SLR Print shows digital expertise

SLR Print, based in Ramla, near Tel-Aviv, became the first user of HP Indigo digital presses in Israel – the manufacturer’s native country – when it installed a ws4000 in 2003. It has since become a digital-only print shop, today running three WS6600s and one WS6800, and is regularly used as a beta-testing site for new HP Indigo developments, such as its Production Pro workflow.

‘We believed in the technology,’ says general manager Abraham Levy, known to all as Avi, of that first installation 15 years ago. ‘Our competitors at the time were skeptical, and it was only around three years later that more Israeli companies began regularly buying HP Indigo presses.’

SLR Print, which today employs 35 people at its 1,500sqm factory, was founded in 1960 by Levy’s father, Haim. Initially a sign printer, it later became a silkscreen specialist, but with that market beginning to decline twenty years ago, Avi Levy was on the lookout for something new. ‘At the time, we were buying flexo-printed labels and selling them to HP Indigo for use on their consumables,’ he recalls. ‘So the conversation started and they suggested we buy their digital press.’

The initial target was the wine market – boutique vineyards are common in Israel – as well as cosmetics, which remains the company’s main area of business today, followed by food and wine. New, growing applications include security labels, craft beer and organic ‘super food’ products. These all require short runs, high quality, and, often, variable data. ‘The HP Indigo press is perfect for the Israeli market,’ says Levy.

Quality and innovation
After the first installation in 2003, a second HP Indigo digital press followed two years later, with a third added in 2007. The presses have been upgraded over the years to WS6600s, while one was upgraded to a WS6800 late last year. According to Levy, the new WS6800 can achieve premium white and better color calibration than previous incarnations. SLR Print increasingly uses HP’s PrintOS operating system, as production processes become more automated.

AB Graphic Digicon converting machines were installed alongside each digital press. They too have been upgraded over the years, with a Series 3 version added shortly after the WS6800. The Digicons all have hot and cold stamping, embossing, lamination and silkscreen capabilities.
Alongside the HP Indigo and AB Graphic machines, SLR Print runs – in an exclusive global deal – an integration machine from Varcode. Here, HP Indigo-printed labels are embedded with Varcode’s FreshCode, a cold chain monitoring system which provides value-added tracking with time-temperature recorders, reader apps and a cloud-based management system. Applications include meat, frozen foods and vaccines. SLR Print produces labels with integrated codes and supplies them to Varcode, which handles sales. The company plans to install more Varcode machines in the future.

The company focuses on quality and innovation, using high-end materials from the likes of Avery Dennison, Madico and Manter to serve specialty applications. ‘There are higher margins for added-value labels,’ explains Levy. Within HP Indigo, SLR Print’s expertise is regarded with awe. A job printed on very thin aluminum is just one of many things achieved by the converter which the digital press manufacturer itself thought impossible. ‘We can’t believe the things they can do with the press,’ HP Indigo’s business development chief for labels and packaging, Yael Barack, confides to L&L. When asked the square meterage of production – a standard question during an L&L visit – Levy replies: ‘I don’t know. More important is the quality; more profitable is a very high quality job.’

SLR Print’s focus on quality breeds an unhurried atmosphere on the shop floor. Rare among Israeli converters, it runs a single shift – albeit one that might last more than 12 hours – as Levy believes print quality is not quite the same at night. Rather than increase shifts, Levy has opted to install more presses in order to raise capacity. Jobs can be turned around on the same day, if needed by the client, thanks to the company’s flexible production. ‘Preparation is key. For every job,’ says Levy. ‘We never think: “It’s easy, we’ve done it before”. I am a perfectionist; I don’t know any other way. I hate to have to give an excuse to a client – I would rather spend the money and do the job again.’

SLR Print has been involved in three projects for Coca-Cola: Share-a-Coke, a word combinations campaign for the Israeli market, and the shrink sleeve mosaic. For the latter, SLR Print was the only Israeli converter involved, printing a run of two million labels.

‘Being involved in projects where you have to manage millions of pieces of variable data requires a lot of expertise,’ emphasizes Levy. ‘It’s not “plug and play”. It is harder if you are the first customer of a machine, but we have worked with HP Indigo to improve. We have been learning together: they are very happy to listen and work with us.’

Some 100 wineries are among SLR Print’s client roster, which numbers hundreds of companies. Levy says he prefers to build relationships with stable companies, and many customers have worked with SLR Print for decades. Client service is a key facet of the converter’s offering. High-end materials are kept in stock – which, according to Levy, many competitors don’t do due to the costs involved – in order to facilitate quick turnaround. SLR Print also offers its customers graphic design services through its dedicated six-person team.