Positive ID (PID) Labelling Systems’ first EFI Jetrion digital label press brought in so much new business in just the past two years that the Melbourne, UK-based company recently replaced it with a faster, highly automated EFI Jetrion 4900 inkjet printing, laser cutting and finishing line.

“Our new Jetrion press allows us to deliver high-quality, full-color labels to our customers in a fraction of the time of normal analog flexo print methods,” states PID Managing Director John Mayers. “We remain dedicated to investment in the business and improving lead times and quality for our customers, and the Jetrion 4900 is a step towards that goal.”

The specialist label production company recently held an open house and ribbon cutting ceremony to demonstrate its newly upgraded production line to customers and prospects. Heather Wheeler, member of Parliament for South Derbyshire, officially opened PID’s new digital print production room, together with Wendy Earp, chair of the Melbourne Parish Council. After the ribbon cutting, Wheeler watched as the advanced new UV-inkjet digital press printed a personalized label design based on the UK Parliament’s crown and portcullis logo featuring a complex laser-cut pattern produced inline.

The press’s ability to handle short runs with high-quality color and complex cut shapes make it a great addition, according to Mayers. He explains, “We have a customer base of 2,000,” he says. “A lot of them are small food producers – of specialty honey, pickles and other foods. Others are small breweries that need beer bottle labels in small quantities. Flexo is expensive for them, as the setup alone costs £300, so if they have four products they will have spent £1,200 on setup before anything is even printed. Now they can have very small quantities of full-color labels when they need them, with the option of complex shapes without having to buy metal dies.”

The complex cut required for the label printed during the open day normally would have required a week to have a die created, and it would have cost several hundred pounds, according to Mayers. “But instead, with our new digital production line,” he says, “we just drew the shape in a design program and saved it as a file.”

Mayers founded PID ten years ago together with his wife, originally as a label print broker in a barn next to his house. When his main print supplier went out of business, he quickly established his own flexographic production facility to fulfill existing clients’ orders. The company’s two-story facility incorporates flexographic production plus sales, admin, design and prepress. The new Jetrion line is housed in a purpose-built unit attached to PID’s main building.

“After we installed our original EFI Jetrion press we did £250,000 worth of digital business in its first year, up from £50,000 of digital before that,” adds Mayers. “It gave us the confidence to look at a bigger machine, which led us to installing the new press exactly two years later.” While Positive ID still does flexo label work, digital provides the biggest growth and the most opportunity. “We started off with three people ten years ago and 18 months ago we increased it to 12,” says Meyers. “Now we employ 24, partly thanks to the increase in digital business.”