Automation and digital tech power web-to-print operation

Process automation and digital print and converting are the driving forces behind Chinese converter Boyue’s new 15,000 sqm production plant in Heyuan City, Guangdong Province.

The new plant is equipped with three HP Indigo digital presses, a DMS digital foil machine and nearly 100 sets of digitally controlled automated die-cutting equipment from suppliers including Reborn, Vorey and Graphtec. The main business of Boyue is short-run, personalized labels and flexible packaging.

Entering the label market

Founded in 2008, Boyue started producing folding carton products. In 2013, the company transitioned to the label printing industry and invested in four intermittent offset presses and one letterpress.

In 2017, Boyue invested in a used HP Indigo 4500 to begin the company’s transformation to a fully digital print operation. In 2019, Boyue purchased a new HP Indigo 6900 digital press, two offset presses and a letterpress machine. In 2021, Boyue bought an HP Indigo 6K and retired its conventional printing equipment.

In addition, the company purchased nearly 100 sets of Reborn, Vorey and Graphtec digital die-cutting equipment and a DMS BMS 800W UV digital foil machine, fully realizing the goal of transitioning into a digital print and finishing operation.
Before starting his print business, general manager Zhang Yu’an worked for Nestlé and Unilever, giving him a deeper appreciation of trends in consumer packaging.

“In the future, we plan to incorporate AI design functions to fully automate and solve customer pain points”

‘My friends inspired me to enter the printing industry,’ he shares. ‘During the early years, our main investments were in conventional printing equipment. But with the growth and expansion of our business, we found market demand and potential for personalized, short-run orders, which absolutely require digital printing technology, so we decided to gradually transform into a fully digital operation.

‘Digital printing equipment is completely different from conventional printing equipment. It is very easy for employees to learn and operate, which not only solves the problem of recruitment but also simplifies the pre-press process.’

Technology

Alongside the hardware investment, Boyue has improved its automated internal management processes to achieve a comprehensive digital production environment. The company created its own ERP system and at the same time analyzed all the production data it has collected over the years.

Boyue created a self-service website where customers can choose materials, processes, quantities, shapes and logistics, all the way through to online ordering and settlement. After payment, orders are automatically entered into the production process. Employees receive their job orders automatically through the ERP system.

‘The development of the online system not only optimizes and improves the processing speed of our company’s orders, but also greatly improves our internal management efficiency,’ Zhang says. ‘We have a performance-based salary system, where employees’ salaries are directly linked to the volume of orders that pass through the system, so there is basically no need for on-site supervision, and everyone’s motivation is very high.

‘In the future, we plan to incorporate AI design functions to fully automate and solve customer pain points,’ he adds. 
This software development benefited from the company’s strong IT team - Zhang was a computer science major.

Expansion

With the continued development and growth of its label business, Boyue recently expanded into the digital flexible packaging business. In 2022, the company invested in its first HP Indigo 25K. After that, Boyue also invested in machines for seaming shrink sleeves, laminating and pouch-making.

Today, the company’s flexible packaging business has reached a turnover of 1 million RMB (140,000 USD) per month and is expected to triple in the next three or four months. The company will also increase the number of pouch-making machines from three to 10.

At least 90 percent of Boyue’s business is export orders, of which 60 percent come from the US. The number of orders processed by Boyue has reached 1,000 per day, and the cumulative number of customers they have served has exceeded 100,000.

Based on the company’s automated process control system, each order takes between 48-72 hours from payment to delivery into the efficient local transportation network. In addition to the production plant in Heyuan, Boyue Technology has set up front-end and sales service points in Guangzhou and Heyuan downtown. In 2023, the annual output value of the company reached 70 million RMB (USD 9.71m).

Digital printing and process automation will feature strongly at Labelexpo South China this December.