Digital Label Printing Technology

Digital Label Printing Technology

by Dan Welty

If you have seen the movie Seabiscuit, you were again exposed to HenryFords assembly-line process that compartmentalized production steps andhelped revolutionize manufacturing. Fast forward to 2004 and the newmanufacturing revolution is based on the elimination of production steps.Each step eliminated reduces cost and delivery time to customers. Enter digitallabel printing technology, which eliminates costly steps and reduces productionpreparation time associated with traditional flexo or litho (offset) analogprinting (refer to Exhibit A).

Start the Presses

Think of the digital printing press as a much larger, more versatile,$500,000 desktop color printer. The information (data and graphics) is sentdirectly from a graphics computer operator to the printer via a cable. No filmor printing plates required (refer to Exhibits A and B). As with your desktopprinting, each label can be unique, enabling personalization and variable data.

Image: Exhibit A

Image: Exhibit B

There are three main types of digital printing processes: ink-based offset(often referred to as liquid toner), toner-based (similar to laser printers) andinkjet. Because of inadequate speeds, inkjet technology is not viable fortypical commercial quality printing (except for proofing). Project variables,including paper, quantity and graphic requirements, determine whether toner- orink-based offset are the most effective solutions.

Digital is the fastest growing printing technology. Most project it willcontinue to take market share from traditional analog printing technologies andwill inevitably become the predominant printing method in coming years.

Traditional analog flexo or offset label printing requires hundreds of feetof material and 20 minutes to 40 minutes per color to prepare a projectfor printing. A six-color project, then, can consume several thousand feet ofmaterial and two to four hours prior to the production of acceptable labels. Bycontrast, digital printing typically consumes less than five feet and takes onlyfive minutes. The large reduction in material and time waste results in lowerlabel unit costs. Additionally, traditional label printing requires a printingplate for each color, copy or graphic element change. For example, six printingplates are required for a sixcolor project. By contrast, the digital processdoes not require printing plates, significantly reducing the cost of projectpreparation (refer to Exhibits B and C).

Image: Exhibit C

When considering printing methods, recall the The Tortoise and the Harefable. As discussed above, digital printing is faster in the initial productionprocesses. However, ready-to-go, traditional analog printing methods operate twoto eight times faster than digital processes. The greater the number of colorsand number of items (different labels), and the lower the project quantity, thegreater the cost savings realized from digital printing. That said, there is noperfectly linear model for this relationships impact on cost (refer toExhibit C).

Though Henry Ford offered lower prices, there were tradeoffs, as he famouslystated, You can have any color, as long as it is black. Traditional analogprinting offers you more than black, but it will cost you. Digital printingtechnology, conversely, enables unlimited color without additional costs. Thisresults from digital printings use of the four process colors which, whenproperly aligned, can produce virtually all specified colors. Other printingprocesses use this technique as well; however, there is a directly relatedincrease in material and time cost. With digital printing, the shelf impact oflabels is increased by giving more presence with full, free color. Increasingly,studies show many consumers do not know which brand they will purchase uponentering the storea powerful reason to place an emphasis on eye-catchinggraphics.

For product packaging testing and prototyping, digital printing offers theperfect solution. Simply order a dozen labels at an affordable cost, apply to aproduct, and display for feedback from stores and distributors.

Are you are adding private labeling for stores, hotels or institutionalcustomers? Do you penetrate niche markets with affinity packaging? Regardless,your number of SKUs may be increasing while your average order size isdecreasing. Digital printing allows you to order smaller quantities, enables anyper-item order quantity configuration, and eliminates the need to considerreductions in the number of colors or graphics in an effort to control costs.

Taking the small quantity order one step further leads to variable-data orindividualizing each label with a numerical or bar code. Remember, digitalprinting enables each label to be unique.

Printing quality is dependent on the printing process, the printer and eachprojects variables.

Avoiding diving into the minutia of graphic fidelity, it is reasonable toconsider that digital printing quality resides between that of the offsetprocesses. Like most printing processes, deciding on a printing option needs tobe evaluated project by project. In general, the more complex the graphics, themore likely digital printing will provide a superior result relative to flexoprinting. An additional advantage is that digital printing is the only processenabling affordable production proofs (an actual production sample prior toprinting the entire project) to review before committing to the entire projectsmanufacture.

Foil stamping and embossing elements can be added to digitally printedlabels, although the process of adding analog processes eliminates some ofthe advantages of digital printing. Similarly to traditional printing, digitalprinting can be applied to matte or glossy papers and white, silver and clearsynthetic materials.

Weighing Your Options

By now you might be thinking digital printing is the silver bullet. Notso fastit depends on your business need and project requirements.

For example, if you order hundreds of thousands of one or two color labelsper order, and there is no value to adding color or reducing your order size,keep ordering traditional flexo labels. Additionally, there are few digitallabel printers available in the United States, and even fewer that have masteredthe technology.

All things considered, traditional analog printing processes are nowcompeting with a new digital breed that is fast out of the gate and poised topass them all on the back stretch ... if not sooner.

Dan Welty, marketing director with John Henry Packaging, has 22 years ofsales and marketing management experience within the printing and packagingindustries. Welty helped pioneer the transition to pressure-sensitive labels inthe wine industry and is now a champion of the transition to digital printing invarious markets, including nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, food and otherpackaged goods. He has degrees in marketing and finance, and an MBA.