When you enter your local supermarket or drugstore you’ll see a wide array of printed product labels. However, did you know that many products are still printed with an old fashion method called flexography? When you opt for digital label printing for your products, you’ll enjoy many benefits as you bring your company into the 21st Century.
Flexography
Standard flexography methods require printing plates which are flexible enough to print on round or irregular shaped containers. In addition, you must print one color at a time and this takes a separate plate for every color you need. This requires a lot of different stations and equipment for the job. Plus, all the equipment and products must stay in perfect alignment during the process or the colors may overlap.
It takes a lot of time to properly set up flexographic equipment and plates. Plus, each time you make a change, you’ll need to create or order new plates and this can get expensive. In fact, most companies have to buy their labels in bulk to save on costs and if they reach the end of a product run and still have 20,000 labels left, this is a loss.
Digital Label Printing
Digital technology is similar to today’s modern laser printers, except on a large scale. There is no need for plates and separate stations for printing each color. All the artwork for the labels is stored in a computerized section of the print machine. Large rolls of blank material are fed into the equipment, printed and then the finished labels are placed on rolls. The process is very fast and efficient.
Benefits
With digital label printing you can print only as many labels as you require, so there is no waste. Changing artwork is not hard either. This is perhaps the most cost effective printing method in use today.
