The company’s FX1200e digital labelling system costs around €20,000 and allows smaller firms to access printing technology that was only previously available at vastly higher prices, Andreas Hoffmann, director of its European operations, told FoodProductionDaily.com at last week’s Emballage trade show in Paris.
The system was recognised by an expert panel of judges as one of 48 stand-out exhibits on display as part of the Pack Innovation competition run by the show’s organisers.
Flexibility
The all-in-one off-line label production system is able to process rolls of printed output with outer diameters of up to 305 mm (12 inches) from digital label presses. The machine “finishes” the rolls with a number of different operations.
These include lamination with clear polypropylene (PP) or polyester PET films to boost durability and UV resistance and waste matrix removal, said Hoffmann.
He added the equipment also utilises the firm’s patent-pending QuadraCut know-how which enables digital die-cutting to any shape or size – including complex contour cuts – without the need to buy extra rotary or flat dyes. The technology uses up to four cutting blades to quadruple speeds compared to systems using a single blade.
All operations are managed through an integrated PC touch screen. Cutting files can be imported easily through a 10/100 gigabit Ethernet, a wireless network or USB thumb drives, said Primera.
Industry first
The system was designed to operate in tandem with its CX1200e digital colour label press after they found that existing finishing systems were “not fast enough, not reliable enough and not easy enough to use,” said Mark D. Strobel, company sales and marketing vice president.
He said the two machines cost less than €50,000.
“That’s a game-changer”, added Strobel. “Capabilities like this used to cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
The FX1200e is shipped fully assembled and is ready-to-use as a label finisher. The firm said it is the industry’s first digital labelling system to be listed by product safety certification body UL, as well as being CE certified and FCC Class A approved.