Under pressure to cut leadtimes, Daventry, UK-based converter Multi Labels sought out a new label press to go along with its new 7,000-sq-ft facility halfway between London and the English Midlands. The company, expected to have sales of $2.25 million this year, employs 20 workers.

"We pride ourselves on the quality of print and the efficient service we offer," says Roger Monk, Multi Labels company principal, "so we were very particular that any new press met those standards. We spent a lot of time researching and comparing the quality and efficiency of various makes and models."

The choice: an 8-color Mark Andy 2200 (St. Louis) flexo press. The 13-in. system is outfitted with a delam/relam unit for adhesive or liner printing, anti-static web cleaners on every station, and cold-foiling and laminating.

The 2200 also features First Vision Solutions, an automatic register and quality-monitoring system that is linked to all stations. Its user-friendly software enables the press to keep near-perfect register from job start to finish. In addition, the system automatically marks the web whenever print deviates from a master copy stored in computer memory.

Monk says First Vision Solutions is already proving itself with material savings and interstation print register to within 40 microns. "This is unknown in flexo and gives peace of mind to the printer and superb clarity to the label. It's not often a company our size can be an innovator, and our decision to buy this combination will allow us to print to standards few others could hope to achieve.

"The new Mark Andy offers a leap forward in our ability to create and deliver impressive labels in five working days, with repeat orders often delivered within three," he says.