Mirmar orders second Mark Andy Digital Series HD

Spanish label converter Mirmar has confirmed its intention to add a second Mark Andy Digital Series HD inkjet/flexo hybrid following a highly productive year with the first machine installed at its Valencia headquarters in 2023.

Established in 1989 and still owned and managed by the Mir family, Mirmar began producing labels for the food industry. Today, its workforce of 50 converts more than 24m sqm of substrate each year working double-day shifts five days a week. Always a Mark Andy house, Mirmar began with 10in (254mm) water-based 4120 and 4150 presses before moving to 13in (330mm) web widths and now to 17in (430mm) – today it has six Performance Series P5 and P7 flexo lines ranging from six to 10 colors.

‘Our company was built on Mark Andy technology, and I have nothing but praise for the machines and after sales support we have received,’ said Jaime Mir Pastor, CEO of Mirmar.  ‘Our Performance Series presses are highly productive and have allowed us to grow our business in the food, cosmetics, home care, and pharmaceutical sectors, but as run lengths have declined, we began to look for an alternative production method that would complement our existing technology.’

The result was the installation of a 17in Mark Andy Digital Series HD inkjet/flexo hybrid (DSHD) in 2023. Based on the Performance Series all-servo flexo platform, the DSHD is a configurable press that combines 1,200 DPI UV-inkjet with flexo printing and in-line embellishment and converting operations for single-pass production. 

With interchangeable tooling possibilities with Mirmar’s existing Mark Andy flexo presses and the ability to match print quality across the production floor, the Digital Series HD has proven to be a highly productive tool in its first year, converting more than 3.4m linear meters of labels.

‘Today’s market demand is dominated by shorter runs, more SKUs, and the need for variable data, so we now have a situation where the Digital Series HD is responsible for 35 percent of our total printed label jobs, which frees up capacity on our flexo presses for the medium to long run work that our customers still need,’ commented Mir Pastor. ‘Not only has it made us more efficient on existing work, but it has stimulated demand in new sectors especially cosmetics and pharma.’ 

The Digital Series HD at Mirmar has standard CMYK with added Orange, Violet and White capability and is capable of 73 m/min (240 ft/min) across a range of substrates including pressure-sensitive papers, unsupported films, tags and light carton board.The Digital Series HD has no ‘click charge’ so additional cost does not need to be factored into each job.

‘Our flexo presses generally process three or four jobs per shift, whereas the Digital Series HD handles around 10. And make ready times are significantly shorter too – around 60 minutes for flexo compared with 20 for digital. This allows us to improve our scheduling and decide how to produce each job most cost and time effectively,’ noted Mir Pastor. ‘Typical of digital presses, the key to success with the Digital Series HD is at the pre-press stage, with very little adjustability available on the inkjet engine itself while on the run. This fits well with the current and likely ongoing issue of recruiting skilled flexo press operators in the industry – and it’s a global not a local problem.’

Praising Mark Andy for the level of support and training it provided when the Digital Series HD was installed, which allowed Mirmar to begin commercial production in week one, Mir Pastor said that the learning curve in switching from flexo to digital was less of a problem in practice than he had feared. 

‘With six highly specified Performance Series presses in-house I cannot foresee the next investment in flexo – but more digital capacity will increase our flexibility and broaden our capability to handle new work. To anyone contemplating a hybrid press I’d recommend choosing a trusted flexo supplier with an in-house digital solution – that way you’re buying into robust and proven technology that will perform in the cut and thrust of daily commercial production. For us, the only choice is Mark Andy,’ concluded Mir Pastor.