US printer makes digital short run label printing investment with CDT 3600 Series Retrofit

Featuring Memjet printhead technology, Colordyne Technologies' 3600 Series Retrofit platform is a powerful and versatile digital printing tool. Featuring variable data integration, 4-color process with options for spot colors, a wide variety of printable substrates and state-of-the-art color management software, the 3600 Series Retrofit is now positioning Gulf States Label to serve the digital custom label printing market. By adding 4-color digital inkjet printing to an existing flexo, the label converter has profitably augmented and grown its current printing activities.

Installed by Styers Equipment Company, the fully integrated 3600 Series Retrofit is ‘propelling Gulf States Label into the digital era of modern label printing’, Colordyne Technologies said, while Mike Williams, owner of Gulf States Label, said: ‘Exceeding our clients’ needs has always been one of the pillars supporting our company, and it became very obvious to us that entering the digital label printing marketplace before it arrived in full-force was in our best interest, especially if we were going to maintain this client-based foundation.

‘There’s a rapidly growing market of small business owners who are in desperate need of affordable, short run, highly customizable labels for their products. This market is too small for most label printers, resulting in heavy expenses, huge time investments with very little ROI, and more waste product than sellable product.’

Williams described the retrofit installation as the ‘perfect transitional step into digital print’ because it has added full-color variable data to Gulf States Label’s traditional analog process and made short runs profitable.

‘Updating our Mark Andy 2200 10in, 6-color flexo press was an easy decision,’ he said. ‘The price point of the system is attractive, as well as avoiding set-up expenses associated with normal and long runs. Short run jobs were just not profitable for us, but a whole new client base is now open to us.

A supplier of labels and tags for the oil field industry, Gulf States Label has been looking to grow its business into areas of 4-color process work, but could not balance the costly challenges associated with traditional printing methods and short run work. In this regard, the Colordyne 3600 Series Retrofit installation has eliminated its need to buy print cylinders and plates for short run jobs and reduced valuable – and limited – storage space requirements.

‘The savings and value of this retrofit, paired with all of the new business we’re bidding on – and winning – has been adding up quickly, making this one of our best investments in years,’ concluded Williams.