The Bobst Group is seeking to transform the labels market in the US with its range of digital label presses delivering high-quality labels with high productivity at the lowest TCO in the industry. Bobst has revealed how one early adopter company in the US has benefited from one of its core innovations in digital label production – the Mouvent LB701-UV.

Aptech Graphics, based in North Providence, Rhode Island, is a specialist label printer committed to four cornerstones of business: quality, value, time to market and service. To ensure it could continue to deliver on these values at the highest level, the company was keen to upgrade its digital offering for its customers, in particular by providing the highest speed and productivity while maintaining optimum quality. To fulfill this need, Aptech Graphics opted for a Bobst Mouvent LB701-UV.

“We invested in the LB701-UV because we knew that it would be very beneficial for our business,” comments Mark Mader, president of Aptech Graphics. “It has exceptional quality and color consistency, which means we can guarantee our customers the accuracy and exceptional finish that they need. It is simple to use and has a very high productivity, enabling us to deliver with greater speed and efficiency than ever before. We can now turn around jobs of 330,000 linear feet in one week in a single shift operation, which is outstanding. Best of all, we can deliver high-quality outputs in a timely manner and at very competitive prices. Our customers have been more than satisfied.”

The LB701-UV enables digital label production for short and medium run prime and commercial labels, with no trade-offs. Bobst says Iit is associated with very high productivity, exceptional print quality and the widest color gamut in its category – printing with up to six colors plus optional white with 70% opacity. The machine is said to have an extremely compact and ergonomic design, which does not compromise on print resolution (1,200 x 1,200 dpi), printing speed (up to 230 fpm – 70 m/min) or productivity (up to 800,000 square feet -75’000 sqm) per month with just one operator), all at the best TCO (total cost of ownership) in its category, according to Bobst.

Elements contributing to its excellent TCO include low initial investment, ongoing operational costs, quick set-up time and high productivity, allowing for higher profitability, the company says.

The Bobst Mouvent LB701-UV was installed at Aptech Graphics in February 2020 with a CMYK configuration, and after a smooth and short set-up period, the company has been printing consistently with the machine since March, with output increasing month-on-month. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the company was able to easily pivot its output to industries experiencing exceptional demand (e.g. food, beverages, pharma).

“Nowadays, after two years with the LB701-UV, Mader affirms, “It’s checking all the boxes that I had envisioned. The press has had an exceptional uptime which is very important from a digital standpoint, because it’s a sophisticated technology and has proven itself to be fairly low maintenance”.

As well as benefiting from the adaptability afforded by the Bobst self-developed Mouvent Technology, Aptech Graphics is also taking advantage of the option to simply upgrade the press with additional colors at any time. The company has recently upgraded the press with Bobst’s digital white ink and is now looking to add the two supplementary colors (orange and violet) as well. This will enlarge its capabilities and flexibility even further in terms of extended printing gamut and the variety of substrates that it can process, such as metalized and transparent label stock.