Mark Andy Steals the Show in Chicago

The recent Labelexpo Americas drew large crowds to the Mark Andy booth, where the company launched new groundbreaking technology 

Confirming sales of more than 20 machines from the three-day expo, including two signed contracts for the highly productive Digital Series hybrid press, Mark Andy is celebrating an extremely successful showing at Labelexpo Americas 2016.

Building on its growing digital press offering, the company used the event to pioneer a new sector of print with the launch of Digital One, an entry-level inline printing and converting machine that uses toner technology for CMYK process work. Based on 13 inch (330mm) web width and a running speed of 63ft/min (19m/min), the Digital One is a low cost introduction to prime label printing of short run jobs, based on a ‘pay-as-you-go’ pricing concept. With a substrate range that includes pressure sensitive stocks as well as film and unsupported paper, the servo driven flexo unit can add spot color, varnish or lamination and cold foil, with die cutting, stripping and slitting all inline. Fitted with LED UV curing, the Digital One needs only a single-phase 220v power supply, making integration easy into office or production environments.

Interest in the new digital machine was keen according to Tim Brasher, Mark Andy’s Manager of Business Development, who believes it will dovetail well with existing flexo and hybrid print technology, placing Mark Andy in a unique market position. He commented: “Digital One completes the range of print technology now available from Mark Andy. With the Digital Series hybrid press which uses inkjet technology, and the new Colordyne unit that offers four-color aqueous UV, via an add-on unit to existing presses, we compete in every sector of the print market.” 

Also receiving plaudits was the latest incarnation of Mark Andy’s best-selling Performance Series line. Fully servo driven, the new web control system places the machine firmly in the shorter run flexible packaging market, where inline technology is eating into the traditional wide web CI flexo sector. On the booth the Performance Series press was demonstrating food grade packaging using Flint Group EkoCure Ancora low migration LED inks, and Mark Andy’s new solvent-free lamination system using Ashland Purelam 9500 adhesives. Other features on the new Performance Series include improved operator control via a three-monitor console featuring HMI, vision system and the latest generation of Mark Andy ProLED UV LED curing. Registration and register control are more automated, and low-tension control is now servo operated. John Howard, Director of Product Management at Mark Andy, claims the latest advances on the P Series make the press even more useful to label converters looking to diversify their businesses.

Rotoflex showed its new HSI horizontal inspection rewinder with slitting, as well as the high speed VSI, and top of the range VLI for conventional labels and unsupported film. The HSI, which is available in 13 and 17 inch (330 and 440mm) web widths, ran demos at 1000 ft/min (300m/min). It was fitted with an extra large inspection table, and like all Rotoflex machines, it offers a range of options including biometric authentication and the Report Management System (RMS) that facilitates the maximizing of uptime, accessibility, and security.

Wrapping up, CEO Kevin Wilken commented: “Labelexpo gave Mark Andy the opportunity to differentiate itself from other press manufacturers with a raft of new technology that broadens product capability and offers converters the maximum choice available in the narrow web field. To illustrate this robust offering on stand, our Mark Andy Print Products and pre-press team worked closely with our partners at Esko to demonstrate the production of an identical label across any of our three print technologies - flexo, flexo/inkjet hybrid, or toner. This means that a Mark Andy user can choose the technology for each job to maximize profitability without compromising quality. It proved to be a successful message at Labelexpo, and goes to prove that Mark Andy really is a one-stop technology and consultancy partner for all narrow web converters.”