L’Etiquette Adhésive installs Mark Andy press

When Stéphane Clavier was looking to acquire a B2B company in 2019, he found L’Etiquette Adhésive to be the perfect vehicle for his ambition to grow a successful business outside of the retail sector. He didn't know that the global economy would be hit by the Covid-19 pandemic the following year, but according to Clavier: 'It actually increased demand for labels to a level that has largely been sustained ever since.'

The move to a new and larger building in 2019 also provided the space for him to kick off his planned program of investment that continues to this day. He inherited a fleet of machines that included flexo and digital toner presses as well as off-line converting equipment. But the growth in demand for more SKUs in shorter run lengths was proving a challenge to handle economically, and Clavier scanned the market for a solution.

'I knew of hybrid presses, but coming from a non-print background, was unaware of what benefits the technology could offer us. So I began asking the well-known press manufacturers if they could show me one of their hybrid presses in commercial operation at a converter producing similar work to ours. Only Mark Andy was able to do this, and the demonstration was so convincing that within a month we had placed the order for the press,' he explained.

Installed in 2024, the Mark Andy DSHD is high-spec machine. Its 430mm web width is based on the well-proven Performance Series flexo platform where a five-color (CMYK+W) UV-inkjet digital engine is located between flexo print stations, two before and three after the digital engine. These allow for additional colors to be printed, a lacquer to be added or cold foil to be applied. 

The press also has turn bars, a double unwind for two-web insetting, two Gizmos (web translators for multi-layer coupon labels) and a semi-rotary die cut station. An overhead extraction unit is fitted to handle the removal of complex waste matrix. All of which makes the DSHD an efficient production tool allowing single-pass operation from blank roll to finished label.

As labels become more complex and brand owners specify more expensive substrates, waste material becomes a major issue and cost center. Make-ready time and material waste on the flexo presses means only longer jobs are economical, and the running speeds of the toner presses and off-line finishing equipment all point toward the hybrid having a significant advantage in efficiency.

'Despite having flexo and digital capability already, I must admit there was a learning curve with the hybrid, purely in terms of synchronizing the digital and flexo print with the converting elements. It required a new way of thinking, but the Mark Andy, which was working double-day shifts, is now on three-shift operation, and is very productive,' he added.

Because of its all-round capability as a production machine, the DSHD has allowed Clavier to move work from both his flexo and digital lines, freeing up capacity for the jobs to which they are better suited.

Around 90 percent of work at the plant in Pau is printed and converted using filmic materials. In fact, one major customer has recently changed its requirement to all PP, where the opacity of the digital white on the Mark Andy has quickly filled capacity on the press. Most of the work produced by L’Etiquette Adhésive is supplied to customers within the local region, and turnover will grow from 7.8m EUR this year to 8.4m EUR in 2027.

Speaking for Mark Andy, Stéphane Rateau, newly appointed sales agent for France, commented: 'L’Etiquette Adhésive is an excellent case study of how to develop a label converting business by strategic investment and embracing the latest technology, with a delivery performance rating of more than 98 percent. I can promise that Mark Andy is fully committed to ensuring the Digital Series HD press maintains this level of excellence.'