their field and doing things that are genuinely new and improving the business.’

Lights-out manufacturing

True lights-out automation, where an operator could turn the lights off, walk away and return to a completed product, may very well be coming to label converter facilities one day.

In fact, HP’s Diaz believes that lights-out manufacturing is inevitable across manufacturing in all industries globally.

AI is a key component in transforming facilities from simply having a lot of automation to achieving true lights-out manufacturing.

‘The AI component is very important, particularly when we’re talking about scheduling, batching and things like that, when you’re looking at so many orders that are more than a person can make decisions on,’ Diaz says. ‘You need AI to make the decisions, and the person can guide the AI on what we want to favor, do we want to favor smaller batches, larger batches, this particular type of work or this particular type of customer?’

Connecting the hardware and the software in automated changeovers is a challenge to achieving true lights-out automation. Diaz says that he’s starting to see some companies implement processes to address this, but there’s still more to be done.

“We need more knowledgeable people in this industry. Automation allows you to move people to higher-value positions”

At present, Diaz agrees that die-cut changeovers remain a challenge, as this is a process that requires a large number of variable, physical actions with fine motor skills. This could be achieved with robotics, but doing so is currently cost-prohibitive.

‘Even the finest of motor tasks can be done with robots,’ Diaz says. ‘Generally, robots can do them more consistently and more accurately than a person can do them. But it comes down to ROI. The more complex the task is, the more expensive the robot usually is.’

De Roeck uses the analogy of a factory-wide robotic cell. He envisions a future where automation and AI power each department, such as invoicing, sales, prepress, and floor planning and then integrate these departments.

‘Everything in between can and will be automated at some point,’ De Roeck says. ‘Why would you still have press operators if robotics can, today, feed the plates and also the raw materials into the
press? Why would you need somebody to conduct the press?’

The human touch

The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025 identifies technological change as one of the most significant trends for the labor market for the rest of this decade. Of the nine technological trends named in the report, employers ranked AI and information processing technologies as the most transformative, with 85.7 percent of employers expecting them to transform their businesses. Robots and autonomous systems ranked second, with 57.8 percent of employers saying this would affect their business.

In the labeling industry, hiring is often cited as one of the biggest challenges, if not the biggest challenge, facing businesses. Automation today is helping companies face this challenge. But with a potential future of fully autonomous print facilities and AI-powered workflows, what role do humans play in label printing in the future?

‘I tend to believe that when you have knowledgeable people in our industry, the last thing that you do is get rid of them,’ Diaz says. ‘We need more knowledgeable people in this industry. Automation allows you to move people to higher-value positions. Especially when I look at mobile robotics, the number of people that I see towing around pallet jacks behind them with rolls on them, or driving a forklift with rolls back and forth, going from point A to point B. That is not the best use of the human mind. People are so much more sophisticated than that.’

Diaz says that when he ran his own commercial printing companies, he never reduced his workforce due to automation. Instead, automation enabled his team members to take on different roles. For example, a person who had been moving pallets could instead apply their knowledge of the shop floor to a role in logistics and planning.

De Roeck says that companies will still need people to build relationships with customers, to figure out applications for specific products and come up with and test new ideas. AI may play a role in this, but De Roeck believes that it will likely happen in collaboration with humans.

‘We must excel at what we’re really good at as humans, and that is being human,’ De Roeck says. ‘It’s the logic behind the why and how we do things. The execution of tasks is something that, whenever it can be automated, will be automated. That’s not new. That’s been the case since the advent of the steam engine, to the very first Industrial Revolution. That mantra has remained unchanged. It’s just the technology that we use is continuously evolving and becoming faster and faster. But ultimately, society is built with people, not machines.’

Robots on the pressroom floor

Robots are increasingly being used to perform mundane and repetitive tasks, such as packaging boxes and moving pallets.

This technology includes LemuGroup’s UltraCompact end-of-line automation system, which uses robotics to take a roll directly from converting equipment, package it in a box and palletize it without manual intervention.

LemuGroup has also partnered with an inspection systems company to integrate quality control technology into its UltraCompact system. If this technology detects a defect, the system can alert the rewinder and mark the defective roll. The UltraCompact is then able to identify the roll as defective and discard it before it is packed.

‘Our goal is not only to automate the process, but also to guarantee quality through automation,’ Lizarbe says.

HP also offers customers robotic machines through partnerships with robotics companies. These include machines that can do core cutting, loading and offloading rolls, and moving pallets. For example, the Sharko5, in partnership with MoviGo Robotics, is an autonomous mobile robot that can transport pallets indoors.‘We do have sales in the labels and packaging space,’ Diaz says of HP’s robotics offerings. ‘Those sites are just coming online now.’