Tamar diversifies with ws4000 installation

Tamar Labels of Tavistock, Devon, UK has installed a fully digital production line based on an HP Indigo ws4000. The company signed the purchase agreement for the press during Labelexpo Europe in Brussels. This is Tamar’s first move into digital label production. The sale also included an Omega off-line finishing system from AB Graphic International.

The press is designed for the production of high-quality on-demand labels for runs up
to 2,000 meters in up to seven colors. Tamar has established a reputation for printing
high quality labels for the food industry, with 150 customers of varying sizes
in the market, but is looking to expand its offering.

‘The objective was not to migrate to digital printing just for the sake of being digital,’ says managing director Alan Jones. ‘We wanted to diversify and respond more rapidly with high quality service to existing customers. First and foremost we wanted the necessary tools to approach new markets.

Syd Roberts, sales program manager, Industrial Printing Europe, Digital Publishing Solutions, HP Indigo adds: ‘Tamar is planning to use their new capabilities to develop new business opportunities in the high-end added-value markets such as electronics and the automotive sector. With a digital press Tamar can offer services like personalization and variable data printed in-line in one pass.

HP Indigo initially worked with Tamar on a consultancy basis. Roberts explains that the investment was cost-effective from a business point of view.

‘The complexity of print jobs is increasing, but the run length and the shelf life of labels is decreasing. It’s estimated that over 60 per cent of runs are 2,000m and below and there is an opportunity to make huge margins. In flexo, the start-up costs can be around GBP300-400 – and that is before you have printed anything.’

A digital press reduces set-up time and releases the capacity of existing conventional machines so that the printer can concentrate on the longer runs.

‘With the HP Indigo ws4000 and its seven printing colors, we have a machine that guarantees optimum quality and positively enhances the reputation of our company,’ comments Tamar’s Jones. ‘At the same time, the technology enables a high degree of ease of use and flexibility that allows us to optimize our productivity with short runs and versions.’