Oriel Printing has successfully begun to print in-mold labels, something that few other UK printers have dared do.
The Hull company is printing the ultra thin plastic material on a seven-colour double-coating Heidelberg Speedmaster XL106. The press was already adapted to print plastic with additional antistatic units and blowers because the company specialises in printing plastic substrates, normally much thicker than the 57-65 micron polypropylene used for IML work.
Managing director Richard Simms says: “When Ormerods closed down their business late last year and with it IML production, we decided to take up the challenge.”
The learning curve was relatively short, starting with test printing and finding the inks that can withstand the injection moulding process where the printed label is fused with the plastic container. This means that the label becomes part of the container and cannot be scratched nor removed, adding an element of security for brands and consumers.
Printing is only one element as there is a challenge in guillotining a material that is susceptible to static and distortion which then has to be punched. Oriel acquired the Busch unit from Ormerods along with a key customer which then supplied the tool used for ram punching its work.
Oriel has now printed more then 2 million labels and has been producing IML since the end of last year, adding a further customer to the initial business and also successfully printing on a second substrate. It has also tested and proven an aqueous coating as well as more conventional UV coating to produce both gloss and matt finishes.
Simms is now casting his net wider. “We are looking for those people that want IML but have been forced to go to Europe to find a supplier. We can now bring that work back,” he says, adding: “It’s still the early stages of understanding fully about this market.”
He is fulsome in praise of the Speedmaster that has enabled the diversification. “It’s just the best press we have ever had and has everything I have ever wanted on it.”
Oriel is also part way through construction of an extension to use as a raw materials warehouse, along with solar panels for the roof.
