ASQ chooses Domino in move to digital

The company has serviced a wide range of markets since its foundation in 1988. Within 10 years it had 45 employees and had moved to a 2,000 sqm headquarters. ASQ now specializes in label printing for a variety of sectors, including high quality food and beverage brands, as well as providing flow-pack printing, wrappers and single-layer packaging.

Raf Joos, CEO of ASQ Labels, first noticed the possibilities that UV inkjet and the N610i offered at Labelexpo Europe 2013. He commented: ‘When Domino invited us to their headquarters in the UK, we were given the opportunity to print a series of different label samples on a range of our standard flexo substrates. Not only were we impressed with the end result, we also realized that the press’ inclusion of opaque white would prove extremely useful for printing onto transparent materials. It is a very opaque white: it looks like it’s been screen printed. That was the moment we were won over by the Domino N610i.’The press operates at up to 75 meters (246ft) per minute with a 600dpi native resolution and is available in 4-, 5-, 6- and 7-colors. The opaque white ink is said to deliver a silkscreen-like finish suitable for printing solids as well as fine detail onto metallic and clear label materials.

Elke Buckinx, operations manager at ASQ Labels, commented on the company’s move from using flexo printing systems: ‘After just five weeks, we were producing labels for our customers. We have a mixture of new customers, and definitely new jobs are more colorful. We have moved a number of jobs over that we previously printed on flexo, such as short runs and we now print several versions in one run, without the need to change the plates.’

Wim Wouters, N610i operator, added: ‘It’s very easy to use. There is little wasted paper, and when you reprint a job, the file is already there, and you always get the same color, exactly like the first time you printed it.’

The company recently used the N610i’s personalization option to print personalized beer labels. Joos reported: ‘The brewery sector were impressed with the possibilities this presents.’ He concluded: ‘We are now in a position to enter new markets that I am 100 percent convinced we would not have been able to approach if we had not invested in UV inkjet and specifically the N610i.’