04.06.15
Companies often produce a high mix of products in low volumes to provide consumers personalized products, meet specific consumer preference or just offer more choices. This, however, presents a set of manufacturing challenges, especially when dealing with labels that are cost-effective and timely.
An example of this can be seen in the electronic cigarette market, a niche segment that is expected to see sales grow 24.2% per year until 2018. A company like Vape Dudes is in this booming sector. It manufactures eJuice– a flavored liquid that is used in electronic cigarettes.
Launched in 2009, Vape Dudes offers customers over 250 handcrafted flavors to choose from, including options like American Menthol and Watermelon Ice. the company identified the need for personalization in the eJuice market, allowing customization based on nicotine level.
Vape Dudes has a retail location, which opened in early November 2014, and also sells its products online and through wholesalers. All shipments leave daily from its production facility in Richardson, TX, USA.
Epson’s C3500 printer enables the company to produce labels for its wide range of flavors.
Since Vape Dudes customized nearly every order to meet individual preferences, it struggled to find an efficient, cost-effective way to label its numerous products. Initially, Vape Dudes printed and stocked several labels sheets with its logo. Employees had to then pull separate product specific labels and handwrite additional information on each label prior to product shipment. This process quickly became impractical for many reasons, including the high costs associated with storing large volumes of pre-printed label stock and employee time needed to fulfill and ship product.
The team at Vape Dudes took steps toward automated label production to resolve these challenges. The company decided to invest in a color label printer but quickly encountered issues with its slow operating speed and recurring paper jams. When the purchase of a second printer did not resolve the problem, Vape Dudes approached Color Label Solutions, a company that has sold, installed and supported hundreds of companies in their move to print on-demand color labels.
“After learning more about Vape Dudes’ specific production needs and primary challenges, I recommended Epson’s on-demand color labeling technology,” said Guy Mikel, president of Color Label Solutions. “By printing labels when they’re needed, and in the precise quantities needed, the system eliminates the need for preprinted label inventory. It’s ideal for high-mix, low volume applications like this one.”
Mikel sent Vape Dudes a demo of Epson’s C3500 printer along with label and media samples, running the new printer alongside the company’s existing system. The test was to print a day’s worth of labels–between 700 and 800 labels in total.
Vape Dudes’ existing printer took 25 minutes to complete the task, while Epson’s C3500 took one fifth of that time, completing the print run in just five minutes.
“The time it takes for us to process an order has been reduced by 60% with the Epson printer,” said Shelby Lewis, COO at Vape Dudes. “We simply set up the background template and import specific fields using BarTender software.”
Vape Dudes offers many flavors of e-juice, which is designed for its electronic cigarettes.
With faster processing times, production costs have decreased for Vape Dudes. The printer requires less maintenance while the ability to choose from a variety of label sizes decreases waste. The company can utilize existing resources rather than facing the prospects of hiring additional labor to deal with the shipping process.
Mikel’s knowledge of cost-efficient and durable inkjet consumables and the Epson technology also helped Vape Dudes resolve durability issues with its ink and label media. The company’s original labels were susceptible to the eJuice smearing.With the ink and labels from Color Label Solutions, the new labels suffered zero durability or smudging issues previously encountered. In addition, the new vibrant, high quality labels supported the company’s new label design, which hit the market in June 2014.
“Consumer feedback for our newest design has been great thus far,” added Lewis. “It’s something we’ve even incorporated visually into our recent retail store opening.”
With the help of Color Label Solutions and Epson’s C3500 printer, Vape Dudes is able to produce thousands of possible combinations of flavors, sizes and products every week.
An example of this can be seen in the electronic cigarette market, a niche segment that is expected to see sales grow 24.2% per year until 2018. A company like Vape Dudes is in this booming sector. It manufactures eJuice– a flavored liquid that is used in electronic cigarettes.
Launched in 2009, Vape Dudes offers customers over 250 handcrafted flavors to choose from, including options like American Menthol and Watermelon Ice. the company identified the need for personalization in the eJuice market, allowing customization based on nicotine level.
Vape Dudes has a retail location, which opened in early November 2014, and also sells its products online and through wholesalers. All shipments leave daily from its production facility in Richardson, TX, USA.
Epson’s C3500 printer enables the company to produce labels for its wide range of flavors.
The team at Vape Dudes took steps toward automated label production to resolve these challenges. The company decided to invest in a color label printer but quickly encountered issues with its slow operating speed and recurring paper jams. When the purchase of a second printer did not resolve the problem, Vape Dudes approached Color Label Solutions, a company that has sold, installed and supported hundreds of companies in their move to print on-demand color labels.
“After learning more about Vape Dudes’ specific production needs and primary challenges, I recommended Epson’s on-demand color labeling technology,” said Guy Mikel, president of Color Label Solutions. “By printing labels when they’re needed, and in the precise quantities needed, the system eliminates the need for preprinted label inventory. It’s ideal for high-mix, low volume applications like this one.”
Mikel sent Vape Dudes a demo of Epson’s C3500 printer along with label and media samples, running the new printer alongside the company’s existing system. The test was to print a day’s worth of labels–between 700 and 800 labels in total.
Vape Dudes’ existing printer took 25 minutes to complete the task, while Epson’s C3500 took one fifth of that time, completing the print run in just five minutes.
“The time it takes for us to process an order has been reduced by 60% with the Epson printer,” said Shelby Lewis, COO at Vape Dudes. “We simply set up the background template and import specific fields using BarTender software.”
Vape Dudes offers many flavors of e-juice, which is designed for its electronic cigarettes.
With faster processing times, production costs have decreased for Vape Dudes. The printer requires less maintenance while the ability to choose from a variety of label sizes decreases waste. The company can utilize existing resources rather than facing the prospects of hiring additional labor to deal with the shipping process.
Mikel’s knowledge of cost-efficient and durable inkjet consumables and the Epson technology also helped Vape Dudes resolve durability issues with its ink and label media. The company’s original labels were susceptible to the eJuice smearing.With the ink and labels from Color Label Solutions, the new labels suffered zero durability or smudging issues previously encountered. In addition, the new vibrant, high quality labels supported the company’s new label design, which hit the market in June 2014.
“Consumer feedback for our newest design has been great thus far,” added Lewis. “It’s something we’ve even incorporated visually into our recent retail store opening.”
With the help of Color Label Solutions and Epson’s C3500 printer, Vape Dudes is able to produce thousands of possible combinations of flavors, sizes and products every week.
