What’s the Deal with Digital?
Shanley explained when printing full-color product labels, changes resulting from different SKUs, color choices and item styles require conventional press operators to stop the machine, hang new plates, ensure proper registration and resume printing—a very time consuming, and thus costly, process.
“It’s not that big a deal if you have 10,000 labels and there’s one change—it might cost a hundred bucks,” he speculated. “But, say you have 10,000 labels requiring a hundred changes—do the math, it becomes extremely expensive. This is where digital would be a perfect option. There are no plates and no changeover costs, and it’s all done on the fly.” (However, Shanley pointed out that when printing 10,000 labels with no changes, a conventional press may be more cost effective since you’re only setting it up once, and digital presses run much slower.)
- Companies:
- Labels West