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This digital print label won’t leave your fishing lure hanging

Labels This digital print label won’t leave your fishing lure hanging

16/05/2018

by Danny Mertens

The fishing adage goes that the bait must suit the fish, not the angler. In this particular case, tailoring the bait involved pad printing and manual spray paint jobs on this fishing lures manufacturers’ part.

When the bait truly hides the hook

A rather labor-intensive workflow for a total of 7 designs for 5 different sizes. Surely there was a technology out there fit to optimize the manufacturing process and cut costs?

Lindy is an industry leader as the creator of many time-proven lures, and reputed for its rigorous testing, incessant innovation and incredible eye for detail. CDigital is an all-digital quick-turn shop that focuses on supplying the right digital print solution for a specific customer need. As a true Xeikon believer, CDigital stretched the capacities of the Xeikon 3030 and did not only optimize the current fishing lure manufacturing processes. It set the tone for digital print implementation in the entire fishing lure market.

By printing and colorizing the holographic foil with different images and getting the transferring and application chemistry right, the customer just had to hot stamp the foil onto the shape and add the finishing spray. No more time-consuming pad printing and manually spray painting the shape for Lindy. Time to switch to consistent, high-quality digital print labels.

The end result?

A short-stretch digital print Label Xtraordinaire that’s in it for the long haul.
 

The customer – CDigital, US:

“This particular case was a challenge, but we gave it all the creative ingenuity we have, in terms of imagery, production and application. We had to get the chemistry right to both apply the foil and make it withstand the overcoating process. The print had to be perfect too, but we know our Xeikon always delivers. Xeikon stepped up on the game by adding an inline densitometer - this allowed us to improve our repeatable and controllable colors and our white density when it comes to tackling darker parts. Our customer got the perfect digital print quality they’re accustomed too, plus an improved manufacturing efficiency and workflow cost reduction. Double win.”
 

The Xeikon team:

“CDigital printed the transfer image on the underside of a coated polyester film. By not using the whites, they created a translucent image that lets the gold colored background show through. This produces a ready-to-wrap image. All the customer had to do is use hot stamp equipment to transfer the image to its product. We’re in awe of how they stretched the shape far enough to colorize the holographic foil underneath.”
 
 
The judges: 

“This took us by surprise - it is a truly unique application we would never have considered a label print. And yet this printer proved creativity overcomes all. We’re hooked!”
 

Tech specs:

Customer: CDigital    
Printed on digital press: Xeikon 3030 
Inks and colors used: CMYK White
Label substrate material: Heat Transfer Film - 3/4, Metal
Digital advantage: 1200 DPI printing with food grade toner impressed the customer
Embellishing effects: Spot UV, hot stamp

 

For LabelExpo Europe, printers from all over the world shared their custom label prints produced on their Xeikon digital label press to participate in the Flint Group Print Awards 2017. This Label Xtraordinaire won in the Specials/Technology Innovation category for the Flint Group Print Awards 2017.