Building on the excitement of the recent Digital Series HD debut, Mark Andy is proud to announce a successful preview event of the hybrid label press in San Diego, California. The product showcase was held on March 14th at our Digital Technology Center. The facility is our “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 our business.

The attendee pool of the true hybrid press preview consisted of over 50 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 our team of specialists.

The highlight of the event was a print demonstration led by 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 nearline finishing configurations. This is made possible by our future-proof converting platform.

Those interested in experiencing the new press – can request demos at our 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 early 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 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.

About the Author

Chandler Davis is a Senior Marketing Specialist at Mark Andy. She is a University of Missouri graduate with a passion for social media, packaging design, and all things printing. You can also find Chandler on LinkedIn.