UK-based Edale sees its FL-3 high-quality flexo press as proof the company now matches the leading brands in performance and innovation.
This autumn, with the debut of its finalised FL-3 label press, the UK-based manufacturer Edale claims to have passed a milestone as well as launch a new product.
Available in a width of 350mm or 430mm, the FL-3 was unveiled at Labelexpo Europe with the outcome of two high-profile collaborations: the Digicon 3000 for midweb digital print finishing and the single-pass Graphium digital press.
Responses at the tradeshow to the FL-3 included “an explosion of interest from the UK”, opening a largely untouched market for the export-oriented firm, said managing director James Boughton.
“We are now providing leading-edge technology in the flexographic label printing market,” he told Packaging MEA.
“We have been perceived as a manufacturer of quite small, compact, low-cost label printing presses. But we now have a product that is a real alternative to the presses from the leading brands in our market.”
Edale is marketing the FL-3 – designed for colour changes in under 70 seconds –as combining low waste with high production, fast setup and innovative design for substrates ranging from 12 to 450 microns.
A distinctive print head geometry ensures consistent print quality with any format size, while setup waste on a typical 8-colour press is less than 20m and under 10 minutes, according to the manufacturer.
The ‘new’ Edale
For Boughton, the FL-3 reflects a long-term overhaul of the firm’s portfolio.
“From about 2000, we set about developing a completely new product range,” he said.
“Up until the launch of the FL-3, probably only 25% of our business was in small presses, with 75% in higher technology label printing presses and moving across into packaging, whether it be flexible or folding carton.”
To enable this shift, about 25% of the workforce is engaged in research and development, he added.
“I have more people designing than I have building,” he said.
Collaborations with multinationals such as Agfa, FFEI, AB Graphic and HP have also underpinned the rising sophistication of Edale’s product line-up.
The Labelexpo debuts of the Dig7icon 3000 and Graphium came through Edale’s recent collaborations with AB Graphics International and FFEI.
But Edale’s involvement in digital label printing started over a decade ago with the development of Agfa’s :Dotrix Modular.
“That project came to a close about two years ago,” said Boughton.
“Once we had finished, we looked up and suddenly there were all these opportunities based on the experience we had developed over those 10 years working with Agfa.”
While Edale has no plans to launch its own digital press, the company aims to keep providing technology that complements digital presses, he added. With the Digicon 3000, the firm has moved into mid-web digital finishing, with a product offering semi-rotary flexo/hybrid print, a range of lamination technologies and semi-rotary die-cutting.
A “huge amount of automation” offers pre-registration as well as automatic loading and unloading of dies and auto-setting for back and sheer slitting.
For FFEI’s Graphium, Edale has contributed the web transport system, flexographic print and finishing technology.
Market response
These partnerships are also apparent in Edale’s own FL-3 and its extensive automation, said Boughton.
“The association with larger corporates taught us an awful lot about how to improve the quality of our processes,” he said.
The FL-3 showcased at Labelexpo has now been shipped to Malaysia after a deal struck at the tradeshow. Other machines are already
installed in the Americas and Europe.
For its new products as well as its established scratch-card lines, Edale is now in advanced negotiations with firms in Jordan, Dubai and Saudi Arabia as well as a couple of African markets, he added.
“At Edale, we don’t seem to get too troubled by competing with lower-cost equipment,” said Boughton.
“When we talk of the FL-3, yes, that machine is probably two or three times more expensive than a Chinese-type machine. But it’s still, I would say, more than two or three times more productive.”
A “sealed plug & play” approach also helps open up remote markets, he added.
“We’ve deskilled a lot of the maintenance and servicing requirements on these machines. All the machines we supply have remote diagnostic capability, so we can diagnose a number of faults from the UK in terms of the drive technology and the electronics.”
Yet Broughton admits the firm still faces a challenge in brand image.
“The thing we often still struggle with is the perception of the new Edale,” he said.
“People still think of us as selling tiny, compact label presses, but we are in fact leading the game in three prongs.
“The FL-3 is now a leading product in the label market. The FL-5 product is a versatile platform for a number of applications in flexible packaging, shortrun cartons as well as pre-paid telecom products. We’ve got a partnership that is leading the way in mid-web digital converting. And we’re leading with FFEI in single-pass inkjet.”