P-S Label Innovation + Strong Customer Relations = Success

Label printers are under constant pressure to produce flawless, value-added labels at a low cost. Pamco Label Co. knows the feeling well.

The Des Plaines, Ill. custom label printer has thrived for more than 50 years in a competitive tag and label market, in spite of the increasing quality and performance demands it’s faced. Pamco currently resides in a 55,000 sq. ft. facility which houses 13 printing presses and 120 employees.

The company has prospered under a simple operating philosophy with a customer-focused perspective: “One hundred percent customer satisfaction,” said Alan Berkowitz, Pamco executive VP. “Our answer is always ‘yes,’ and then we ask, ‘Now, what is the question?’ We have always strived to be the service leader in our industry, specializing in exceptional speed and reliability, always delivering a quality product.”

Serving mostly producers of consumer non-durables in the food, candy, beverage, health and beauty, and cleaning supplies markets, Pamco has added capabilities along the way to meet rising customer demands and offer a wider array of printing resources. The most recent addition was a state-of-the-art combination press that incorporates UV flexo, rotary silk screen, and foil stamping. The press gives Pamco the capability to produce labels with up to eight colors, including the popular clear, “no label look” labels—all in-line with one pass, said Danny Fishbein, Pamco’s VP, sales and marketing.

The company prints on a variety of substrates, including non-pressure sensitive papers and tag stocks, but about 90 percent of its business is made up of opaque and clear pressure-sensitive (p-s) labels. Pamco uses three types of inks—water-based, UV-curable, and rotary screen—which provide for diverse methods to differentiate customer labels.

Pressure-sensitive projects

A walk down any grocery store aisle will reveal an assortment of promotional labels used to attract shoppers to products. Unique textures, game pieces, and instantly redeemable coupons (IRCs), are among these tempting label variations.

Pamco has dealt with the trials of value-added label offerings for many years. Fishbein said IRCs are some of the most unique jobs the company produces since they require rethinking typical label construction and printing.

Pamco prints two different constructions of IRCs. “One is a 2-ply pressure-sensitive label where the top ply releases with no adhesive left behind. It runs different only in set up and making sure that the adhesive is working properly.

“Another way of printing these can be used for both IRC purposes or Mail In Rebates. Here we are using three plies of material to get a folded coupon which allows the consumer to tear the coupon from the product. … Either way, it’s the same construction. Although, they do run differently based on the set up being more difficult to web the press, and there is a folding unit to fold the coupon down to the final size. Turnbars are also used in order to print on both sides of the mid-ply.”

Jobs like this add to the complexity of label printing and make customer relations an essential part of business. “Although these print jobs create some sort of challenge, our relationships with our customers allow us to know exactly what they are wanting and expecting. These relationships, together with our internal teamwork, gives us a great chance of exceeding our customers expectations in all difficult projects,” Fishbein said.

Like Pamco’s philosophy, the formula to success is simple: cutting-edge print capabilities + good customer relations + label innovations = happy customers. n