Allen Datagraph Systems, AstroNova partner

Digital short run label finishing specialist Allen Datagraph Systems and digital short run label printing supplier AstroNova have formed a partnership to offer the market in North America end-to-end digital label production options.

Allen Datagraph Systems, AstroNova partner

This new partnership enables Allen Datagraph Systems to offer a broader line of label printers to tailor options to a customer’s unique requirements. This includes the latest-generation 5-color toner printing options and die-less finishing on a wide range of pressure-sensitive paper and film materials. In addition to AstroNova’s color printers, Allen Datagraph Systems will continue to offer its own line of digital label printers, including the iTech Centra HS, iTech Cypher and iTech Spectrum. Allen Datagraph Systems will also provide technical expertise and after-sale support to ensure customers select the appropriate equipment for their applications and receive installation training.

The partnership has been spurred on by average job sizes in the label printing industry continuing to decrease year over year, with converters looking for economical ways to print small runs without tying up conventional presses or making huge capital investments, stated Allen Datagraph Systems. The proliferation of brands – craft breweries, cannabis producers, cottage cosmetic manufacturers, etc – requiring late-stage customization, variable data and micro runs in a wide range of label sizes and shapes has also increased the demand for more versatile printing and finishing systems with a shortened ROI.

Alex Wright, president at Allen Datagraph Systems, explained: ‘You can go out and spend a quarter of a million dollars on a digital label solution, or you can spend 60-80 percent less and achieve the same quality with lower operational and logistical overhead. Our systems have more flexibility and for shorter runs, it's much more economical to use our turnkey print/finishing solutions.

‘Our customers want to create, print and change on the fly. And with this new partnership, they now have access to a full portfolio of leading digital printers and finishing systems that work together to provide a true turnkey solution for the printing and die-less cutting of digital labels of the highest quality.’

Mikkel Wichmann, vice president of sales at AstroNova, added: ‘Both companies have been providing equipment to the North American market for decades and the combination of our desktop label printers and Allen Datagraph System’s superior finishing systems provides an unbeatable value proposition for any company looking to print, and convert, highest-definition small runs.’