Until now, the firm had to buy in flexo plates for complex label printing jobs, but the installations of an MPS Servo flexo press, last year, and a Nilpeter FA4 Line Servo press, this week, have inspired it to invest in an in-house thermal platemaker.

"We could get away with buying in flexo plates before, but the demand is higher now that we have dedicated flexo presses as well as our three Nilpeter M Series combination presses," said The Label Makers studio manager Robert Norton.

The kit, worth around 150,000, includes a DuPont Cyrel Fast 1000TD processor, a Cyrel Fast 1000ECLF exposing unit and an Esko CDI Spark 4835. It replaces a water wash-out system.

"The water wash-out system was not practical. You cant get fine detail work with it and the plates dont last very long. We didnt want a solvent-based system, so we went for the CDI," said Norton.

"Coupled with the environmental benefits, this machine was the perfect choice for our company," he added.

"The Cyrel Fast system will allow the new press to run alongside our existing press 24/7, with no worries about plate workflow," said Norton.

The thermal platemaking system processes plates up to 90x120cm in under an hour.

The Label Makers managing director David Webster said he was confident the investment would help the firm move into new markets and transfer work to flexo.