Ellco Etikett to install Digital Series HD

Family-owned Ellco Etikett, the largest independent specialist label converter in Norway, plans to install a Mark Andy Digital Series HD press at its production facility in Gjelleråsen in Nittedal, near Oslo. The incoming inkjet/flexo hybrid is set to replace an existing toner-based press, offering the company enhanced flexibility and productivity, according to managing director, Christian Egedius.

'We have been a Mark Andy user since 2010 when we installed a Performance Series P7 flexo press for our longer run work, and it was the ability to swap tooling with the Digital Series HD along with its combined inkjet/flexo capability that attracted us to the hybrid. The P7 has been a very reliable and profitable machine and we expect the same from the new Digital Series HD once it's in full commercial production,' he commented. He also anticipates a significant improvement in up-time compared to his existing digital presses. 'Time is money and margins can be tight, but the impressive demo we had in Mark Andy's Warsaw showroom and visits to existing users to see the press in everyday production, convinced us that this was the way to go.'

The new press, due for installation in September, features a 330mm web width and comes equipped with five UV/inkjet colors (CMYK + W) and two flexo stations, one positioned before and one after the digital engine. Capable of 1200dpi print resolution, the press also boasts semi- and full rotary die cutting and an operational production speed of 73m/min, with no reduction in speed for the high opacity digital white. Thanks to its modular design and construction, the digital engine can be upgraded to eight colors (adding OG&V) and the press platform, based on the all-servo Performance Series, can be configured to provide a wide array of finishing and converting techniques.

Established in 1985 and currently employing 27 people, Ellco Etikett consistently manufactures millions of labels annually for markets including electro, chemical, logistics, pharma/healthcare, cosmetics and safety, and on a variety of substrates from paper and board to film, metal and textiles.

The company was the first label converter in Norway to earn ISO accreditation in 2018 for both quality and the environment. It has always prided itself on the range of its capabilities and has thus built up a diverse machine park to meet these varied requirements.

Speaking for Convertec, Mark Andy's agent in Scandinavia, sales manager Joakim Marcusson said, 'Ellco Etikett has always prided itself on its flexible production capability and the new Mark Andy Digital Series HD hybrid is well suited to this way of working – I anticipate that it will add significant capacity too.'