SpeedStar smashes the label speed barrier - Print 21 magazine feature

Now and then a new technology arrives on the scene that has the capacity to change the way industries operate, how products are manufactured and producers make money. Memjet is one such disruptive technology in the label printing industry and the SpeedStar label printer is one of the first units powered by the radically new imaging system to come to the market, courtesy of Label Print Systems (LPS) in Queensland.

Speed, quality and cost are the defining parameters of adoptive technologies. When a new method of meeting an established need with superior performance in these three categories is developed, its success in the marketplace is almost assured.

Technology is currently going through a phase of almost unimaginable innovation and creativity. One of the most exciting developments, with massive potential, is the development of micro-electro mechanical systems (MEMS).

The creation of microscopic engines manufactured from silicon is transforming almost every manufacturing process… and a lot more besides. From health to science to manufacturing, MEMS are opening hitherto unrealised possibilities to inventive developers.

In the graphic arts sector, the Memjet is licensed technology, rather like Intel chips are licensed to power computers. In its search for partners to integrate Memjet technology into utility manufacturing products, the inventor, Silverbrook Research, has partnered with chosen companies around the world. One of them is OWN-X, a label press manufacturer in Hungary that has delivered one of the first fully-operational label presses powered by Memjet, the SpeedStar 3000.

Lightning fast and easy to use

Simon Pugh from Brisbane-based Label Print Systems (LPS) has a history of bringing in new technology for the label converting industry. The advent of the SpeedStar 3000 galvanised him into action. As the exclusive Australian agent, he brought in the first demonstration model to show to the local industry at PrintEx in Sydney in May.

“We’ve worked before with some of the people associated with OWN-X in Europe on other label products and they knew our track record of bringing new technology to market. When they were looking for someone to represent the SpeedStar in Australia and New Zealand they asked us at last year’s LabelExpo. I’d heard about Memjet technology and when I saw how they used it in the SpeedStar, I said ‘Yes’ straight away,” he explains.

Taking six orders at the Sydney show rewarded the company’s faith in the revolutionary new machine. Label converters who witnessed the striking speed of the SpeedStar output and the almost photographic quality of the images recognised the system’s potential straight away. Offset printers looking for a way to bring in-house their client’s short-run label work also found in the SpeedStar the perfect solution.

“Short-runs and sample label production is an increasingly important sector of the label converting industry. It is ideal for digital inkjet but, until now, the costs of buying a large system have made it prohibitive for most printers. We believe the SpeedStar will change all that and is the best solution for all those who want to seriously produce high-quality, short-run labels,” adds Pugh.

Pictured: Jimmy Liem (left) of Print Rite seals a deal with Rory McElwee of LPS