From its base in Avondale, Auckland, labels and packaging printer Unimax works with a diverse group of clients across the agriculture, transportation, health, food and beverage sectors.
Recently, Unimax installed Screen’s most productive label inkjet press – the L350UV SAI S digital label press, supplied and supported by Jet Technologies and Fujifilm New Zealand. With an eye to the future, Unimax looked for a solution to support its growth and competitiveness with the capability to provide a broader variety of printing options for its customers.
Dinesh Kumar, director at Unimax, says, “We were looking for a digital printing press that offered the highest quality print product and consistency. The solution we chose has those two qualities and was the most cost-effective of the options we considered.
“We feel particularly pleased to bring the first L350UV SAI S into the country. We have always been huge fans of inkjet and what it can do. In fact, we were the first to bring the L350UV into New Zealand and can proudly say that we are now the first with the new SAI model.”
Increasingly, industry sectors such as liquor, cosmetics, food, and beverage employ UV inkjet-based digital printing as a substitute for silk-screen printing. Digital printing provides these industry customers with several benefits, including shorter turnaround times, lower costs and reduced environmental impact. Demand for quality label and packaging printing continues to grow. Unimax recognised this trend five years ago when it invested in its first Screen Truepress, which helped take the business “from letterpress to the digital age”.
Dinesh says, “Our original press was extremely reliable over its five years with us. It helped us to diversify our client base and grow our business in higher-value markets.
“Upgrading to the L350UV SAI S was an easy decision, especially with the service we receive from both Fujifilm New Zealand and Jet Technologies.
The range of substrates available to Unimax has increased substantially with the new model, enabling the company to print on thinner synthetic stocks, as well as a thicker range of paper and hybrid products.
Dinesh says, “Productivity has increased on all jobs and particularly for the work containing Screen’s high opacity white. The Screen Truepress Jet L350UV SAI S digital label press has impressed everyone, and we are thrilled with the results, which are really next level in quality and productivity. The addition of orange and blue has substantially increased the colour gamut.”
Stephen Hodson, general manager Fujifilm New Zealand, says, “We are proud to partner with Screen and Jet Technologies to deliver this solution to Unimax and we look forward to continuing our support.”
Options broaden for label printing
Introduced in 2020, the Screen Truepress Jet L350UV SAI S digital label press builds on the success of the popular Plus (+) range, as a high-productivity, high-quality and versatile UV inkjet label press.
Screen developed the SAI series to help printers produce a wider range of spot colours to meet brand owners’ challenging demands. The machine prints on media widths of up to 350mm wide, with a print speed of up to 60 metres per minute. Using white ink, it can still achieve 50 metres per minute.
As a compact and configurable platform, the SAI series can accommodate the full range of label printing requirements. For example, the four-colour CMYK standard ink set and can easily upgrade to seven colours, as Unimax has done. to include white, orange, and a vivid blue.
Another option for the Truepress Jet L350UV SAI S digital label press is the recently introduced high opacity white mode. When used with clear film or similar labels, this new printing mode provides more opaque white, preventing the colour of bottles or package contents, from showing through. This helps to maintain rich colour saturation, ensuring high-quality labels with eye-catching visual appeal, even when applied to translucent base materials.
