Spanish label converter Mirmar SA has confirmed its intention to add a second Mark Andy Digital Series HD inkjet/flexo hybrid following a highly productive year with the first machine installed at its Valencia headquarters in 2023.  The new machine will be one of the new 17’’ DSHD HighSpeed 1200 hybrids launched recently at Labelexpo Americas in Chicago.

Established in 1989 and still owned and managed by the Mir family, Mirmar began life producing labels for the food industry.  Today, its workforce of 50 converts more than 24m sqm of substrate each year working double-day shifts five days a week.  Always a Mark Andy house, Mirmar began with 10 “ water-based 4120 and 4150 presses before moving to 13” web widths and now to 17” – today it has six of the US manufacturer’s Performance Series P5 and P7 flexo lines ranging from 6 to 10 colors.

Speaking for Mirmar, CEO Jaime Mir Pastor says, “Our company was built on Mark Andy technology, and I have nothing but praise for the machines and after sales support we have received.  Our Performance Series presses are highly productive and have allowed us to grow our business in the food, cosmetics, home care, and pharmaceutical sectors, but as run lengths have declined, we began to look for an alternative production method that would complement our existing technology.”

The result was the installation of a 17” Mark Andy Digital Series HD inkjet/flexo hybrid (DSHD) in 2023.  Developed in-house by Mark Andy and based on the Performance Series all-servo flexo platform, the DSHD is a highly configurable production tool that combines 1200dpi UV-inkjet with flexo printing and inline embellishment and converting operations for single-pass production.  With interchangeable tooling possibilities with Mirmar’s existing Mark Andy flexo presses and the ability to match print quality across the production floor, the Digital Series HD has proven to be a highly productive tool in its first year, converting more than 3.4m linear meters of labels.

“Today’s market demand is typified by shorter runs, more SKUs, and the need for variable data, so we now have a situation where the Digital Series HD is responsible for 35% of our total printed label jobs, which frees up capacity on our flexo presses for the medium to long run work that our customers still need.  Not only has it made us more efficient on existing work, but it has stimulated demand in new sectors especially cosmetics and pharma,” says Pastor.  The Digital Series HD at Mirmar has standard CMYK with added Orange, Violet and White capability and is capable of 73 m/min (240 fpm) across a range of substrates including pressure sensitive papers, unsupported films, tags, and light carton board.  Also, the Digital Series HD has no “click charge” so additional cost does not need to be factored into each job.

In addition to its production flexibility, Mirmar praises the Digital Series HD for its time-saving features.  “Our flexo presses generally process three or four jobs per shift, whereas the Digital Series HD handles around 10.  And make ready times are significantly shorter too – around 60 minutes for flexo compared with 20 for digital.  This allows us to improve our scheduling and decide how to produce each job most cost and time effectively,” he says. 

Typical of digital presses, the key to success with the Digital Series HD is at the pre-press stage, with very little adjustability available on the inkjet engine itself while on the run.  This fits well with the current and likely ongoing issue of recruiting skilled flexo press operators in the industry – and it’s a global not a local problem.

Praising Mark Andy for the level of support and training it provided when the Digital Series HD was installed, which allowed Mirmar to begin commercial production in week one, Pastor says that the learning curve in switching from flexo to digital was less of a problem in practice than he had feared.  “I see more automation as the way ahead and the need to ensure that all additional capacity is based on lean efficiency,” he adds, noting that skill shortage is not the only issue. 

Print production at Mirmar is currently around 70:30 film to paper, and demand for filmic products continues to grow, which poses environmental issues.  “It’s like linerless – the biggest demand is from the food sector where price dominates, but this goes against the green ethos, because environmentally-friendly methods are never the cheapest, so it’s not a level playing field.”

Confirming his commitment to the new Digital Series HD HighSpeed 1200, due for installation in early 2025, Pastor states: “With six highly specified Performance Series presses in-house I cannot foresee the next investment in flexo – but more digital capacity will increase our flexibility and broaden our capability to handle new work.  To anyone contemplating a hybrid press I’d recommend choosing a trusted flexo supplier with an in-house digital solution – that way you’re buying into robust and proven technology that will perform in the cut and thrust of daily commercial production.  For us, the only choice is Mark Andy.”​​​​​