Positive ID Labels installs Xeikon 3030 print engine with GM finishing unit

British converter Positive ID Labels has installed Xeikon 3030 dry-toner print engine with the inline GM finishing unit at its production facility in Melbourne, Derbyshire to open a new channel of label print options to its customers.

UK-based converter Positive ID Labels installs Xeikon 330 press to move into dry toner printing to complement current equipment

Positive ID Labels manufactures labels using flexographic and digital print technologies, operating seven flexo presses, three plain label converters, and two digital presses with its 8-color MPS EB370B flagship flexo press. Its digital offering now includes the 5-color Xeikon 3030 dry-toner press to complement the established Jetrion 4900 with laser die cutting capability.

The company focuses on several markets, including food, beverage, cosmetics, chemical and hygiene and caters to any order size, thanks to the available range of equipment.

Positive ID Labels are no strangers to digital printing having bought their first digital press 2012. The EFI Jetrion 4830 was a very basic machine, part-exchanged in 2014 to the EFI Jetrion 4900. The 4900 incorporates a laser die cutting station, waste removal and rewind unit.

‘In the last 5 years, we estimate the laser cutting technology has saved customers around GPB 600,000 in cutter costs alone. Coupled with no need for plates, we estimate our customers have saved well over a quarter of a million pounds per year,’ said John Mayers, managing director of Positive ID Labels. ‘The EFI Jetrion 4900 opened our eyes to the possibilities of digital print. It now generates over 40 percent of our print revenues. The 4900 has allowed us to manufacture from feedstock to finished goods in the box in one process.’

Positive ID Labels installed the Xeikon 3030 Discovery machine in January 2020. The Jetrion 4900 suffers from a low print resolution of 360dpi on a 207mm print width. The Xeikon 3030 manages an impressive 1200dpi, producing pin-sharp images. It runs slower, but is 330mm wide.

‘Rewind finishing has always been a challenge in the production process so going in-line was a panacea for us to grow our digital channel. The decision to add the Xeikon was straightforward. We were losing or having to outsource business on these resolution issues. There were also some premium markets what were unreachable with the Jetrion due to the wet nature of inkjet printing,’ added Mayers.