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FINAT forecast buoyant but…

Selfadhesive label production will increase by an overall 5.8 per cent growth this year - with Eastern Europe continuing to show the greatest year on year improvement in demand - according to trade association FINAT. This buoyant forecast comes on top of a reported 3.2 per cent growth in European consumption of selfadhesive labels last year, to total 4,905Mm² in 2005 - which represents a 72 per cent over the last 10 years.

These latest figures come from independent research commissioned by FINAT into the eight largest manufacturers comprising 85 per cent of the industry. The findings show that the Europe-wide picture of 2005 performance is remarkably varied.

In the UK and Ireland, per capita consumption is now more than 14m² of labels/year, whereas in Eastern Europe individuals will only handle about two square metres of labels on the products they buy. However this region is only just starting to appreciate the benefits of selfadhesive and last year showed the greatest label sales increase - 12.6 per cent - while in the UK and Ireland, label sales fell by 1.4 per cent.

Consumption in Central Europe (+5.1 per cent) and Scandinavia (-1.4 per cent) was just under 12m²/person, Southern Europe (+2.4 per cent) was just over 6m²/person. In the paper roll sector, the UK and Ireland declined 2.3 per cent. Elsewhere it grew: Scandinavia (+0.2 per cent), Southern Europe (+0.6 per cent), Central Europe (+3.9 per cent), and Eastern Europe (+14.3 per cent).

The forecast for the whole of 2006 is for improvements of four to five per cent on paper rolls, about 15 per cent on non paper rolls, one to two per cent on paper sheets, but a drop of 10-12 per cent in the use of non paper sheets, making an overall total improvement for the year of 5.5-6 per cent.

Geographically, Eastern Europe will continue to show the most growth, with more than 15 per cent improvement: Central Europe up by 6-7 per cent, Southern Europe expanding by 4-5 per cent, Scandinavia having a 3-4 per cent improvement, while the UK and Ireland will fall by almost one per cent.

Press provides economical entry for digital printing

Recently formed UK company Opus 21 Digital has invested in an HP Indigo press s2000 for digital label printing. The Newcastle based operation, which was established in November 2005, specializes in labels, short run mock-ups, samples, shrinkwraps, floor wraps, cartons and packaging.

The broad substrate flexibility of the s2000 was said to be a major factor in Opus 21's choice. It can deliver high quality digital print on selfadhesive, plain and embossed papers, synthetics, specialist substrates (such as metallized and 'no label look' media), and thin substrates down to 12 micron.

Co-director Mark Hunter-Purvis reflects: “Thanks to the versatility of the press, we can complete whole jobs from start to finish. For example, we have the capacity to produce both the shrink sleeves and outer carton wraps for cans of beer on the same press. This is a service our customers really value, and will generate significant business for the company. The return on investment we anticipate the press to bring has made it a viable option for a start-up company such as ourselves.”

Colour accuracy is vitally important to his company. The HP Indigo machine can print up to six colours, and the IndiChrome ink mixing system allows users to mix their own special spot colours.

“With clients such as Proctor and Gamble trusting us with its corporate branding, it is essential that colour is accurate and of the highest quality every time,” he confims. “Our special spot colour services are in demand from our packaging customers, and having the ink mixing service on-site makes the process faster and more efficient. The real beauty of HP Indigo digital printing is its true likeness to offset, including the ability to print halftone dots. This is a significant advantage for our customers who are seeking the quality offset delivers, but with the short run flexibility of digital.”

Wrap has plenty of a peel

New from Royston Labels is Wrapeel, a label construction that incorporates peel-and-reseal technology on a section of a selfadhesive wraparound label. It is claimed to be the first to allow the benefits of peel-and-reseal to be utilized on labels for flexible tubes. It can also be applied to any container suitable for wraparound labels, such as bottles and jars, enabling the label format to remain consistent across the product range.

In addition, Wrapeel is said to eliminate the need to specify and apply separate front and back labels when an area of peel-and-reseal is required. It allows a greater proportion of the label to be used for enhancing shelf presence through design, with just a relatively small area of the label used to fulfil the functional element.

Royston Labels says it has received great interest in this innovation, particularly from the personal care market, where flexible tube labels can now incorporate ingredient lists in multiple languages for product export.

Laser cutting expanded

The latest Cartes laser die cutting system has two 200W lasers and cuts on the fly up to 50m/min on a 350mm web width. The increased cutting speed allows a wider variety of substrates to be cut, including selfadhesive materials, films, card, cartonboard, and plastics.

It is designed to fit either in line with existing printing machinery or to operate independently as a standalone converting system with unwind, laser converting and slitting rewind units. Additional finishing processes such as UV varnishing or hot stamping can also be incorporated.

Use of semi sealed laser generators protects the cutting head from wear, said to make the machines suitable for continuous jobs for an unlimited amount of hours, without any type of maintenance and with low running costs.

The system is now available with 100, 200 and 500W laser modules.

Offset option

The latest Codimag VIVA 340 Waterless offset press has been installed at Okil, in St Petersburg - the first company in Russia to install a VIVA 340 Waterless with 10 modules. A combination press, it has waterless offset, letterpress, rotary screen, flexo, hot stamping and laminating capabilities.

Okil has dedicated the press to short and medium runs for the beverage, health and beauty markets, stating: “Its main advantages are rapid makeready from one type of job to another, high printing quality and low cost of preparation”.

Codimag has been active on the Russian market for two years. With St Petersburg based distributor Polygraphspectr, it has completed five installations in the last 18 months.

“The label market in Russia and the CIS states is growing very fast”, says Pierre Panel, export sales engineer at Codimag. “It has been flooded with flexo presses for the last five years and printers are now looking for solutions to differentiate from others. Offset brings them higher print quality, and intermittent feed technology brings efficiency in job change.”

DCM narrow width gravure

DCM's new Biva narrow web gravure press has been designed “for ease of operation and quick change to suit the modern short run packaging marketplace”. Available in web widths of 580, 680 and 820mm, it uses sleeves as cylinders, and change-over and washdown can be accomplished whilst the machine is in operation. In-line registered coldseal, hotmelt, solventless or solvent based lamination can be accommodated.

According to DCM, operating speeds of 400m/min can be achieved and changes can take as little as five minutes per print unit. Restart meterage material loss and return to registered print is said to be down to 10m.

In-house opportunity

ETI Converting Equipment and silicone supplier Degussa Goldschmidt Chemical have formed a partnership to provide equipment and materials claimed to increase label printers' margins from 30-70 per cent by bringing PSA laminate production in-house. The whole process includes producing release liner, coating the adhesive, printing and laminating in one operation. The integrated line also allows a manufacturer to reverse print film labels without the cost of liner scrap and secondary laminating.