Screen helps Positive ID become one-stop label shop

Positive ID Labels, founded in 1997, has been one of the UK’s leading pricing gun label producers, but with this market shrinking over the past 20 years, around 80 percent of its GBP 2.5m turnover now stems from manufacturing labels. It focuses on the food, beverage, cosmetics, chemical and hygiene markets. 

‘Our strategic goal is to become a one-stop label shop for our 4,500 customers, as it’s always easier to grow your company via your existing clientele. So, we needed an extra digital label printer for barcoding, but also mid-range printing jobs,’ commented John Mayers, Positive ID’s managing director. 

Screen’s L350 UV featured on Positive ID’s radar as far back as 2017, and Mayers traveled to Amsterdam and Kyoto to see the machine.

‘Back then, there were only new L350UV machines available, and we couldn’t afford one, having just acquired several small printing companies. But we always liked the Screen machine, and as soon as the preowned L350UV option became available in March 2021, we bought one,’ commented Mayers. ‘The most impressive characteristic of the L350UV is the speed – on a good day, it can get close to 50 meters per minute, which means it can generate a lot more turnover for a similar machine and ink cost. The machine is also simple to use, and Screen is a very easy company to deal with.’

For now, Positive ID’s first Screen machine is running at 10 hours per week, but the goal is to reach enough jobs to have it fully automatized and running eight hours a day by Christmas. 

‘We’d be very happy to get to 12 hours per day somewhere next year, which would mean our turnover should increase to GBP 3m. Digital and flexo both equally represent 30 percent of our turnover, and we’ll still need the analog technology for the big runs. Last week, for instance, we produced seven pallets of labels for a single customer. But in five years, digital will be the dominant part of our turnover. All our new customers are already starting with digital, as it’s just a simpler and quicker offering, with better quality,’ concluded Mayers.