Label maker Admark Visual Imaging has reduced production costs by switching to digital with the first Epson SurePress L-4033A in Australasia.

Switching from flexo to Epson's short-run digital label press has produced great efficiencies without sacrificing quality, said managing director Laurie Pilling.

"The quality of print and colour from the SurePress is such that we can now spread heavy workloads across flexo and the SurePress without any discernible difference," he said.

"To do a short run of 5,000 labels on flexo the printing time would take only 15 minutes, but there’s the additional overhead of two hours for mounting the plates and set-up, then, at the completion of the job, washing the plates and cleaning up.

"On top of that, there are tooling costs, all of which have to be passed on to the client. So… we're now passing cost savings on to the client and turning around many jobs in a fraction of the time and at short notice."

Admark is based in Hamilton, New Zealand, and also has sites in Auckland, Wellington, Rotorua and Sydney.

Labels represent about a third of its print volume, with short-run jobs ranging from 500 to 10,000.

Pilling said the SurePress had created new business opportunities for the 50-staff firm.

"We’re now able to go to the market and provide a complete offering from short to long runs at competitive rates," he said.

"Prior to the SurePress, we typically couldn’t have offered the best rates for short runs. Now we are taking on print jobs with as few as 500 labels, knowing that we can deliver them economically.

"We know all too well that a single short-run job can open big doors for the future."