Building on the excitement of the recent Digital Series HD debut, Mark Andy announced a successful preview event of the hybrid label press in San Diego, California. The product showcase was held on March 14 at the company’s Digital Technology Center. The facility is the press manufacturer’s “digital hub”, where engineers who specialize in inkjet, workflow, and programming have been based the past 7 years to support new product development on the digital side of the business.

The attendee pool of the true hybrid press preview consisted of label business owners from the California area, as well as industry-members attending the annual TLMI Converter Meeting earlier in the week. Attendees received an exclusive sneak peek of the press prior to this week’s global launch and enjoyed networking opportunities with other converters and Mark Andy specialists.

The highlight of the event was a print demonstration led by Mark Andy’s West Coast Digital Sales Manager, Ralph Boer. Seasoned Print Technician, Joel Panhorst, ran 17 SKUs on 3 unique substrates- clear PP, white BOPP, and an estate paper in under 14 minutes. All jobs were printed at full speed of 240 fpm and used Extended Gamut printing at Mark Andy’s UV inkjet quality standard of 1200 dpi. Additionally, a job made use of a flexo station directly following the digital print engine to apply a metallic flexographic spot that cannot be reproduced digitally. Proving hybrid versatility, this deck was then used to apply a varnish to a subsequent job with rapid changeover.

Building off the success of its’ predecessor’s 2017 FTA Award Win, Digital Series HD is Mark Andy’s commercial approach to label production. Able to profitability support short to mid run lengths, Digital Series HD is highly configurable and versatile. The press is modular- built to support 5 through 8 digital print head options, as well as integrated in-line or near-line finishing configurations. This is made possible by Mark Andy’s future-proof converting platform.

Those interested in experiencing the new press - can request demos at the OEM’s global headquarters in Saint Louis, MO or at the San Diego Digital Technology Center. In regards to global reach, the press will also be available for demonstrations in Mark Andy’s Polish demo center in June. The machine will accompany the Performance Series, Digital One, Rotoflex finishing technologies, and other new innovations on stand at Labelexpo Americas 2018.

Joe Calmese, Vice President, Digital, Mark Andy reflects on the event’s success, providing “Digital Series HD isn’t Mark Andy’s first pass at digital. It’s built on years of success and our Engineering group’s expertise in UV inkjet. A lot of work went into this launch and i’m incredibly proud of where our digital business is to date.”

“Our digital footing is stronger than ever. We have over 90 hybrid presses in production, and anticipate that number to grow significantly as more members of the print community see the undeniable productivity gains of the technology.” concludes Calmese.

For more images from the event, check out the L&NW slideshow.