Expanded Content

Published: January 01, 2011, By By Edward Boyle, Contributing Editor

<b>TEK Labels & Printing has installed a Servo 3000 Infeed + Reregister System from Rotary Technologies to produce multilayer labels efficiently.</b>

When TEK Labels & Printing was established six years ago, co-founders Jim DiBona and David Hinds chose the name of their company almost on a whim. The letters TEK weren't an acronym of any sort; DiBona, for one, just thought the name sounded good.

But with the recent installation of a Servo 3000 Infeed + Re-register System from Rotary Technologies Inc., the company might consider changing its name to “Tech” Labels & Printing, since it now can produce a far broader range of products, including booklet labels, extended content labels, instant redeemable coupons, and many other multiweb constructions.

DiBona says that while the Servo 3000 originally was purchased to meet the needs of a single customer, he and Hinds both knew its unique capabilities and the product lines it could deliver would open TEK Labels to an overall broader range of customers. Due largely to its California location, the company primarily serves the wine industry as well as the nutraceutical/nutritional supplement and bio-tech/bio-med markets.

Notes DiBona, “They are relatively simple labels, but there's a lot of quality that has to be built into them. There are a lot of specifications on how to manufacture these products.”

The decision to install new equipment to change the way they produced the labels was an easy one. “It was something that we knew we'd justify based on one particular customer,” says DiBona, “but we also saw other applications that we could use it for with other customers.

“One of the benefits of being a small [10,000-sq-ft, 20-employee] company is that there's not a whole lot involved in the decision-making process. We can look at what the opportunity is, analyze it very quickly, and make a decision pretty quickly.

“Once we looked at the Rotary Technologies equipment and figured out what it would do, we just went ahead and bought it and brought it into the plant,” adds DiBona. “It worked just as we expected it to.”

No Limitations on Color

TEK Labels & Printing converts its labels on four flexographic presses, including two 6.5-in., six-color and seven-color Webtrons (Paper Converting Machine Co.), and two 10-in., ten-color Mark Andys. It also operates an I.Kela foil stamping press.

According to DiBona, the benefits of using the Servo 3000 include an unlimited amount of colors because the top layer is preprinted. It is simple to operate, and it also has high production speeds and efficiencies.

Traditional in-line processes limit the use of color because the press colors are split among the number of layers and panels. Further, the press operator must register the colors on both webs and then register the two webs together. The Servo 3000 simplifies the process by automating complex tasks.

DiBona says they were also impressed with the web tension and, subsequently, the registration capabilities of the Servo 3000, which make the equipment valuable even when not running booklet labels. This also helps speed setup and reduce waste.

“Our initial customer [for the Servo 3000] came to us specifically because they needed an expanded-content label,” explains DiBona. “They wanted a label with more real estate for multilanguage printing, and we were looking at ways of doing it. The Rotary Technologies equipment appeared to be something that would produce the best product.”

The Servo 3000 Digital Infeed + Re-register system is 100% portable, creating greater flexibility in the manufacturing process. It can be moved from one press to another or to other off-line applications in a matter of minutes. A plus feature on the Servo 3000 is that there are no mechanical modifications needed for either press or off-line finishing equipment.

DiBona says he and Hinds also were impressed with the responsiveness of the Rotary Technologies' support staff. Notes DiBona, “All the questions we had were answered quickly, and they were very good to work with. Everything we needed to make a decision was handled very quickly, and the equipment has done everything they said it would.”

Contributing editor Edward Boyle, based in Reading, PA, has covered the converting industry for more than 25 years. Contact him at EJB Communications; 610-670-4680; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..