the basic frame of a Xeikon digital label printing machine, showing the locations of the 5 print station stack

Last week I presented a case study on the adoption of digital label printing at an event organised by Xeikon in Lier, Belgium, and enjoyed a tour around their factory where our new digital label printing machine is being made.

Half way to being built, with most of the imaging technology assembled. This machine has a sheeter unit built in on the left hand side

It was really interesting to see how the 100+ machines a year are build and tested to such high standards, and the fantastic technology that is able to create the highest resolution in the market using its 1200dpi imaging technology manufactured in the factory clean room.

Our new machine is being installed in 2 weeks and we are looking forward to offering our customers the benefits of much higher resolution, better productivity and FDA approved, foodsafe and  deinkable toner.  Our team cannt wait!

The test compared HP, Xeikon and UV inkjet prints over months of sunlight exposure

At last weeks Label Expo 2011 a poster caught my eye, comparing the pigment fading of the 3 principal digital label printing technologies in an easy to see and understand way, the best comparison I have seen to date.  Put simply it showed the same image printed at the same time using 3 different processes (HP Indigo solvent based liquid toner, UV cured inkjet inks used by Xaar, Konica Minolta & Kyocera,  and the FDA approved food safe dry toner used by Xeikon), all with an unexposed version , and a version that had been exposed to 800 hours of sunlight from May to August 2011.

The results are dramatic, and clearly show the difference in UV lightfastness between the different technologies.  The HP solvent based liquid toner fades by far the most, followed by the UV Inkjet, with the Xeikon dry toner by far the most lightfast and light stable for high performance labelling applications.

Here are the images – compare the before and after for each process.

	Before	After 800 hours
HP Liquid Toner
UV inkjet
Xeikon dry toner

Can you see any difference in the ‘before’ and ‘after’ Xeikon images?

To measure the changes scientifically, a parameter called Delta E is used by colour professionals, and is shown in the table below for each of the colours. A Delta E of 1 is about the smallest colour change that can be seen by the human eye.  A larger Delta E number means that the colour difference is bigger between the 2 versions. Here are the measurements on each of the 7 colours.

Delta E values for the 3 printing processes after 800 hours of daylight

So its clear that both visually and by measurement of Delta E, the Xeikon dry toner process we exclusively use at Mercian Labels  is the most lightfast digital label printing technology you can use, on average this test indicates that the colour change with a Xeikon dry toner is about 5 times less than when using HP solvent based liquid toner.

So if you are looking for high performance digital labelling for use when exposed to sunlight, make sure you specify a  Xeikon printed image from Mercian Labels to minimise the risk of significant fading.

Vistitors are welcome to Mercian House

It has been a pleasure to demonstrate the production systems and capabilities of the Mercian Labels Group to visitors this year who are all keen to see the new refit and how we achieve the manufacturing lead times and innovations that we do.  Visitors have included our MP, 3 of the top labelling industry commentators in the world and many suppliers and current customers.

We would now like to welcome any prospective customers to book a tour to see our unique processes & procedures, enjoy a lunch in the boardroom and to meet the team at The Mercian Labels Group including our short run label printing division, our Security Labels International Division that makes Label Lock labels and security tape or our variable barcode labels division at AC Labels.

Part of the refit of the Mercian Labels Group HQ - the Mercian House board room

Any other interested party is also welcome to visit, meet the team and book a meeting with the Directors if you wish.  We are particularly keen on hearing from potential R&D collaborators.  We also have a surprise gift at the end of the tour!

To arrange a tour please email Lynne Hathaway, PA to the Directors at lynne.hathaway@mercianlabels.com or call 01543 431072.

Revolutionary new web speed control device from us

Spotted on a press yesterday…. clearly some wag in our factory decided that they had tool much time on their hands in the first week back!

Mercian Labels are recruiting a Sales Executive

We are looking for a Sales Executive with a proven sales turnover in the self adhesive labels industry for a role to be 75% office based (Cannock, Staffordshire) and 25% field based (UK wide). Print methods are primarily digital, flexo and hotfoil.

The successful candidate will be dealing by email and telephone with a large number of companies, big and small, across the UK and beyond, in order to close sales.

Key requirements:

• Proven successful track record in a recent business to business sales position, ideally selling labels
• Excellent rapport & relationship building skills
• First class new business and account management skills
• Must be computer literate
• Excellent closer
• Strong character
• Superb communication skills
• Must be extremely well presented

Salary expectation: Up to £27K + profit related bonus.  More information on the company is available here.

