The manufacturer of Xeikon digital presses has tied with Rotherham-based company Hine Labels for the event, which will run under the banner of 'Digital and Flexo, a Perfect Match'.

Earlier this year, Hine Labels became the first UK customer of Xeikon's 3000 label press in a bid to ramp up its digital capacity, and it will be holding the open house at its Yorkshire site on May 20.

Over the course of the day, test jobs will be run on the company's digital and flexo set-up, in order to illustrate the similarities in the quality of the end product.

Punch Graphix will be partnered at the event by EskoArtwork and self-adhesive label supplier Fasson, which are providing the materials for the print tests.

Bill Hine, managing director of Hine Labels, said that with the majority of its customers in the trade sector, the printing process involved tended not to be an issue.

"What they want is high-quality, colour-consistent labels in the shortest possible production time," he added.

Hine said: "However, we have to face the fact that run lengths are decreasing across many of our markets, and this is what tends to determine which print process we use for a given job."

The Xeikon 3000 has been designed for the production of short- to medium-run lengths. It can print at speeds of up to 9.6m a minute, at resolutions of 1,200dpi.

Greg Neesham, sales director for Punch Graphix UK, said: "The label market has taken a significant step towards digital production in recent years, and any company in the business of label production, and not yet using digital for at least part of their production, needs to come and see the benefits offered by our Xeikon digital machinery."