Leading with labels

9 April 2008



Formed in 1989 to supply label printing systems and consumables, Systems Labelling has since developed into a strong player in large volume flexo label printing


With a turnover of £10M, and clients such as Sainsbury’s, Gerber, Unilever, Barclays, RBS, M&S, Asda and Tesco, Systems Labelling is committed to innovation whilst providing “environmentally smart” products across a range of sectors including, dairy, food, chemical, household, logistics, beverage and cosmetics.

The purpose built facility in Deeside, Wales, houses repro, plate making and six Mark Andy 8-colour UV flexo presses, all with dedicated trackers and an off-line cutting unit. A 100 per cent inspection system and an in-house coating facility give the company a competitive edge.

Prepress facilities include an artwork studio that manages the client sign-off process and offers full colour Cromalin proofs to achieve “near perfect colour representation” for the approval process. A recent £300,000 investment provided a fully digital workflow including the DuPont Cromalin blue digital proofer and Cyrel Fast solventless plate making system, and Kodak Thermoflex Mid platesetter with Hyperflex resolution enhancement and Prinergy Evo Powerpack workflow software.

Solvent-free flexo plates are produced every 12min, and the advanced screening techniques are said to have resulted in huge benefits.

Repro director Robin Barker comments: “In terms of the definition and quality of images that can be consistently created, the resolution enhancement technology has allowed us to achieve excellent halftones and vignettes, with the result that customers are supplying us with much more complex designs”.

The six flexo presses run 24-hours a day, five days a week on 400mm width substrates, all with dedicated finishing/inspection units. The staff are trained to interchange between equipment in order to achieve true flexibility. Two blank label presses complete the production list. The type of work varies from straightforward spot and/or 4-colour process with halftones and options to add metallic, hot or coldfoil, lam de-lam and holographic stamps.

The ability to coat in-house is a great advantage, providing total quality control and producing up to 580mm hotmelts and UV hotmelts for specialist applications such as peel and reseal. The facility also enables the company to apply silicon in line onto backing liners and provides a test platform for new product trials.

A substantial investment has been made in new quality inspection technology. A prototype SurfScan system was successfully trialled and has now been rolled out on all six machines. It records every label image and checks it against the pass sheet. Any imperfection is recorded and automatically stops on the finishing unit during the slitting process. Any imperfect labels can then be removed, guaranteeing 100 per cent matched labels to the customer.

The SurfScan system is now integrated with Systems Labelling’s Management Information System to provide absolute control throughout the production process. Developed in-house, the MIS system allows dedicated sales and customer service staff to cost, schedule and progress new orders in real-time. Customers can access their own accounts through the secure extranet facility and call off stock.

The business also provides access to the technical team, who support and advise customers on materials and finishes, and organize trials if required.

Given the environmental focus on the industry, it’s no surprise that Systems Labelling has three label options that can be applied to a broad range of packaging categories. A complete range of filmic materials includes recyclable, biodegradable and home-compostable labels that have been developed in-house coating facility. This enables the company to match face materials with the relevant recyclable backing liner.

Sales director Tony Exford comments: “We are keen to offer our customers choice. Our ethos and appetite for continuous improvement means we are willing to spend time and resource developing products by working alongside our customers.”

Trials and new product development projects with partners and customers are part of the continual investment culture at the Deeside plant, where the coming months will see over £1.5M invested in a new press and IML machinery, and a corporate website.

Systems Labelling is not looking to stand on its laurels. Managing director Steve Pickford concludes: “Our mission is to achieve labelling excellence through continual investment in skill, printing technology, service and flexible working practices. We have a pedigree of developing innovative label techniques which have seen many breakthroughs across numerous sectors. We have plenty to keep our technicians occupied and with more techniques waiting in the wings.”



Contacts

Systems Labelling
Tel: +44 (0) 1244 286300





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