To inquire, please contact Hugo Gell (Sales Director) on 01543 431 071 or Elaine Jefferson (Sales Manager) on 01543 431 079

AC Labels in Derby are recruiting for a General Manager

Following the request acquisition of AC Labels in Derby by the Mercian Labels Group on 31 March 2010, we have created a new role for a General Manager of the AC Labels operation in Derby. This new role is an exciting opportunity for a talented manager with business development skills to take day to day control of a small (10 person) niche manufacturing business who are market leaders in high volume barcode labelling with a well established customer base. This is a full-time, salaried management position that reports to the Board of the holding company, the Mercian Labels Group. You will ideally (but not necessarily) have a print background and will have the energy, self motivation and enthusiasm to take “ownership” of a new operation and guide it to long term commercial success through a “hands on” management approach. Senior level support and coaching into the role will be provided by the Directors who are very keen to secure the right individual for this exciting opportunity. Salary is negotiable and the position is available for an immediate start.

Full details are on our website with informal discussions to the Managing Director Dr Adrian Steele (adrian.steele@mercianlabels.com) on 01543 431 072

NO AGENCIES – see webpage for details.

RFID labels have been much touted as the way forward, and will replace barcode labels in due course.

Our experience, for what it is worth, is that RFID is expensive, prone to errors, and only really gives 2 advantages over barcodes: Speedy contactless reading (if RFID labels do read in your environment, as many dont if they are close to metal or water), and extremely high volume data storage (compared to 2D barcodes).

I’d be really interested in hearing from existing RFID label users with their expereinces.  There seems to be a lot of hype, and very little actual purchasing and successful rollouts of RFID labels.

If you have a different take on this situation, please post here.  We are actively looking at RFID labels, particularly in security labelling, but as far as we can see, barcodes are still a very good solution at the present time.

If you are happy with a very limited range of paper labels, and do ultra small runs lengths, then its probably cheaper for you to print your own labels.  This is fairly easy for black and white labels on paper rectangles, but gets a significantly more cumbersome when you want photographs, non standard shapes, or anything but permanent adhesives.

When you needs grow such that:

• you are using higher volumes
• you are getting significant wastage
• you want a non standard adhesive or shape
• you need variable information
• you want better image quality

then the time has come to talk to us at Mercian Labels.  We have no minimum order quantities, and our label solutions are quick and cost effective.  When you’ve outgrown the desktop printer, or your time is better spent doing other things, come and talk to us!

If a customer needed labels for items of food, then food grade labels are essential. They are used on fruits such as apples, plums, bananas and many more, as they do not leave any unwanted residue onto the fruit as easy feel they are a lot more hygienic, and any residue left is edible and harmless.

If a customer wanted a more secure label then tyre tack labels are probably the best. They are applied onto tyres and are extra sticky so they are not as likely to peel off. There are also frost fix adhesive labels which have a service temperature of -40 Celsius which makes them very suitable to sticking onto items which are to be frozen.

There are many other types of adhesives to suit what the customer needs, including hard hat label adhesives which are usually used on hard hats which builders wear. These labels are stuck onto the hats for the workers own safety and do not damage or corode the plastic of the hard hat, potentially damaging its structural integrity and strength.

Whatever your specialist adhesive label application, we are likely to have a potential solution to hand – give give us a call.

We find that there are so many different events to attend now that benefit from custom labels.  Some people may create and design labels for certain events such as weddings, where they can stick labels onto anything to give their wedding a more personalised look (I went to one last weekend in fact that did this!). Other events for which people may decide to design labels for are parties, as this would also give a party a more personalised look.

If someone has made their own bath products, or brewed their own beer, they would more than likely want their own custom personalised labels to promote their products. With your products having their own labels, customers are more likely to purchase, as they have a more professional look.

The possibilities, especially with digitally produced labels, are only limited by your imagination!

]]> http://www.selfadhesivelabels.com/blog/2008/07/17/opportunities-to-create-your-own-labels/feed/ 0 http://www.selfadhesivelabels.com/blog/2008/07/17/asset-labels-for-identification/ http://www.selfadhesivelabels.com/blog/2008/07/17/asset-labels-for-identification/#comments Thu, 17 Jul 2008 12:53:02 +0000 Adrian http://www.selfadhesivelabels.com/blog/?p=87 Asset identification labels are useful for so many different organisations, and here at Mercian Labels we have many people contact us asking for such labels. Asset labels have so many different uses, but they are commonly used to help organisations track their assets and deter theft of their property.  One common area of confusion we find with asset labels is what the best material to use for asset labels.

The variety of end use applications for  makes the correct material selection very important, as the surfaces vary considerably, from smooth glass cabinets to painted metal computer cases. The identification labels usually contain the asset number and other variable data such as a barcode and serial number. It is important that the labels are resistant to abrasion and solvents which are used in the environment.

A key feature of asset labels is that they are difficult to remove, to deter theft.  We consequently usually specify a top quality semi gloss white ultra destructible vinyl. Ultra destructible vinyl fragments into tiny pieces (which is called the “eggshell effect”) if anyone attempted to remove the label. This makes for a secure asset label that can be customised easily in small runs, and not only identifies the product, but deters theft as well.

Other security label materials can be used, but often do not give as permanent a mark as ultra destructible vinyls.

Such security labels are our speciality – please give us a call if you are looking for such products.

