EFI strikes twice in Scandinavia

Two very different Scandinavian label converters have installed EFI Jetrion 4900 digital presses, as Nick Coombes explains

Convertec, the EFI Jetrion distributor in Scandinavia, has sold EFI Jetrion 4900 series digital presses, launched at Labelexpo in Brussels, to two regional label converters – Ellco Etikett Trykk, a trade house in Skytta, Norway, and Limo Labels, based in Randers, Denmark. 

The Jetrion 4900 series combines digital printing and laser die-cutting and finishing in one system.

For Ellco – which began life in 1985 when three Norwegian label converters decided to set up their own business – the new digital press is a confirmation of a decision made in 2005 to install an HP-Indigo line for roll-to-roll work on short run labels of 500 – 1000, often produced on difficult substrates.  Previously, this work had been printed on elderly letterpress machines.  Having seen what digital could offer, and with a need to expand their capacity, a visit to Labelexpo in Brussels, where the EFI Jetrion 4900 was being demonstrated, convinced Ellco of the value it could offer.

‘We just fell in love with the whole concept of the line, and with the large number of short runs we produce, it simply looked to be the perfect fit for us,’ states Christian Egedius, son of one of the founders and general manager at Ellco since August 2012.  ‘The UV inkjet process offers a light fastness and durability approaching that of screen-printing, which makes the machine ideally suited for labels that will be used outdoors.  To date, it has completely fulfilled its promise.’

Of special interest is its capability on a wide range of substrates, notably films and those of a durable nature.  ‘We see it as complementary technology to the toner based press, and broadens our scope for customers.  Another bonus, is how little ink it consumes, which gives it extremely low running costs,’ he adds.

Denmark’s Limo Labels is principally a flexo label house, with a batch of Nilpeter presses of various specifications and age. The company knew that it had to think laterally to grow its business, as production manager René Tøttrup Klith explains: ‘We could see the trend towards digital and the take-up of toner technology, but felt we needed to offer something different.  Having evaluated the competition, we chose the Jetrion 4900 for its ability to print and finish inline. Cost comparisons over the longer term also makes it significantly cheaper than a toner based press, and in the final reckoning, it’s cost per label that counts.’ Laser die-cutting, with its associated fast set-up and zero tooling costs also made a convincing case for investment.

Limo Labels appreciates the EFI press’ capability to produce labels with high durability and functionality, particularly in a market like industrial tools.  Production at Limo Labels is split 50:50 between paper and film materials, and while the press is not as wide as the flexo lines it runs, it’s ‘wide enough for purpose’, says Klith. High uptime, low maintenance, and ease of use were also key considerations, with the press needing only one operator to run production.

Since installation in May 2012, the Jetrion line has attracted new work, much of it from existing customers, and mostly in run lengths of less than 2,000 meters.

‘We’re still on a learning curve regarding full utilization of the press, and value the knowledge exchange with Ellco that Convertec has set up for us,’ says Klith. This two-way link includes visiting each other’s plants for discussions on production techniques and the problem solving issues associated with incorporating new technology into an established workflow. According to Convertec’s Rickard Ådén: ‘It is a valuable add-on service we provide for companies looking to pioneer new commercial avenues, and encouraged by EFI.’

At Ellco, Christian Egedius claims the new press is so efficient it has created a bottleneck in administration and production, and pledges the company’s next investment plan will include the latest workflow software.  ‘What used to take us a whole week to process is now run-off in two days on the EFI press. This allows us to offer shorter delivery times because we can turn work around overnight, or even in a few hours if it’s an emergency. The good thing is that quality doesn’t suffer when we do this, so the customer isn’t compromised.’

The EFI Jetrion 4900 UV inkjet press is a seven meter long machine designed for industrial scale production. Following the unwind, is a corona treater which allows greater substrate capability. The print station controls, which are located at each end of the line, are based around a touch-screen, and are located at eye-line height for ergonomic operation.  The print zone itself has CMYK plus opaque white ink, and has change-on-the-fly capability for non-stop running. The web then passes into the laser die-cutting station fitted with dual-head lasers (and no cutting dies).  Finally, the web is fed into a festoon to minimize waste under continuous operation, and a semi-automatic turret rewinder, with quick changeover, delivers rolls of finished labels for shipping. 

Full feature finishing such as die-cutting, slitting, back-scoring are all handled inline, but the press
can be operated in offline mode so that jobs which are not ideally printed and die-cut inline, can be processed separately.

The EFI Jetrion portfolio was recently expanded to include the 4900M, 4900-330, and ML models. The modular design of the 4900M allows for additional capabilities to be added, as required.  For example, a converter could start with a four-color narrow web digital press and upgrade with white and a 330 mm web width with inline laser die-cutting, flexo printing and a turret rewinder, if the need arose.

One point of interest about these two installations is the difference between the two companies involved. Ellco is a family business that began life and continues as a trade supplier with a staff of 20, while Limo Labels is part of a larger and acquisitive enterprise group, and has an annual sales turnover in excess of Ä18 million with a staff of 65.  That the EFI Jetrion 4900 should fit so well into both commercial environments is a testament to its all-round capability.

Pictured: Rickard Aaden (Convertec) with René Klith, Jan Mikkelson and Jens Nielsen of Limo Labels

This article was published in Labels & Labeling issue 1, 2013