Baker Labels installs Durst Tau RSC 340 LED

UK label manufacturer Baker Labels has installed the Durst Tau RSC 340 LED.

This installation makes Baker Labels, a family-run business and label supplier for over 50 years, the first UK company to adopt this model of this press. 

The Durst TAU RSC 340 LED runs at 80m/min, at a native resolution of 1200dpi, key factors to the investment with Durst Group. The press features 'best in class' Fuji Samba print heads, and running speeds of 80m/min CMYK and 52m/min CMYKW.

Baker Labels plans to add a Hawk AI unit to the press in the coming weeks.

Tom Baker, finance and development at Baker Labels, said: 'Getting the full RSC with LED curing and the Hawk AI unit to develop is an exciting challenge for us as a team and should keep us busy for a while. It’s exciting to see what will be possible and start pushing the boundaries of such an innovative product.'

Jamie Godson, Baker Labels technical manager, said: 'It was clear to me from a very early stage that the TAU 340 RSC was a well-engineered press. It has impressed at every stage of the investment process from initial sampling, press demos right through to the install and will no doubt have a huge impact on our productivity and lead times. The running speeds of 80 and 52 m/min are an obvious benefit, but the TAU has plenty of other tricks up its sleeve to enhance our uptime. LED curing reduces downtime during start/stops and extremely consistent head densities across the web, coupled with our internal color management software, has shown a dramatic improvement on the consistency of repeat orders without having to "tweak on press".'

'With a thinner ink laydown than what we have previously experienced, the TAU 340 RSC is capable of producing high quality tonal images and fine text, whilst still retaining the robustness and impact of traditional inkjet print,' Godson added.

Sustainability was a key factor when deciding to go with the Durst. Full LED curing instead of UV will reduce the energy used in production. In addition, more accurate set-ups and calibrations will reduce material wastage. 

This Durst press installation is part of a broader two-year, 5 million GBP (6.4 million USD) investment in growth and advanced technologies for the company. In the last 14 months, Bakers has acquired an additional HP Indigo 6K press for the label division, as well as three Galaxy Packtech pouch converters and two HP Indigo 200K digital presses and additional factory premises for their flexible packaging division BakPac. Two more Galaxy presses are planned for 2025.

Steve Baker, managing director of Bakers, said: 'Our labels division is the core of the business, and we will always maintain the commitment to our customers to offer them the best possible label production capabilities. Our future with flexible packaging is new and exciting and growing at a fantastic rate. The challenge that we are enjoying now is to keep labels growing and improving alongside.

'The new Durst Tau RSC 340 LED is a leap in that direction, and we cannot wait to see what it can do for our customers,' he added.

Simon Cosh, Durst UK and Ireland’s label business development manager, said: 'After a rigorous process we are delighted to have been successful with our first inkjet press installation into Baker Labels. Given their experience and industry leading position I’m looking forward to seeing how the RSC 340 LED will help enhance Baker Labels product range even further.'