McLoone Boosts Label Production with SPGPrints DSI UV-curable Inkjet Press
McLoone, an industrial label converter and nameplate maker in La Crosse, WI, has implemented a DSI UV-curable inkjet press from SPG Prints. McLoone has transitioned its screen-printed flexible label work to the new digital press, increasing productivity, throughput, and profitability, while reducing material costs.
The press was installed in early 2014 and was the first DSI installation in the United States. It has since transformed McLoone’s industrial label production process. Previously, short runs of these labels between approximately a few hundred feet to 12,000 feet were printed on the company’s 12 flatbed screen presses.
“We were experiencing heavy pricing pressure, and required to fulfill several dozen orders each day,” said Keith Rosenthal, vice president of manufacturing at McLoone. “We recognized that, by relying exclusively on flatbed screen, we were unable to achieve our growth potential due to the lengthy setup times and complicated workflows. We needed to re-engineer the industrial label manufacturing process.”
The five-color, 13˝ press with opaque white and standard CMYK, can handle McLoone’s substrate program, which ranges from .002˝ to .01˝ in thickness. It can also print on a range of substrates with its specially formulated inks.
Implementing the DSI press replaces up to 20 screen production steps with a single-step digital printing operation. These include custom-made ink formulations for every color, stock cutting, screen imaging for every color, and printing each color on separate machines. McLoone also purchased an off-line digital laser cutter for accelerated finishing without dies.
Tom Wateski, a digital press operator at McLoone, runs the SPGPrints DSI press.
In addition to the increased speed the press provides, Rosenthal says the SPGPrints inks have made for exceptionally durable labels. He adds that the press has improved overall print quality, as well.
“With the DSI press, we have perfected half-tone reproduction, eliminating the occurrence of grainy appearances,” Rosenthal says. “We can achieve visually appealing graphics with high gloss, photo-equivalent quality and more precise registration in a single pass, rather than four as with screen.”
