Design Label Systems, a leading integrated label solutions provider based in Mississauga, Ontario, has installed an Esko CDI 2530 plate imager with Full HD Flexo – the first sold in Ontario. The company has also added workflow capabilities highlighted by an Esko Automation Engine, which imports job information directly from Design Label’s LabelTraxx MIS. Founded 27 years ago, Design Label Systems provides label and packaging solutions to a wide range of industries from its 25,000-square-foot facility in Mississauga, Ontario – including foods, household products, health & beauty, wine & spirits, pharmaceutical, petrochemical and manufacturing. “We print and convert a variety of pressure-sensitive labels, ranging from blanks to 10 colours, using many types of print technologies,” said Imran Faruqui, Vice President.
A year ago, Design Label used an in-house analogue plate system. Files were processed through Adobe Illustrator, and manually prepared for print. “We produced plates in-house with a film-based system for simple line art, but anything more complex – 80% of our work – was farmed out,” said Andrea Moore, Graphics Project Manager. In fact, as volumes grew, everything was sent out.” Eventually, volumes were getting too high and the company was at a critical point where it made sense to bring platemaking in-house.
Understanding that this also required a digital platemaking workflow to ensure a high level of quality and throughput, Faruqui and Moore researched the available options and suppliers. “We decided to invest in an Esko solution because they’re an industry leader with a great reputation,” said Faruqui. Moore added: “Esko also offers screening technology that works well and has been around for a long time. We knew their technology would deliver what we were looking for – a simplified platemaking and file processing workflow.”
The CDI 2530 with Full HD Flexo is now part of its new pre-media workflow, engineered by Faruqui with Esko’s support. They also invested in Esko DeskPack plug-ins for Adobe Illustrator to clean up artwork, and an Esko Automation Engine workflow server to automate and control imposition – as well as to import and integrate job information from their LabelTraxx MIS software. Powered by Automation Engine, the CDI 2530 with Full HD Flexo allows Design Label to assume total control over its prepress workflow, streamlining the platemaking process and slashing production times, while ensuring quality remains at the high level its customers expect.
“Like any company, we have some customer issues every day, but the ability to streamline automation, increase turnaround times, improve quality and produce thermal plates has helped,” Faruqui added. “We’re often under the gun, but it’s easier to manage everything every day. Before, we needed to think two days in advance to get a job done, because that’s how long we had to wait for plates.”
