Prior to taking delivery of the Konica Minolta bizhub PRESS C71cf, Scott Labels was a 100 percent flexo print shop, running a fleet comprising two 6-color flexo presses, alongside a single-color printer and die-cutting machine used for plain labels. These presses were running to good capacity, but with increased demand for short runs of multi-color, multi-version labels, the company identified the need for a more effective way to process these orders.
Scott Labels managing director David Scott explained: ‘Running short-run, multi-color, multi-version labels on the flexo presses was both time and cost-intensive. We had to constantly change the plates, and it was difficult to match both the quality and price of digitally printed labels. We were missing out on lots of potential new business.’
Rather than outsource or turn the work away, Scott recognized that in order to compete and innovate in a crowded marketplace, they needed to look at digital technology to complement the flexo offer. After conducting extensive market research, he visited Konica Minolta’s showroom in the UK and tested a live job on the bizhub PRESS C71cf.
‘We seriously considered inkjet and that still appeals, however the Konica Minolta press can produce a wider range of labels and can print on many different substrates,’ said Scott. ‘That was a key advantage for us. Running a live job enabled us to put the machine through its paces, test throughput and color accuracy, and it ticked all the boxes.’
Scott Labels has also invested in Konica Minolta’s AccurioPro Label Impose software for imposition of labels. This software tools has been specially developed for the bizhub PRESS C71cf and allows automatic impositioning, optimizing media usage and creating data for label printing and data for producing the cutting tool in one step. The press is also equipped with Color Centro technology, which enables the operator to edit color with visible adjustments on screen.
‘With Color Centro, we have all the color tools we need, including calibration, tone curve adjustment with before and after comparison. We’re also able to match a broad range of Pantone colors and we’re getting really good results for our customers.’
The new press has enabled Scott Labels to pull back short-run work it had previously lost, as well as secure a number of new customers. The company has been marketing its new offer alongside its traditional business and said it has received ‘some really good feedback’.
‘We’re speaking to lots of potential new customers about our ability to offer high quality digital labels on-demand,’ said Scott. ‘The fact we can now meet their requirements for short-runs and turnaround these jobs in a day is paying dividends. It’s still early days, but we’ve already picked up at least half a dozen new accounts.’
Existing customers are also benefitting from the addition of digital. ‘I’d say that digitally printed jobs now account for about 20 percent of the work we do for our existing customers – that’s new business for us, as previously we didn’t have the capability in-house.’