Labo Print, a Poland-based label printer, has set up a new department for the manufacture of paper cups adding to its highly successful and comprehensive printing portfolio. Utilizing the operational performance of a Xeikon 3500 digital press with dry toner technology accredited for guaranteed food safety, the company can produce sustainable, personalized digitally printed paper cups that appeal to consumer preferences. The 3500, Xeikon’s high digital press for labels and folding cartons, offers versatility, speed and the opportunity to print on a wide range of board types – ideal for fast moving products to meet ever evolving consumer demand.

Krzysztof Fryc, CEO & co founder of Labo Print, gives the following testimonial: “We know that comprehensiveness and focus on quality are the two characteristics which Labo Print’s clients value most. These characteristics, combined with our team of experts, full transparency and professional resources, make even our most demanding clients see us as a trustworthy partner. Each manufactured product must have packaging and the right markings, regardless of whether it is a cosmetic, a beverage or a family-produced pot of honey. We are always prepared - for example, when manufacturers of large, commercial quantities require labels for a few hundred craft beer bottles? Thanks to our carefully selected technology platform, we are able to meet the needs of both small entrepreneurs and large manufacturers. We supply a whole range of product options and pay particular attention to the comprehensiveness of the solutions we offer.

Investment in Technology
The manufacture of digital labels at Labo Print is a dynamically expanding product category, mainly thanks to the substantial investments which, over a brief period of time has exceeded PLN 10 million. Today, the equipment in the company’s Label Section includes a variety of equipment for the printing, die-cutting and finishing of labels. Our comprehensive portfolio of technologically advanced equipment ensures Labo Print is able to offer its clients the shortest turnaround times whilst maintaining the highest quality and reasonable prices.

When Labo Print added a Xeikon 3500 digital press to its inventory at the end of 2018, the primary deciding factor in the purchase was the versatility of the press and the high quality of digital printing using Xeikon dry toner technology - which at the time was not attainable from any other manufacturers. Initially, the press was primarily planned to be used for printing labels using ICE toner, which complies with the highest number of standards and regulations for food products and is also environmentally friendly because the toner has no emissions of harmful substances and no odour. Furthermore, one of the assumptions we made was that the high quality of print on the Xeikon press measured by a resolution of 1200 dpi would satisfy the expectations of clients whose printing projects contained small or detailed graphic elements. Our positive post-sales experiences, as part of the service contract for the Jetrion series label presses (the support of which was taken over by Xeikon in 2017) was also significant in our choice of the Xeikon press.

The aforementioned compliance of Xeikon dry toners with their accreditation and regulatory standards related to food contact was utilised by Labo Print in 2020 to start a production line of short run paper cups. The overprinting of the substrate for the manufacture of cups is the first stage of the production process; therefore, speed and reliability is incredibly important – hence the choice of Xeikon’s 3500 press. Furthermore, the substrates used for the cups are quite demanding due to the formation of one or two coats with a moisture impermeable layer which also functions as a binder when forming the cups under high temperatures.

Labo Print offers solutions that support traditional sales in commercial outlets and a whole range of products designed to make on-line sales incredibly easy, starting from the basic marking of a product with a personalised label to a full range of offerings - tailored packaging, secondary packaging, cartons, illuminated 3D lettering on commercial outlets, printed foils on shop fronts, advertising flags, printed PVC or plexi sheets which constitute decorative elements, and finally stands, such as cardboard displays and large-format advertising.

Our product line covers both European packaging standards such as FEFCO and personalised packaging or cardboard boxes with flaps for secondary packaging. With the e-commerce market in mind, we also created a box2send line comprising cardboard envelopes, quick-folding cartons and rolled packaging that adapts to the product size. If we include the comprehensive range of digital self-adhesive labels, printed paper cups, POS products and large-format advertising in solutions strictly related to packaging, as well as the professional consultative services we offer, we get a commercial press room with one of the best and most varied production range of capabilities in Europe.

Thanks to the versatility of our Xeikon 3500 digital press, we have created a new department in Labo Print dedicated to the manufacture of paper cups. At present, we are implementing Xeikon dry toner technology for the printing of paper cups utilising our client's choice of any graphic design. We can also provide quantities as small as several hundred units which is undoubtedly an advantage to our customers. For the last twelve years our extensive range of printed product lines have been reaching users all over Europe. This has allowed us to monitor the markets very closely. We notice that the demand from different industries and markets can vary quite significantly from year to year, so it is important that we consistently work to improve our production portfolio to meet the current trends. The Xeikon 3500 press has proved its usefulness and satisfied the business assumptions we had made. In addition, the press offers the option to use a wide range of standard substrates for printing without the requirement to apply a primer or pre-treatment, including structural substrates. This is also deserving of attention. The list of benefits also includes colour consistency and lightfastness or the printed materials (>6 in the blue wool scale), as well as the fact that the standard set of CMYK +white colours can be modified. For example, by using an orange or green colour or security toners: fluorescents (visible in UV light) or toners with hidden "taggant" markers where authenticity can be verified with appropriate readers.”

Krzysztof Fryc concludes, “In today's difficult times when planning the future development of any business, the three following foundations must be in place at a minimum: data from the analysts : information from clients : self-assessment of the events around us, as well as intuition. At present, the greatest optimism can be drawn from the data of analysts who are forecasting continued growth in the label and packaging markets. So what does our intuition tell us? Everyone has to answer this question for themselves. Labo Print will continue to implement its development strategy which assumes a collaboration with professionals in the graphic arts market, based on partnership and clear rules of cooperation. We are of the firm belief that this approach will bring mutual benefits that do not rule out investment in the continued development of our production platform. We are always searching for the most modern equipment and solutions in order to be able to respond to the far-reaching needs and growing expectations of our clients. The addition of the Xeikon 3500 digital press has been a positive investment for us. The print and operational performance of the Xeikon 3500 has clearly met expectations both for Labo Print and for our clients. The Xeikon technology helps us to achieve our business objectives and allows us to continue our dynamic growth.”

Michał Kuczkowski, Xeikon Sales Manager in the region, comments; “Thanks to the versatility of the Xeikon digital press, Labo Print has the opportunity to create a brand-new department to manufacture paper cups in addition to label printing. Enquiries from companies wishing to discuss digital printing on cups, as well as printing on labels, small boxes and sachets, are most welcome. At Xeikon, we have both printing technologies: toner and inkjet, which allows us to adapt our product range to the needs of any company or organisation while providing unbiased advice about which technologies are best suited to their needs and the best way to structure their future investments.”