Ink partners

There are many benefits for converters making longer term partnerships with suppliers, as Andy Thomas reports in this UK case study of Skanem and FujiFilm.

All too often the relationships between converters and suppliers – and between converters and end users – are characterized by short term, thinking, usually focused on constant price reductions.

But where converters have formed longer term partnerships, they gain access to that supplier’s expertise and technical support, which in the longer term triggers more innovation and higher profitability for both parties. This has certainly proved the case with Skanem’s UK operations.

With 16 production plants across 10 countries, Skanem is one of Europe’s largest suppliers of self-adhesive labels.  In the UK, Skanem has three sites located in Liverpool, Cardiff and Durham. The latter is the smallest of the three, yet is very efficient and prides itself on its strong customer-focused approach. Skanem has a very diverse range of customers consisting of both blue chip companies and independent leading brands, and the Durham plant, established in 2003, specializes in the production of self-adhesive labels for the automotive, household and food markets.

Two years ago Simon Burge, operational manager at Skanem Durham, took the opportunity to review the printer’s ink supply chain. An intense research and testing period culminated in the company choosing Fujifilm’s UVivid Flexo JD inks.

‘Our main goal was to enhance our quality standards to guarantee consistency on different kinds of applications,’ explains Burge. ‘Our colleagues from Skanem Cardiff have been working with Fujifilm for a number of years, and suggested we see what Fujifilm had to offer.’

Fujifilm and Skanem worked closely together to trial Fujifilm’s inks, which included carrying out fingerprint tests.

Fujifilm’s flexo package comprises UVivid Flexo JD inks, High Opacity UVivid Flexo JD inks, Supernova White – which in some applications can replace screen white – and a number of varnishes from the UVivid RV range.

‘We are committed to keeping a tight rein on all variables which might affect the print process, and ink is a crucial product,’ says Burge. ‘Our color discrepancy tolerance is minimal. Ink must be consistent in shade and flow properties from batch to batch: to fail in this area would put a stop to the whole process which would mean a time consuming and expensive delay in production. Since we have been working with Fujifilm, we have achieved top quality and excellent color matching along the entire workflow. Because of this, we decided to move to Fujifilm as a majority supplier.’

Burge recently started working with the Fujifilm High Opacity UVivid Flexo JD inks, which can produce opaque prints on clear filmic materials without the need for a backing white. 

‘Being innovative is our ethos. We tend to look beyond common applications and find novel ways to surprise customers. Fujifilm products, such as the High Opacity UVivid Flexo JD inks, effectively complement our creativity.’

Skanem Durham won a 2012 Finat award thanks to the flexo technology used to produce the Comma Profile oil label. This application was printed with Fujifilm UVivid JD inks and applied to oil bottles sold by leading UK suppliers of automotive products.

‘We are delighted to have achieved this international acknowledgment and we are pleased that in a way Fujifilm won it with us,’ says Simon Burges. ‘We truly value this leading print manufacturer as an extension of our operation plant. Fujifilm has provided us with great support throughout the changeover process, assisted us in developing the perfect color matching formulation and continues to share its expertise with us.’

Comments Steve Dunne, managing director of Skanem UK: ‘Building a strong relationship with suppliers such as Fujifilm, and making the most of its offering to create integrated, cohesive production sites, helps us to be more efficient and provide customers with consistently high quality products.’

This is all the more critical now that the turnaround time for orders has been reduced to just a couple of days, according to Dunne. ‘Just-in-time jobs have become common practice and relying on an up-to-speed, reliable and streamlined production workflow is a must to win deals.’

Pictured: Simon Burge, operational manager at Skanem Durham

This article was published in Labels & Labeling issue 6, 2012