German self-adhesive label converter EKS-Label GmbH has invested in an eight-color DSI (Digital System Integration) UV-inkjet press from SPGPrints, in order to meet the growing demand for short runs of self-adhesive labels.

The custom-built 330 mm (13”) DSI press features the standard CMYK plus orange and violet, enabling reproduction of 90 percent of visible colors, a digital primer and opaque white. With top-speeds of 35 m/min (114 fpm) and including converting technology from AB Graphic, the press gives a productive single-pass solution. Esko Automation software provides simplified file management with minimal manual intervention, allowing several jobs to be scheduled at once, and significantly cutting prepress times.

The press will relieve EKS’s existing letterpress and offset presses of production runs between 100 linear meters and 3000 linear meters, allowing the analog printing operation to focus on long jobs.

A deciding factor in the EKS’s investment was the DSI’s high specification. LED pinning between the color stations ensures high-quality, consistent ink laydowns at fast printing speeds, and a chill drum maintains the stability of heat-sensitive film substrates. This gives full scheduling flexibility to EKS, because much of the company’s output comprises PP, PE and PET materials, mainly to customers in the food, cosmetics, chemical and pharmaceutical sectors. The digital primer – an optional feature – achieves the embossed effect without material waste, because it needs only to be applied to the image area and eliminates the need for pre-coated paper. 

SPGPrints’ proprietary inks are specially formulated to ensure high performance on the DSI press, which features Xaar print-head technology. With high-gloss and BWS-7 light fastness, the inks offer resistance to sunlight, scratching and chemicals. The opaque white, with 93 percent optical density, provides an effective alternative for no-label look applications. 

Nicole Fischer, managing director of EKS-Label, comments: “With its high specification, colour range, software and ink performance, SPGPrints’ DSI press enables us to maintain our flexibility while meeting the market’s changing service requirements productively and economically.”