Baker Labels, an independent UK label manufacturer, has announced the installation of a Durst Tau RSC 340 LED digital label press. This installation makes Baker Labels the first UK company to adopt this model of the state-of-the-art press. 

Baker Labels has been a trusted, high-quality professional label supplier for over 50 years. The productivity of the press includes running at 80 m/m and providing the robustness and quality of print at a native resolution of 1200 dpi. The press features “best in class” Fuji Samba printheads, providing 1200 x 1200 dpi and running speeds of 80 m/m CMYK – 52 m/m CMYKW.

When asked for his thoughts on being the first UK company to install this version of the press, and with a Hawk AI unit to be added to the press in the coming weeks, Tom Baker says, “If we’re going to do something, we will do it properly. Getting the full RSC with LED curing and the Hawk AI unit to develop is an exciting challenge for us as a team and should keep us busy for a while. It’s exciting to see what will be possible and start pushing the boundaries of such an innovative product.”

With the Durst press, Baker believes it can achieve the best quality in less time than the machine the converter is replacing. The target is to ensure Bakers remains at the forefront of the label printing industry using the best quality equipment.

Jamie Godson, Bakers’ technical manager, says, “It was clear to me from a very early stage that the Tau 340 RSC was a well-engineered press. It has impressed at every stage of the investment process, from initial sampling, press demos right through to the install and will no doubt have a huge impact on our productivity and lead times. The running speeds of 80 and 52 m/m are an obvious benefit, but the Tau has plenty of other tricks up its sleeve to enhance our uptime. LED curing reduces downtime during start/stops and extremely consistent head densities across the web, coupled with our internal color management software, has shown a dramatic improvement on the consistency of repeat orders without having to ‘tweak on-press’. With a thinner ink laydown than what we have previously experienced, the Tau 340 RSC is capable of producing high quality tonal images and fine text, while still retaining the robustness and impact of traditional inkjet print.”

This press installation is part of a broader two-year, £5 million investment in growth and advanced technologies for the company. In the last 14 months, Bakers has acquired an additional HP Indigo 6K press for its label division; three Galaxy Packtech pouch converters and two HP Indigo 200K digital presses and additional factory premises for its flexible packaging division, BakPac. Two more Galaxy presses are planned for 2025.


Steve Baker notes, “Our Labels division is the core of the business, and we will always maintain the commitment to our customers to offer them the best possible label production capabilities. Our future with flexible packaging is new and exciting and growing at a fantastic rate. The challenge that we are enjoying now is to keep Labels growing and improving alongside. The new Durst Tau RSC 340 LED is a leap in that direction, and we cannot wait to see what it can do for our customers.”

Simon Cosh, Durst UK and Ireland’s label business development manager, says, “After a rigorous process, we are delighted to have been successful with our first inkjet press installation into Baker Labels. Given their experience and industry leading position, I’m looking forward to seeing how the RSC 340 LED will help enhance Baker Labels product range even further.