Sales from Labelexpo Americas 2018

A host of deals for equipment sales were signed at Labelexpo Americas 2018.

Jet Label & Packaging, a converter in western Canada, invested in an HP Indigo 8000 to double its digital capacity and print longer digital runs

Labelexpo shows are well-known for equipment orders being signed on the show floor, and Labelexpo Americas 2018 was no exception. Among the deals finalized at the show, Chilean wine label specialist Quintero Impresores ordered a Cartes GT364 WHSR finishing system. The deal represents Quintero Impresores’ fifth Cartes machine.

Another Chilean converter present at the show, AMF Etiquetas, bought a full beverage specification Digicon Series 3, one of several orders received at and since the end of the event by AB Graphic.Chile’s AMF Etiquetas bought a full beverage specification Digicon Series 3, one of several orders received at and since the end of the event by AB Graphic.

Dilli sold the Neo Picasso UV inkjet press on its stand to a Mexican converter, its first sale to the Latin American region.

Wisconsin-based Heartland Label Printers installed the 22in ETI Cohesio on display on the ETI Coverting Equipment stand following the show. The machine is equipped with two flexo printing stations; an adhesive coating station, featuring a coating head capable of applying as little as 12g of UV hotmelt adhesive/9g of regular hotmelt; silicone coating station; Pellicut die-cutting technology; equipment to produce linerless label products; heavy duty perforation station; and patent pending auto peel-off.

DeLeone Corporation purchased a DC330Mini from Grafisk Maskinfabrik (GM). The fourth generation of the DC330Mini compact converting system features spot UV varnish, semi-rotary die-cutting and quick set slitting. The line is also the first GM to have advanced IoT connectivity and online production dashboard and ultra-fast job recall for efficient label production. DeLeone will use the DC330mini to finish labels printed on its new Epson digital label press.

GM also confirmed the sale of two DC350 automated finishing lines. The first is going to Swedish printer Ettiketto and will run in-line with an HP Indigo 6900. The second line will be installed in-line with a Screen Truepress Jet L350UV at Belgian printer Digi-paq. The DC350 line features a unique in-line interface that allows the web to travel backwards into the press for automated calibration. Dashboard and online operator statistics are also included as standard as part of GM’s strategy to promote IoT-enabled products.

Jet Label & Packaging, a converter in western Canada, invested in an HP Indigo 8000 to double its digital capacity and print longer digital runs. CEO Darrell Friesen decided to expand the converter’s capacity for digital printing as this is where the company is enjoying higher margins. ‘Looking at the numbers the choice was easy,’ he said. ‘Digital is more profitable and that is why instead of investing in a new-generation flexo we are adding the high-volume narrow web HP Indigo 8000.’

The color consistency from run to run delivered by HP Indigo is a key in maintaining the quality required by customers, Friesen noted. ‘Quality is now the first concern. Number two is fast delivery and price is third.’

Kala Packaging, a Utah-based labels and packaging converter, purchased a second HP Indigo 20000 digital press. Maui Chai, Kala president and CEO, explained: ‘The additional HP Indigo 20000 capacity supports our strategic move to expand heavily into digital flexible packaging, amid a sharp increase in our work.’

ILS has also become the first US customer for the HP Indigo GEM.

LaserClean sold an anilox roller cleaning system to Wiscon¬sin-based Heartland Label Printers. The ALCS 1000 S off-line laser cleaning system for narrow web is suitable for label rollers and sleeves of up to 100cm and 25kg, with a diameter of 50-200mm.

Lemorau sold a CTA 1500 semi-automatic core cutter to California-based converter E Labels. The company became a Lemorau customer with the 2016 purchase of an EBR+ digital finishing machine. German manufacturer Rosas Maschinenbau sold table-top rewinders to QLM Label Makers of Brisbane, Australia, and Sapir Sprint Karmiel of Israel.

US converter Adcraft Labels ordered a Mark Andy Digital Series HD press, among 15 digital and six flexo presses sold by Mark Andy at the show. The California-based converter bought its first Digital Series machine from Mark Andy at Labelexpo Americas 2016. The Mark Andy Digital Series HD is hybrid press used to manufacture pressure-sensitive labels by combining digital workflows and digital printing, with the capabilities of flexo including in-line decoration and converting all in a single pass.

MPS reported five press sales – four EF Symjet hybrid presses, which incorporate a digital printing unit from Domino, and an EF multi-substrate flexo press.

PCMC sold a 1700T Meridian anilox cleaner to Packaging Specialties in Fayatteville, Arkansas. With its patent-pending laser technology, the Meridian deeply cleans chrome and ceramic rolls of any line screen without causing surface wear, achieving like-new surface conditions at high speeds, many times increasing efficiency by 300 percent or more.

New of these come alongside the growth in attendees and exhibitors reported by the organizer of Labelexpo Americas 2018. This included 30 percent of exhibitors being new to the show and a whopping 95 percent increase in attendees from Latin America.

James Quirk

James Quirk

  • Latin America Correspondent