Étiquettes Pierre Foucher chooses Screen L350 SAI S

With a history dating back to 1920, EPF is one of the oldest label printers in France and currently operates with about 20 employees. 

A decade ago, it was in dire straits, but with the support of Groupe Aixor, the business group that EPF acquired in 2011, EPF changed its gun. Despite the pandemic having a significant impact on its customers, over the past three years, the French company has invested around EUR 750,000 annually to modernize and diversify its machine park. The Screen L350 SAI S is the provisional culmination of that investment round.

‘You have to invest in good equipment first in order to attract new customers,’ said Nicolas Lavalette, director of EPF. ‘For handling the large print runs of our national and local customers, we had already invested in flexographic presses. But for local customers, where responsiveness and service are very important, for example, within 48 or 72 hours, we needed a second digital press to serve them cost-effectively and qualitatively.

‘The SAI S is quick and easy to operate, and between two jobs, you lose no time getting the printer ready. Speed is important because some customers almost no longer manage physical stock. Instead, they order new labels when they need them. With the seven colors of the Screen L350 SAI S we can print all the Pantone colors we need. This allows us to print the same labels as on our flexo presses digitally but in smaller runs. The difference between the digital and flexo colors can only be seen by a trained eye and under a magnifying glass.’ 

According to Lavalette, the seven colors allow using less ink than a digital four-color press, as less ink must be mixed to get to the precisely right color.

‘With a digital press, you have much less chance of printing errors, and you are also sure to print the same colors and designs every time. The press also takes up relatively little space in EPF's atelier. The SAI S, and the investments we made in recent years, promise our company to look to the future with confidence, as the opportunity of new markets opens up to us,’ concluded Nicolas Lavalette.