Data Communications Management (DCM) of Brampton, Ontario has installed the first Labelfire 340 in Canada from Heidelberg-Gallus to increase its short-run and on-demand label production. A market leader in Canada for print-on-demand, DCM has spent the past 50 years focusing on traditional flexographic labels. As one of the largest label manufacturers in the country, DCM expects that its new Labelfire 340 will take the company to another level with variable printing. “Our clients are looking for shorter runs and more customization on their labels,” said Alan Roberts, Senior Vice President at DCM, “ If we’re going to be a leader in the short-run prime-label business, we need the best hybrid technology, and I believe we’re going to receive it with the Heidelberg-Gallus Labelfire 340.” The Labelfire 340 combines the latest digital printing technology with the benefits of conventional printing and further processing technology. It prints at 50 m/min, which will help meet DCM’s growing customer demands for shorter runs. The flexo-digital press is a complete inline solution that handles digital flexo, cold foil, rotary screen and die cutting – from start to finish.
“We believe that a hybrid press versus a pure digital press is the right solution that gives us the flexibility to meet customer demands, especially since we’re now able to do everything inline in one pass,” Roberts added. “With other pure digital technology, you have to take everything off the press and bring it to another piece of equipment, which takes a lot more time and labour. The Labelfire is a more holistic approach that I believe will make us stand out in the marketplace.”
Another key factor for DCM was the Labelfire’s additional features that enhance the labels’ quality and colour. Printing at 1200 x 1200 dpi, the Labelfire features the latest inkjet technology with 7 colours plus white and three flexo conventional print units on the digital side. Based on the specific needs of the customer, DCM is also able to print flexo white or digital white without reducing press speeds. The Labelfire is run by Heidelberg’s Prinect Digital Front End, which includes spot-colour matching, the PDF Toolbox, and Prepress Manager. Because of the Heidelberg-Gallus integration, DCM also has access to “the largest service coverage in the industry” to ensure that they’re getting the most from their equipment – and that a nearby technician is always readily available. “One of the main reasons we went with the Labelfire is having service coverage available to us 24/7 – it’s a huge competitive advantage,” said Roberts. “Other companies we’ve worked with in the past would have to send us service from the U.S. But Heidelberg has service technicians right in Canada that can get to us quickly and efficiently. It’s a huge plus.”
Data Communications Management is a leading provider of business communication solutions, bringing value and collaboration to marketing and operations teams in companies across North America. The company has more than 20 locations – including 6 centres of excellence – supported by highly-skilled professionals.
DCM installs first Heidelberg-Gallus Labelfire 340 in Canada
