Local narrow web digital label print equipment manufacturer, Rapid Label Systems, is delivering Australian home grown innovation to Europe following its showing at FESPA 2013 in London last month.
The Rapid X1 desktop and X2 floor-standing presses, which are built around the locally-developed Memjet printhead technology, were exhibited by Impression Technology Europe (ITE), Rapid’s European master distributor.
For Nick Mansell (pictured), Rapid director and recipient of the inaugural Print21 Graphic Arts Technology Innovator of the Year Award (GATI), despite FESPA’s wide format and signage flavour, there was a ready market for the company’s wares.
“FESPA may be primarily a wide-format signage and display event, but many owners of wide format printer-cutters are producing short runs of labels on self-adhesive materials,” says Mansell. “As volume builds up, this solution can be very slow so taking label production onto a dedicated narrow-web inkjet digital machine such as our X1 or X2 can free up the wide format machines to do what they do best.
“Adding the Rapid D2 laminator/die-cutter and R2 rewinder yields a complete inline system and a whole new profit centre in a growth market, for very little investment,” he says.
ITE managing director, Roy Burton, who’s company distributes the Rapid equipment in Europe, says the X1 and the X2 have always garnered lots of attention from the punters at the trade shows in which they have appeared.
“ITE has exhibited Rapid X label presses at several major trade shows since Ipex 2010 and every time, people are amazed at the quality and productivity from such small footprint label equipment,” says Burton. “FESPA was no exception and we believe we have secured orders as a result. We now look forward to September’s Label Expo in Brussels where we welcome all label printers big and smaller to our stand.”
Additionally, Rapid Label Systems’ RapidX equipment will be on display at Packaging Innovations, London in October and Ipex, London in March 2014. On top of the company’s European exposure, it also opened a China office in 2011 to capture the growing market in the Asia region.
“Our global distribution is growing and we have now established Rapid Asia in Hong Kong to service the demand from this region,” says Mansell. “We already have distributors in Japan and Korea and our partners Impression Technology Americas are taking on the North American market. From a standing start in 2010, we have now shipped just over 200 machines.”
Rapid Label Systems was one of the earliest adopters of the breakthrough Memjet printhead technology, which was developed in Australia by Silverbrook Research – headed up by one of the world’s most prolific patent holders, Kia Silverbrook. With the Memjet print head technology on board, the Rapid X1 and X2 digital label presses can manage ultra-fine one picolitre droplets at either 1600 x 1600dpi or 800 x 1600dpi for the higher speed of 18 linear metres per minute. The Memjet inks are also water-based and safe for use on food, beverage and pharmaceutical packaging.