Label Printer for shorter runs

Ingeniørfirmaet Finn R. Jacobsen saw opportunities in the Primera Label Printer CX1200e.
So did Palle Jakobsen, former co-owner of Scanket.

aja Jacobsen works for Ingeniørfirmaet Finn R. Jacobsen. She is responsible for the company's fairly new field, labels. Labelprinters.dk is the name and website of the department. Last year at a trade show Taja Jacobsen saw Primera's new label printer and thought that there would be a market for it in Denmark. Now the first three Primera CX1200e Digital Label Presses are installed here in Denmark. Two of them are combined with the Primera Digital Finisher FX1200e developed for the CX1200e and other narrow-web printers.

- All three customers have reported that they are going to buy a second system. It's probably the best recommendation one can get according to Taja Jacobsen.

- It is also the most flexible combo system for small to medium-sized runs. A couple of our customers have larger print equipment and use the Primera digital printer, because it is quick and easy to operate and use, and because there is very little waste, continues Taja Jacobsen.

CX1200e is a digital printer based on a Lexmark laser engine. It has a fixed roll width of 216 mm, printing speed is 83 mm per second. The printer is controlled from a connected PC, and is easy to operate. Price starts around 150,000 Danish Kroner. A finishing station if required is available from around 225,000 Danish Kroner. The finisher can laminate, die-cut, cut and remove the waste matrix and rewind.

1. Taja Jacobsen sold one of the first Primera label solutions in Denmark to Palle Jakobsen from LabelSupply.dk.

2. Palle Jakobsen shows a label printed with the new CX1200e label printer for small to medium-sized runs.

3. FX1200e Digital Label Finisher that has, among other features die-cut and lamination.

From Indigo to CX1200e

One of the customers, who has used the CX1200e for some months, is Palle Jakobsen. He is "well known" in the label market. Palle Jakobsen was one of the former owners of Scanket, where he, after selling his shares, remains as Chairman. Scanket works with labels in large runs and on an Indigo. Even though the Indigo and CX1200e are very different, Palle Jakobsen speaks about both machines with equal enthusiasm in his voice. One thing is for sure; Palle Jakobsen is addicted to labels. He actually only wanted to run a little side business after the sale of Scanket, but when he saw the Primera printer, he saw a market for the production size, it was intended for.

- I had an agency in thermal ribbons, just to keep in touch with the market. The same goes for my neighbour here in our building, Claus Jensen from Team Labels. They specialize in labels for dangerous goods and warning labels of any kind. Together we found, there was a market for labels in shorter runs, and the Primera solution was perfect. The speed and the quality are good and the machines are relatively simple to operate, but of course all label printing requires a little expertise, Palle Jakobsen says.

First order: 10,000 labels

When Palle Jakobsen had ordered the Primera solution, he also started the sales work in collaboration with Claus Jensen, who also sells services that are produced on the Primera. The first production that Palle Jakobsen did, was a job of 10,000 identical labels for a cider mill. So the little CX1200e printer started working.

- Granted, 10,000 identical labels is just above what CX1200e is created for, but fortunately it went smoothly. Labels are a side-product, so if we as a supplier cannot deliver as agreed, the customer will just find another supplier. There is no loyalty to such a product Palle Jakobsen says.

The strength lies in the shorter runs

- The strength of CX1200e and FX1200e clearly lies in small runs of around 100 pieces and up to 2,000, depending on the label format. We print up to 203 mm in width and approximately 300 mm in length and it is a wide range of different labels, that we produce. The formats are different. There are round and square labels with one or more colours. The economic advantage clearly lies in the four colour print - and in the mentioned production sizes. With the Primera solution we can compete with prices that are 40-50 percent below our competitors that run on other equipment,- Palle Jakobsen explains.

Palle Jakobsen, who operates under the name LabelSupply, only has one wish. The price of toner ought to be cheaper, so the heart's desire from Palle was passed on to Taja Jacobsen, who was present during the interview.

With the Primera solution, we compete with prices that are 40-50 percent below our competitors...

Palle Jakobsen expects to run around 10,000-12,000 meters per month on the CX1200e. He expects that the investment should pay for itself in two years and is determined to invest in yet another Primera solution within short time.

Thanks to the CX1200e Digital Color Label Press and the FX1200e Digital Finishing System I can satisfy a market niche that most of my customers were unaware of.