BGM launches Compact digital label finishers

BGM Bar Graphic Machinery has launched the Compact and Compact Pro, two finishing machines designed specifically for digitally printed labels across all industrial digital print processes including inkjet, toner and LEP, targeting the estimated 80 percent of digital label volume that requires only standard lamination, varnish and die-cutting rather than complex embellishment.

The company's managing director Adam James, who has decades of direct experience operating and running finishing lines for digitally printed labels, identified a widespread problem of label printers running digital work through overspecified finishing lines featuring foiling, embossing or laser die-cutting, creating bottlenecks and reducing equipment utilization. The Compact range addresses this by offering dedicated, straightforward finishing at speeds of up to 100 m/min on a compact frame.

Both the Compact at 2.5m and the Compact Pro at 3.5m offer a 370mm web width, overlamination, a flexo unit for rotary flood varnish at 360mm, semi-rotary die-cutting at 360mm, crush or razor slitting, matrix waste removal and dual rewind, with an optional corona treatment unit or additional slitting systems. The Compact Pro adds a second flexo station for light embellishments such as spot varnish or cold foil. All BGM-manufactured parts carry a 36-month warranty.

The range was formally introduced at a three-day open house at BGM's Bradford headquarters in mid-May, welcoming around 50 guests, including label printers, press manufacturers, ancillary equipment suppliers and distribution partners from the UK and across Europe.

'These new products will enable us to offer customers machines that combine robustness and productivity,' said Franck Vitali, technical manager at GIC, a BGM distribution partner in French-speaking territories.

'There is a clear need for this type of solution,' said James. 'My experiences running equipment on the shop floor and managing printing businesses give me a unique perspective on what works operationally and commercially for converters. This is realized in Compact and Compact Pro, which are designed for fast and efficient finishing of digitally printed labels with no fuss.'