Vibrant colors. Tricky gradients and overprints. Line-screens approaching 200. Take a look at the labels pictured here, then flip back to the TLMI award winners we profiled in our November 2003 issue. Customers are, quite simply, demanding labels that would have been impossible for the average label converter to even contemplate printing as recently as three years ago.

So, a few labelmakers decided to stop being average. Which is why, when we went looking for success stories about digital-prepress technology, virtually all of them involved label converting. The price of competing in this market—accurate proofs, quick turnaround, and gorgeous results—demands the latest technology. The following stories illustrate how these converters, in the US and Canada, use digital halftone proofing, platemaking, and workflow to get the results they need to stay in the game—and avoid becoming just another bidder in someone's online reverse auction.

Looking back over the past seven years of experience with digital-proofing equipment from Kodak Polychrome Graphics (Norwalk, CT), Kevin McDonald of Hammer Lithograph is satisfied at the collaboration. "We've learned from them, and they've learned from us," he says.

Indeed. As this issue goes to our printer, prepress systems administrator McDonald will be overseeing the "field upgrade" of Hammer Litho's two KPG Approval XP digital proofers to status as NX machines—the latest model in KPG's digital proofer family.

Starting with the Approval Classic seven years ago, Hammer's proximity in nearby Rochester, NY, and technical sophistication as a label converter has made them an ideal choice as a beta-tester for KPG's succession of proofers. But they've hardly performed that duty for altruistic reasons. Digital proofing has allowed Hammer Litho to establish a 100-percent digital workflow—a must, as they see it, to compete aggressively in today's label business.

"When I arrived here at about the same time as the first digital proofer, we were moving into CTP and needed digital proofing," McDonald recalls. "We had a traditional prepress system at the time and were competing against better proofing systems. We had the usual complaints from customers about spot and recipe colors not coming across in our proofs."

Hammer Litho's product mix is comprised mostly of beverage labels (bottled spring water, etc.), food labels, horticulture packaging (seed packets—one of the origins of its business), box wraps and household chemical labels.

KPG's succession of digital-proofing systems has each given Hammer Litho a progressively closer approximation of colors on a proof, on the customer's substrate, with a specific number of passes through the proofer. The latest iteration, the NX, has specific new advantages that make it highly advantageous to a busy label converter like Hammer.

"The NX has the standard donor colors, CMYK, plus custom donor colors like orange, green, reflex blue, and white, that let us simulate Hexachrome," says McDonald. "This means not only that the colors are truer but that we're able to get the result we want with fewer passes through the proofer.

"Say the previous proofer took eight passes and 45 min. to turn out one proof. You're standing there wondering if the proof is going to make it into the FedEx shipment to your customer! The NX system can do a better proof with only four or five passes, in 25 to 30 mins. That's a big improvement," McDonald says. Possibly up next for Hammer: the purchase of a digital label press.

According to Derek Case, packaging market segment manager for KPG, "We're finding that the Approval NX is advantageous, from a color-management standpoint, to furnish profiled proofs even if the converter is using analog plates. Digital halftone proofing is valuable to the packaging converter whether the platemaking is digital, analog or a combination."

Twenty-six year-old prime-label converter Labelad, Markham, Ωntario, Canada, is well known as an innovator with an attention to quality. With ISΩ 9001:2000 recognition and certification from Pantonew as the first North American label converter certified for its Hexachrome 6-color printing program, Labelad managers decided years ago that digital prepress went along with the converter's evolution. Along the way they had united with sister company SandyLion Sticker Designs in one facility.

"We then had over 20 presses under one roof," says Ken Norris, prepress operations manager. "Ωur Mark Andy and Gallus Arsoma presses (a couple are Comco) run in 8-12 colors, water-based and UV-flexo inks, and buying plates was becoming cumbersome. We were looking for the best label/packaging prepress system and trapping software available, and the supplier [then known as Barco Graphics] seemed to have a nice slick and powerful system that met our needs."

Labelad purchased the first workstation equipped with Esko-Graphics' (Vandalia, ΩH) ColorTone production retouching software in 1993. The software is specially aimed at color correction and retouching in a production environment. "We then grew to three workstations within two years," says Norris. "We currently have three workstations, all with ColorTone and PackEdge [Windows-based prepress] software."

Labelad installed Esko-Graphics' Cyrelw Digital Imager (CDI), a laser imager for direct exposure on flexo plates, in March 2001. "We liked the print results from the presses, along with the more efficient workflow, so much that we decided to go totally digital by the end of April 2001," he recalls.

These digital tools have allowed Labelad's operators, who are cross-trained on different platforms, to become their own prepress job specialists. Ωnce the print jobs are preflighted and assigned to a press, the operator performs all trapping, color correcting, retouching and job setup, using the software.

In his position at Labelad, and as a member of Esko-Graphics' users group, which meets every April, Norris has been in a position to observe the evolution of digital proofing and platemaking. He estimates that about 50 percent of the proofs Labelad provides to customers are digital. He wishes it could be more.

"We push digital, but it's hard for some to let go," he says. "Because we work with holographic stocks, clear films, etc., some customers just prefer an analog proof. There's still some work to be done on digital proofing. Another complaint some customers have is matching Pantone colors. The evolution is moving along—little by little."

For Islandia, NY-based New York Label, the May 2003 installation of a computer-to-plate system and workflow software marked a watershed in the label converter's shift to a leaner operation with eyes on expansion. Already a highly successful regional label printer, company managers realized that traditional platemaking was holding them back, according to vice president Chris Freddo.

"New York Label's philosophy has always been, that in order to grow, we have to keep up with technology," he says. "Computer-to-plate seemed to be the right choice, and in retrospect, the system has exceeded our highest expectations." Creo Americas, Inc. (Billerica, MA), supplied the Thermoflex computer-to-plate system and Prinergy Powerpack software used by New York Label. The total investment was approximately $400,000.

Along with remote collaboration and proofing (Synapse Insite), the total prepress system smoothes workflow, boosts print quality and reduces waste, according to Freddo. "The learning curve was big, but the Creo people were great at training us, both during installation and up to the present. We're still learning things about what the system can do," he comments.

And the future's wide open—although the converter's business is currently 95 percent labels, New York Label hopes to venture into converting unsupported films in 2004, to serve customers in the candy and soft-drink industries. Freddo knows that the updated prepress capability is crucial in competing for these customers.

"In seeking this new business, the Creo system gives us credibility with these customers, who will know after seeing the facility or viewing our equipment list, that we have the quality and the efficiency to serve them," he says, confidently. "We hope to start seeing some orders by the third quarter."

It isn't always necessary—or financially feasible, for that matter—to bring all the prepress equipment and manpower in-house. Aladdin Label, Waukesha, WI, worked out an arrangement with ΩEC Graphics (Ωshkosh, WI) a few years ago when the labelmaker landed an important new customer. "This customer was going to require a level of dot-editing and color-correcting that we weren't technically ready for at the time," says prepress manager Rich Lodes.

Instead, Aladdin began creating its own art files, sent the files to ΩEC's facility for the RIP operations, got them back as one-bit TIF files, then installed with ΩEC's help the Esko-Graphics and DuPont Cyrelw platemaking equipment for in-house digital platemaking. It's a setup that still works well today (see "Digital facilities program produces better printing," April 2003).

ΩEC thus functioned as Aladdin's technical partner as they stepped up to digital prepress and platemaking. In the past three years, the converter has tripled plate throughput with no additional staff—no to mention the quality boost.

"ΩEC has been outstanding through every phase of this partnership," says Tom Cobery, president of Aladdin. "I shudder to think what would have happened if we'd tried to do this on our own."