Durst Tau RSC E Opens ‘Whole New World’ for Texas-Based Label Converter

Finding the right printer can sometimes feel like a quest for the Holy Grail — arduous and endless — yet it is vital for running a productive business. For Textape, a producer of industrial labels for the automotive and dairy industries, that journey has paid off.

The El Paso, Texas-based label printer was looking to replace a problematic digital toner machine with a press that would complement its existing flexo fleet and expand its production capabilities. After evaluating Durst’s Tau RSC E and seeing it in action at Labelexpo, the team decided to install the UV inkjet printer in 2024.

“We absolutely love it — the quality, the color match,” says Candy Pimentel, flexo manager. “I mean, everything about the Durst is just phenomenal to us.”

In fact, the experience has been so positive that Textape installed a second one at the beginning of January.

Boosting Efficiency

For Textape’s production crew, the most immediate impact has been speed — not just in print, but in setup and responsiveness.

With the Tau RSC Es, setup is much more straightforward than on Textape’s flexo machines. Whereas an operator must go through multiple preparation steps, Pimentel says Durst machines allow operators to start a job with the click of a few buttons.

“The setup time is huge when you're trying to manage production,” he explains. “It gives me more on-time deliveries.”

According to Pimentel, this shift removes another long-standing pain point for customers.

“We don't have to plate it,” he says. “Some customers don't feel like paying for a plate. Well, we don't have to anymore.”

That combination of faster setup and plate-free production has fundamentally changed how Textape handles shorter-run and time-sensitive work.

Pimentel says having the RSC Es “opens up a whole new world.”

“Flexo printing, it's all about dates: ‘When are you going to deliver this?’ ‘When are you going to deliver that X, Y, and Z?’” he says. “With the Durst, we’re able to have a customer come walk in right now … As long as we have a die for it and we have material, we're able to convert it within the hour or so. On a conventional flexo printer, you can't do that.”

While Textape continues to lean on its flexo printers for long runs, the majority of its other work ends up on the RSC Es.

“We have about 60% of our jobs running on the Durst now. … It'll probably be closer to 80% by the time the year ends.”

Color Management

Color accuracy is nonnegotiable for brands — particularly in food and dairy. Pimentel says the inkjet presses help them get it right.

“For example, our dairy products. The milk jugs have certain colors that they want to meet — a certain tone, a certain blue, a certain red, whatever — and the Durst matches 96%-98% of the colors on point,” he says, noting those percentages reflect accuracy before active color management adjustments.

This ability to reproduce color accurately helps reduce the time and materials normally spent on setup.

“This press allows me just to put whatever I want on here and run,” Pimentel explains. “Maybe 60ft. of material and it's already printing good material, so it's a no-brainer.”

Registration is another area where digital has simplified production. Pimentel says the registration on its Durst Tau RSC Es is very tight. He points to a print job consisting of 28x36mm oval labels — work that would require six colors on a flexo press and significant time to dial in.

“So, it takes a while for … any conventional flexo press to register it; it takes quite a bit of feet,” he says. “On the Durst, it's just load the job, run it. It's just that simple. So, that job, we moved completely to the Durst. They're not very big runs, but they're consistent runs, so those always come over here to the Durst, and we run them here without any issues.”

Maximizing Floor Space

Beyond production efficiencies, digital has saved Textape a significant amount of floor space.

Each of the company’s three flexo presses has its own dedicated room — “because of the length of it.” By contrast, both Durst machines fit snuggly in one room.

“We have both of them right here in the office,” he says. “They’re back-to-back; they’re right next to each other.”

White-Glove Service

For Pimentel, strong service has been just as important as print performance, since even the most advanced equipment, including the Tau RSC Es, requires occasional maintenance.

“[Durst’s] customer service is just outstanding; their technicians are outstanding,” he stresses. “I make a call [or] send an email, within half an hour, I have somebody responding to me.”

At the end of the day, Pimentel says investing in not just one, but two Durst RSC Es has been a game changer for Textape.

“In every aspect that we’ve ever tried to use it for, it's actually worked 100%,” Pimentel says. “It's yet to fail us, and we don't expect it to fail us.”