Hub Labels Inc. of Hagerstown, MD, USA has found success in the label market with its Labelfire 340 digital/flexo hybrid press from Heidelberg-Gallus, providing shorter runs and lead times while also maintaining its customers’ expectations for high quality.

After 10 years of using a competitive digital press, Thomas Dahbura, president of Hub Labels, was ready to find a digital press that would meet his company’s standards. According to Dahbura, “I wanted a digital press that would integrate everything from the roll to finished labels, including flexo, screen, digital and diecutting, without secondary options. I told myself I wasn’t going to buy another digital press until I could find one that did exactly what I needed. When I saw the Gallus Labelfire 340 at Labelexpo Europe, I knew this was what I’ve been looking for.”

The Gallus Labelfire 340 combines the latest digital printing technology with the benefits of conventional printing and further processing technology. The Labelfire is a complete inline solution handling digital, flexo, cold foil, rotary screen and diecutting, from start to finish, all from a single machine. Running at 50 m/m, the Labelfire enables Hub Labels to exceed customers’ demands of shorter runs and lead times.

“While the Labelfire gives us tremendous productivity, I happily found that the press also matches our customers’ demand for quality and color,” says Dahbura. “I’ve seen excellent resolution of 600 x6 00 dpi on other machines, but the 1200 x 1200 dpi resolution on the Labelfire is just incredible.”

On the digital side, the Labelfire features the latest inkjet technology with seven colors plus white and three flexo conventional print units. Depending on customers’ label design needs, the press is able to print flexo white or digital white without slowing down the press speeds. “It can be extremely expensive to throw down a heavy coat of white digitally. This analog digital hybrid model allows us to use a less expensive UV flexo white and then hit it with digital to change the embellishment — giving the customer a great finished product,” says Dahbura.

Jointly created by Heidelberg and Gallus, the Labelfire is run by Heidelberg’s Prinect Digital Front End, which includes spot color matching, the PDF Toolbox, and Prepress Manager.  According to Dahbura, “Previously, we had to go through a third-party DFE to drive the machine. With the Prinect Digital Front End included in the press, it has really helped improve our quality and color.”

With the Heidelberg-Gallus integration, Hub Labels receives more than just the combined technical advancements that helped create the Labelfire — they also have access to the entire product and service portfolios of both companies from a single source.

“With my first digital press, I just received what I had purchased — a digital press. With the Labelfire, I’m now working with a whole ecosystem of software, hardware, and consumables from Heidelberg-Gallus that all work really well together,” says Dahbura. “Heidelberg-Gallus offers a complete platform, not just a press, which is the solution that will help Hub Labels succeed.”