While the opportunities that digital inkjet provide are appealing, many printers have built their business around other technologies like flexography. Established analog solutions like flexo printing can make it difficult – and expensive – for printers to make a shift to digital, especially during the recent economic challenges.
The answer can be found in a hybrid-printing solution which integrates digital imaging technology into an existing flexographic analog press. G2 ID Source in Jacksonville, Florida shares how the Colordyne 3600 Series AQ – Retrofit Powered by Memjet has given them access to the benefits of digital printing while using their existing flexo press and finishing equipment.
“It has changed our business tremendously,” says Terry Cochran, vice president in charge of procurement and production at G2 ID Source. “It allows us to do so much more than we could previously and in a much quicker time.”
Using hybrid printing solutions like the Colordyne retrofit Powered by Memjet gives printers greater flexibility on how to print their jobs. They can still use their flexo presses to produce longer run jobs, but the hybrid option extends their capabilities to include personalized, short-run jobs that clients are increasingly demanding. “Hybrid printing allows us to get to a price point that we can sell at,” says Cochran.
“It reduces a tremendous amount of labor and can double or triple our throughput on a press a day – which is where the ROI really pops out,” explains David Frederick, president at G2 ID Source. “To do a job 100% flexo would take four times longer and cost four times more.”
“Our customers are always looking for the highest resolution,” says Cochran. “The Colordyne unit gives us the highest at 1600 dpi which is phenomenal.” The water-based inks and technology that are used in Memjet-powered hybrid solutions provide a quality, smooth appearance that compares to documents printed on a flexo press – a critical feature as jobs are often produced for the same client using different printing technology methods.
In Colodyne’s next generation technology, the shift to Memjet’s most recent print platforms, DuraLink and DuraFlex, will provide greater flexibility with the long printhead life and new water-based pigment inks, made especially for the durability required in the food and beverage market.
Learn more about Colordyne print solutions Powered by Memjet.
Connect with us on LinkedIn.
