Ellco Etikett, an independent label converter in Norway, has installed a Mark Andy Digital Series HD press at its production facility in Gjelleråsen in Nittedal, near Oslo. The new inkjet/flexo hybrid replaces one of two toner-based presses at the company, offering greater flexibility and higher productivity. 

Fully commissioned at the end of 2023, the new Mark Andy has 330mm web width and five digital colors (CMYK + White) along with a flexo print station either side of the digital engine, which Ellco currently uses for priming and varnishing.

A Mark Andy house since the installation of one of the first Performance Series P7 flexo presses in 2010, Ellco has a broad selection of print and converting capacity to cater for a more extensive substrate capability than most label printers offer. One of the attractions of the new DSHD press is its compatibility with the P7 flexo line. Built on the same servo platform, it accepts all tooling from the flexo press and its two flexo stations are the latest P7 versions.

According to Ellco CEO Christian Egedius, “The Performance Series P7 is ideal for our longer run work, and it was this ability to swap tooling with the Digital Series along with its combined inkjet/flexo capability that attracted us to the hybrid. The P7 has been a very reliable and profitable machine, and we expect the same from the new Digital Series HD,” he comments. 

In addition to its greater flexibility, Egedius is looking for a significant improvement in uptime over his toner-based presses, one of which has now been sold. “Our throughput of digital work has increased greatly with the exchange to the Digital Series HD. We can also run narrower webs without any issue and minimal adjustment on the hybrid – unlike the toner machines – so more flexibility all round,” adds Egedius.

The Mark Andy Digital Series HD, which is capable of a 1200 dpi print resolution, has semi- and full rotary diecutting and an operational production speed of 73 m/m, with no drop off for the high opacity digital white. Being of modular design and construction, the digital engine can be upgraded to eight colors (adding OG&V) and the press platform, since it is based on the Performance Series, can be retrospectively reconfigured to provide a wide variety finishing and converting techniques.

According to Egedius, the Mark Andy Digital Series HD is a favorite with its operators, one of whom switched from the toner press and the other from an inkjet line. “We can make full use of its 73 m/m production speed, which is at least twice what we could previously achieve with our digital presses,” he adds.

Speaking for Convertec, Mark Andy’s agent in Scandinavia, sales manager Joakim Marcusson says, “Ellco Etikett has a reputation for quality work and a ‘can do’ attitude towards its customers. The flexible production capability of the new Digital Series HD hybrid will only add to that capacity and allow the company to handle a wide variety of jobs of varying run lengths with the utmost efficiency.”

The Digital Series HD’s adjustable pinning capability has already allowed it to prove itself on difficult structured papers, and Ellco claims it offers better color consistency across the whole run length than its toner presses could ever achieve. “The last label is as good as the first no matter how long the run – and we’re producing at 70 m/m not 20 m/m – so you can appreciate the advantage it offers us,” says Egedius.