The benefits of digital technology for short-run printing

To begin with the strongest argument in favor of digital label printing: it’s more cost efficient for small-run jobs. For starters, there are no printing plates required so setup costs are virtually non-existent. Evidently, when you don’t need printing plates, you also save costs on warehousing and storage.

Digital printing is faster for short-run jobs

No printing plates means that label printers can work much faster. In short, whenever a new job comes in, all the print operator has to do is locate the corresponding file on the computer and hit print. Flexographic printers not only require printing plates that need to be produced, they also require careful ink management and need to be reconfigured for every new printing job. The setup time before each job is much longer, resulting in higher turnaround times. Furthermore, the consistency between reprints is better for digital technology since there are less parameters outside the digital press. It is a true closed loop printing process.

Digital and variable data printing

Digital presses provide label converters with greater flexibility, especially when it comes to variable data printing. Does the nature of the job require you to change text, graphics or images from one printed label to the other? Digital technology doesn’t require the operator to stop the printing process. Instead, all the changes are made on-the-fly, without losing valuable time. All the Xeikon presses come standard with a metadata modules which giving you the freedom to integrate those variable elements in the designs.

Customizable digital presses

Digital presses nowadays come with a ton of plugins and options so printers can customize their machines according to their business needs and personal preference giving them almost unlimited creative freedom. Full integration into the workflow via digital front-end, limitless printing on nearly any substrate and a number of add-on finishing options make digital printing a great solution for any small-run label printer.