Stic Image installs Mark Andy hybrid press

French independent label converter Stic Image has installed a Mark Andy Digital Series HD hybrid press.

Established in 1994, Stic Image has spent more than 30 years building a reputation for high-quality labels and customer service. In 2015, the company was acquired by Cyrille Roze, who now leads the enterprise as president and managing director.

Roze described the company’s corporate culture as customer-oriented. 'We are a multi-specialist player in all sectors of the label market with a comprehensive range of technology to fulfill all requirements,' he said.

When he took over in 2015, the company was using three letterpress machines, a flexo line and a digital toner press. Staff numbers stood at 36 and sales turnover at 5.2m EUR.

Eleven years later, Stic Image no longer has letterpress machines, and is equipped with greater flexo and digital toner capacity, so the choice of a digital hybrid press was unusual for the converter.

'The French label market is polarizing – consolidation at the top where volume reigns supreme, and the disappearance of the very small label shops that can no longer afford new technology to stay competitive,' Roze said. 'The middle ground is where I see niche opportunities that suit our style and production capability.'

The new press is essentially a UV/inkjet engine mounted on a Mark Andy Performance Series flexo platform. It is configured with five digital colors (CMYK+W), with five flexo print stations arranged before and after the digital engine to allow spot color printing, varnishing, cold-foil application or lamination.

The press has a 430mm web width and a production speed of 73m/min, which is more than double that of Stic Image’s toner-based presses. Fitted with turn bars, a Gizmo (web translator) and a die-cutting unit, the DSHD offers single-pass production of finished labels.

Roze said the press has increased digital print and finishing capability. 

'This is a real bonus, as 60 percent of our human resources is engaged in off-line finishing, making the Mark Andy a far more productive tool, and has allowed us to move jobs from our flexo presses as their run lengths have become too short to be commercially viable,' he added.

By freeing up flexo capacity, the Mark Andy has served a dual purpose: handling existing jobs and attracting new work. A high proportion of work at Stic Image is five colors, so with five on the inkjet engine and five flexo units, the converter has a press that can be used as a hybrid or a pure digital or pure flexo line.

Although Roze said he initially had concerns about the working life of the inkjet heads and Mark Andy’s ability to support the press in France, both concerns were laid to rest early on. He described the press as ‘fully stabilized’ and is complimentary about the speed and efficiency of the after-sales support provided by Mark Andy Europe. This has been especially important for the type of jobs Stic Image takes on, where accuracy and guaranteed delivery times are non-negotiable. 

Labels for agri-food, pharmaceuticals and beverages make up around 85 percent of the company’s work, and while this gives the business a broad footprint, each sector has its own specific requirements for which the Mark Andy press is well-suited. More than half of Stic Image’s output is printed digitally, and the Mark Andy already handles 20 percent of the total output on a single-shift basis.

The company prides itself on its quality output and ‘green credentials’. In 2022, it transitioned to low-migration inks and has subsequently received PEFC FSC Label Certification. In 2023, it completed an Eco-Responsible Commitment with Carbon Footprint Assessment. It is also a multi-award winner with UNFEA, from which it received Qual’étic certification in 2017.

Turnover this year will approach 7m EUR, the majority of which is French business. Roze intends to attract more business from the wine producers in the region. He is also encouraged by the fact that Mark Andy is now represented exclusively in France by Mach Global, led by its owner Stéphane Rateau.

'The new Mark Andy set-up in France with Stéphane Rateau has given us confidence that our investment in the company’s technology will be well supported by a reliable team, and I am keen to make use of the DSHD hybrid’s full capability to grow our business,' he concluded.