German label firm buys five HP Indigo presses to boost productivity
German label firm Rako Etiketten has purchased five new HP Indigo WS6600 digital presses to increase its productivity
The self-adhesive label firm is based in Witzhave, near Hamburg, Germany, and is a supplier of labels and packaging. According to the firm, it is Europe’s largest producer of printed labels using di
gital offset reel-to-reel technology.
The firm said that it was installing the new presses across three facilities in Germany to upgrade its current digital printing capabilities and take advantage of the HP Indigo WS6600′s benefits.
The HP Indigo WS6600 features the ILP (In-Line Priming) option, a custom-developed water-based primer that supports standard, untreated paper substrates. The ILP helps ensure faster turnaround times by eliminating the extra step of off-line substrate preparation, while also increasing flexibility and lowering costs.
Boosting productivity
“The new HP Indigo WS6600 presses are twice as fast as our existing installed models and easier to use. We can reduce our labour costs per label enormously while doubling our capacity,” said Roger Gehrke, manager of digital printing, Rako Etiketten.
Gehrke added: “The new ability to use standard media as we do in our conventional offset and flexo printing presses is also a huge advantage, reducing inventory costs and overall material costs too.”
According to Rako Etiketten, the new Enhanced Productivity Mode (EPM) functionality of the HP Indigo WS6600 helps achieve higher productivity for faster turnaround times on print jobs. EPM increases press throughput by 33% for most colour jobs and by 25% when adding white ink, the firm said.
“Using EPM – replacing black ink by simulating it with cyan, magenta and yellow – we will be able to print an extra 10 linear metres per minute,” explained Gehrke.
With a printing speed of up to 60 metres per minute and the new EPM, the HP Indigo WS6600 Digital Press significantly extends the crossover point of digital versus conventional processes, enabling print service providers (PSPs) to increase flexibility, efficiency and profitability.
Rako Etiketten employs more than 1,400 people at sites in Europe, Asia and South Africa.