For customers who have many different designs of labels but also has a tight budget, then digital label printing would more than likely be most suitable for them. Our digital label printers can print short runs of “process” colour labels, incorporating photographic images to be printed. Customers who choose to have their labels printed digitally have the benefit of not having to pay expensive block charges, and are able to have photographic type images on their labels without having to pay any extra costs.

Some people may choose to have their labels printed on hotfoil, as this allows people to have excellent quality labels with up to 6 spot colours. Hotfoil labels are excellent for brands who want to advertise their products it a cost effective way. With these labels you can have your own design, logo and text professionally printed onto papers, synthetics or transparent or clear materials with low origination charges. Customers also benefit greatly by the fact that they can have special size/shape requirements for their labels and do not have to pay hundreds of pounds for a cutter, which can occur if the label is very small or unusually shaped.

Thermal transfer printing may be the best option for some people who want barcode labels. Usually we produce either large or very small text barcodes, with simple logos, consecutively numbered labels. They are mainly used for industrial labelling applications such as tracking. The main benefit in getting Mercian Labels to print you barcode labels is that it is no longer in your hand as we will be doing all the hard work.

Flexographic label printing is another great method, though there are more limitations. Flexographic printing is mainly used for larger productions with simpler designs and colour combinations with up to 4 colours without special effects. The main benefits of flexographic label printing is that it is a economical printing method used for larger print runs as larger and faster machines are used. This printing method is usually chosen for industrial applications.

Letterpress and gravure label printing are still around, but more often used for specialist applications now.

If you want some free advice on what label printing method is best for your idea – drop us a line. Our advice is free, and we dont bite!

]]> http://www.selfadhesivelabels.com/blog/2008/07/08/label-printing-methods/feed/ 0 http://www.selfadhesivelabels.com/blog/2008/07/08/just-how-do-you-design-custom-printed-labels/ http://www.selfadhesivelabels.com/blog/2008/07/08/just-how-do-you-design-custom-printed-labels/#comments Tue, 08 Jul 2008 17:06:36 +0000 Adrian http://www.selfadhesivelabels.com/blog/?p=91 At Mercian Labels we often get many customers enquiring about how they should design their labels, as they dont have professional graphic design software in house, or havent yet engaged a designer to realise their design ideas.

This is why we offer a custom design service to help customers who do not have professional artwork files to create their new label designs. This is a great cost effective service saving customers from having to pay the costs of commissioning a full graphic service from a advertising or design agency. As our graphic design studio is PC based we have a few simple instructions for customers to follow when sending artwork.

If you use either CoralDraw 14 or Abode Illustrator CS3 then your artwork would look a lot better than if they were to use other programs that are not vector based. This is because both these programs help to improve the sharpness of the printing plates and allows easier colour separation and a better quality image. Our customers benefit greatly by using these programs as they give a lot better results for your design. We also advise customers to make sure that all photographic images are embedded into the file and all text created where possible as vector drawing line work as this all helps get the best results for their design.

To minimise the chances of unexpected design artefacts, we advise customers who need their artwork to be bleed off to make sure they allow 1.5mm of bleed off. We also express to customers how important it is for them to convert all fonts to curves/paths as this stops any missing texts issues when our graphic design studio opens the file up.

The process for getting designs ready to be printed flexographically is not a simple process at all for the uninitiated! We prefer to complete the process ourselves as the design has to be stepped and repeated and also stretched around the cylinder before sending for the plates.  Trust me – if you dont know what you are doing, you dont want to try this!

It is important that customers do follow the instructions given as otherwise files could be sent to our graphic studio which may not be usable for printing. This could be because of artwork being sent as low resolution jpeg or gif files, or it could be because designs are sent to us without converting font into outline paths. When customers do not follow normal industry practice for design files, it inevitably extends the amount of time it takes to go through the whole artwork approval stage of the order.

Our full guidelines for artwork files can be found at http://www.selfadhesivelabels.com/artwork.html but please fee free to email us for free advice on design files – try jamie.caddick@mercianlabels.com first of all!

When delivering we usually use a next day carrier , although occasionally we do use the Royal Mail for small orders. There is always the option however for customers to come and collect their labels within working hours of our factory. We give customers the option to have their labels dispatched by a same day courier for an additional charge anywhere in the UK – we use City Link we we find to be the best for our type of goods and service levels our customers need.

When it comes down to turnaround time it does really depend on how complex the job is. Though with good communication with customers we can often produce work for dispatch within 24 hours by same day courier or timed carrier delivery. There is always a premium charge for this service which depending on the additional work involved and couriers, it is usually £50-£500 per job because of our usual 3-4 day disrupted production operation. It is important that customers do not ask for same day/next day delivery unless the requirement is urgent and they have the budget to help us meet their deadline.

We get very few complaints about our delivery times becuase we are so quick, but if you are really in a hurry, anything can be done, but it does cause disruption and we have to charge for this exceptionally quick level of service.