As a supplier of durable labelling products to many sectors, most of which have a requirement to identify products in tough environments or challenging conditions, I just wanted to explain why colour printing has now become an option.
Print technology has changed significantly and quickly in the colour printing world. The mission at Dura-ID has been to match durable self-adhesives and tags to this new technology. Previously, speed of print, cost of printing and longevity of print have been issues that would have stopped you making that change. Certainly, over the past 12 to 18 months, this has changed significantly and the longevity of the print is more durable because a variety of materials are available.
Today the cap-ex on a colour printing solution is at a sensible relevant level. Whether we supply a sheet fed laser printer for £799 or a roll to roll continuous print solution for £12,500, there is a range of options that sit in between. We have found good solutions from Epson, Neuralabel and OKI that cover a range of applications using inkjet, laser and LED print technology. Utilising this technology with our Dura substrates has allowed us to solve the more historic issues.
From a chemical perspective, issues included labels not staying stuck to dangerous chemicals, which can break maritime law if they are exported by sea, and alignment issues with GHS diamonds pre-printed in red and then overprinted with a black ribbon, which could cause thermal transfer issues.
Other historic issues included the following:
- Goods arriving at destination with no identification
- Labels fading due to outdoor exposure
- Issues with handwriting of labels not being readable
- Branding had to be pre-printed if a customer wanted it in colour and by using colour you can change artwork / branding with minimal cost and no plate charges.
This technology has allowed us to resolve previous potential problems, which means the value in making this change can transform your business.
Benefits of using colour printing
Colour coding – easily add colour to help you identify a batch or order.
Branding – easily add your own or your client’s branding.
No MOQs/Waste – if you have been ordering fully printed labels, being able to print your own on demand in any quantity you wish will save you a lot of money. Many label rooms are full of labels where the artwork has changed, and they just end up being scrapped.
Print definition – colour printers allow you to print in higher definition. This means you can add more detail or languages to your labels, which can improve the situation for products that may traditionally need re-labelling for different markets.
GHS and CLP labelling – if you need to identify hazardous products then the change to colour printing is almost a necessity. Still using thermal printing brings a host of issues when managing part-printed formats.
Why Dura-ID Solutions?
We are not tied into manufacturers so we always look for a solution that will work with our label products, work well with your applications, and not let you down. We offer full technical support on all our solutions, so it is in our interest to make sure the solution is a reliable best fit for your business. We will always take you through the positives and negatives of each solution allowing you to make the best decisions to support your business. Clients have come to us who have had bad experiences on colour solutions provided by competitors that do not understand how their application works. At Dura-ID, we are more than happy to try before you buy. Our showroom just off the M1 near Barnsley is available for you to look at a host of printing solutions before making that decision.