Label equipment suppliers have celebrated a successful PacPrint, with plenty of interest in digital label presses across the show floor.
Currie Group and HP, Konica Minolta, Jet Technologies and Screen, Epson, Aldus-Tronics, and Xeikon were among the stands that had digital label equipment on display, and all saw heavy traffic over the four-day exhibition.
"One key takeaway from PacPrint is that there are a lot of converters out there looking to invest in high value capital equipment over the next six to 12 months. I think the local market is very strong," said Trevor Crowley, sales general manager at Xeikon. The Benelux-based giant's stand had the new CX3 'Cheetah' toner-based press on display, which received a Print21 Technology Hot Pick. "There was plenty of interest in the Cheetah – it was sometimes hard even for the staff to get near the press, which is a pleasant situation to be in," Crowley said.
Crowley expects to generate press sales from Xeikon's successful PacPrint debut. "The success of PacPrint certainly demonstrated the value to both Xeikon and Flint Group of going direct to market and attending the show," he said.
Currie Group sold a Digicon Series 3 finisher to Label House as well as an HP Indigo 8000 press to Peacock Bros, which Mark Daws, general manager labels and packaging, said would expand the converter's digital capacity. "We’re very excited to be continuing our partnership with Peacock Bros – they’re a long-standing family business and a long-time customer of Currie Group, and they’ve had continuous growth in their digital footprint. They’re doing some fantastic work and we’re really excited to be part of that journey with them.
"It was a fantastic show, we had really good feedback and great sales results," Daws said.
Aldus-Tronics featured the Mark Andy Digital One press on its stand, the first time the machine was displayed in the Southern Hemisphere, said Ian Guanaria, general manager. "We had a phenomenal amount of interest. Generally speaking worldwide the industry is crying out for digital presses to have in-line finishing without having two separate processes. This is what Mark Andy is dedicating its machines to – both of its digital machines are hybrids with in-line finishing. That’s where the industry seems to be going," Guanaria said.
Konica Minolta sold its first bizHUB c71cf toner-based label press in Australia to Foxcil Print Group, while Screen GP was awarded a Hot Pick for its entry-level TruePress L250AQ. Epson was also awarded a Hot Pick for the PrecisionCore-powered SurePress L-6034VW.