MPS, Esko, Cerm host Labels Connected

At the Labels Connected event on February 28 at MPS’s headquarters in Arnhem, the Netherlands, 60 invitees from the European label industry learned more about the benefits of system connectivity in the label industry and how to implement this in their businesses. The event was support by AVT and Domino.

Labels Connected started with the partners presenting a framework of drivers behind the need to connect people, processes and systems, as well as reviewing trends and innovations in the label industry. Peter Overbeek, CEO at Dutch printing company Eshuis, concluded the plenary session with a story sharing his company’s experiences with the implementation of connectivity to the printshop.

The program continued with three interactive workshops during which the attendees could witness live demonstrations of system and workflow connectivity:

• Integrating MIS systems and automating pre-press;
• Digital, hybrid combination printing; and
• Extended color gamut printing with in-line inspection.

Bert van den Brink, MPS co-founder, stated: ‘We believe that connectivity is the way to go in the label industry. It takes some steps to fully automate and connect your entire printing process. Start with small steps, but start now.’

Geert Van Damme, managing director at Cerm, added: ‘We live in a world that is evolving permanently, which means we all have to keep on learning permanently. The differentiator between competitors when it comes to applying connectivity in a label business, will be the ability to adapt to change.’

The attendance for Labels Connected was higher than expected, with two thirds coming from printing companies. Following the success of this first edition of Labels Connected, the organizing partners are to host a second edition in mid-2019. The date, location and program will follow.

Fredric Vanvinckenroye, field marketing manager, EMEA at Esko, said: ‘The event revealed that truly understanding connectivity and embracing a new mindset is clearly a need in the industry. MPS and its partners are leading the way in innovation, together addressing label printing requirements and challenges with connectivity integration.’