Arc Labels installs AccurioLabel 230 digital press

Konica Minolta Business Solutions (UK) and long-established label printing and finishing equipment manufacturer Focus Label Machinery have supplied Yorkshire, UK-based Arc Labels with an AccurioLabel 230 digital press.  

This delivers the considerable digital print technology benefits of flexibility and cost-efficiency for short-run and variable data printing. Traditionally a flexo printer, Arc Labels now processes 80 percent of its four-color jobs using the new digital press. 

Allan Ford, director at Arc Labels commented: ‘We were looking for a digital solution that would do away with the need to produce expensive plates and allow us to expand our product range with the production of small runs in the region of 5,000 labels, without the cost per label rising too high.’  

With its ability to cater for both paper and synthetic substrates, the Konica Minolta AccurioLabel 230 is suitable for a wide range of Arc Label’s jobs, including applications such as agrochemical, building products, pharmaceuticals/healthcare and personal healthcare, and contract packing of chemicals, as well as being suitable for food packaging applications. 

Ford added that the new press comes with Konica Minolta’s own Label Impose software, which optimizes the use of media by automating jobs, such as step-and-repeat, as well as support for variable data printing. This is complemented by a Konica Minolta Miyro Auto Scan Spectrophotometer, which accurately profiles and calibrates colors in around four minutes. ‘This technology enables significant savings in time and waste. We find the AccurioLabel 230 very simple to operate and were in full production within one or two days after delivery.’ 

Supplying Arc Labels with its first industrial digital label solution has also been an important showcase project for expert print specialist and Konica Minolta partner Focus Label Machinery, as technical sales manager Antony Cotton commented: ‘As our first installation of an AccurioLabel 230 and with such a long-standing customer we wanted to ensure everything was right. This has already been a big success for Arc Labels, as we can see from the number of labels being produced.’  

Ford concluded: ‘We have to keep the flexo side for substrates that the digital machine can’t handle, but the advantages of its speed are obvious. Nobody is prepared to wait these days, so the fast turnaround of the AccurioLabel 230 perfectly fits these requirements! If somebody wants a label on the same day and we have the workload capacity, we can do it. When a customer is running a production line, they often forget to order more labels and subsequently run out, so we can help even at short notice.’  

Jon Pritchard, label, packaging, and inkjet consultant at Konica Minolta Business Solutions (UK) commented: ‘Arc Labels has fully embraced the flexibility and cost advantages of digital print and its remarkable levels of output on the AccurioLabel 230 are testament to how well it has fitted into its overall print technology mix. We are delighted to have worked closely with Focus Label Machinery to help Arc Labels find the perfect solution for its successful move into the world of digital print.’