Superfast Labels installs new Epson Surepress digital printer

Superfast Labels has become the first UK company to install the new Epson Surepress L-4033A digital label printer.

The Sittingbourne, Kent-based manufacturer, which specialises in producing self-adhesive labels, chose the six-colour Epson SurePress to add inkjet printing capabilities to its four Nilpeter flexo presses.

The family-owned, £1m-turnover company produces more than 100m labels per year, of more than two thousand different sizes, for customers across Europe.

Superfast Labels managing director Andrew Miller said: "Prior to investing in the Surepress printer, we had been outsourcing our digital work and we wanted to bring it in-house. We do a lot of short-run work with a fast turnaround and bringing our digital work in-house enabled us to have more control over it.

"We went for the SurePress L-4033A because the quality is excellent and it made a perfect package in terms of the machine's size, together with the price and the fact that it comes with a finishing line.

"The machine is regularly full and we are moving more and more work over to it from the flexo presses. We rarely have to outsource work now."

The SurePress L-4033A can print across a variety of substrates including standard paper and film label stock up to 0.32mm in thickness and rolls from 80-330mm wide.

Superfast uses a bespoke Management Information System (MIS) that enables the company to cost jobs, view machine status and track all orders in real-time through the factory from all departments.  The MIS is linked to the SurePress Esko digital front end and provides a range of live production data, including queued and finished jobs, label quantity, substrate type and ink use.

Superfast Labels has a wide-range of clients from sectors such as music, books, drink, food retail, pharmaceutical, software and electronics. The company will also relaunch its website within the next few days.