中文Chinese label printer Hengze has been named a CGS ORIS Label Industry Benchmark User and Strategic Partner, a recognition that follows the company’s deployment of two color management systems alongside a pair of Durst digital inkjet label presses installed earlier in 2026. The certification underlines how quickly a conventionally rooted converter can absorb digital proofing and production color consistency into a single, measurable workflow, and it signals a broader shift in the Chinese label market toward auditable, data-driven color.
The two CGS systems at the heart of the partnership are the CGS FlexPack label proofing system and the CGS Press Matcher digital print color management platform. Together they established standardized workflows spanning screen proofing, digital proofing and production color consistency. In practice, that replaced the older habit of running test proofs directly on flexo and digital presses, a slow and material-hungry routine. With the new setup, Hengze’s prepress pipeline is streamlined: customer proofing times fall, material costs drop, and end-to-end operational efficiency improves. For a converter serving international brands, the ability to show a customer an accurate proof without burning substrate is becoming a competitive prerequisite rather than a nicety.
Li Xiaocheng, chairman of Hengze, framed the project as part of a critical transition where conventional and digital printing converge. He noted that the CGS technology delivered vital technical support for process integration and quality improvement. Most importantly, the new systems achieve precise color matching between proofing and production, and between digital printing and traditional flexography. That resolves one of the converter’s stubborn problems: conversion challenges between digital and conventional print processes, where a color approved on one device drifts on another. Li added that the full rollout was completed within three months and credited both CGS’s technical expertise and the service provided by Shanghai Haobo, CGS’s agent in China.
Bernd Ruckert, CEO of CGS ORIS, welcomed the result. He pointed out that Hengze operates state-of-the-art label production equipment and employs a highly skilled, responsive team. Close cooperation and timely feedback throughout the project ensured rapid deployment and stable operation. Ruckert said he was pleased to see the system working effectively, helping Hengze stabilize print quality, boost efficiency and cut material waste and labor costs. The benchmark-partner designation is not merely ceremonial; it positions Hengze as a reference site CGS can show to other Asian converters weighing similar investments.
A telling detail from the certification ceremony was the shared view on artificial intelligence. Ruckert argued that China is one of the most dynamic markets in the world, where intense competitive pressure and rising demands from international brands make automation, digitalization and AI-driven color management key success factors. The attendees agreed that AI should enhance the capabilities of the printing expert rather than replace them, with the future of color management lying in combining human experience, precise measurement data and artificial intelligence. Hengze is already applying AI progressively to data analytics, workflow governance and scheduling, alongside upgrades tied to its existing ERP platform.
For label converters competing for international brand work, the Hengze story is a useful template. It shows that the value of a color management investment is not only in prettier proofs but in the discipline of a single, auditable standard that travels from screen to substrate. As more brands demand verifiable color and faster turnaround, benchmark partnerships of this kind are likely to multiply across the Asia-Pacific region, and the three-month deployment clock Hengze set will become the expectation rather than the exception.
Source: Labels & Labeling (16 October 2026) – Hengze named CGS partner.
The Chinese label market has become one of the most competitive in the world, driven by both a vast domestic consumer goods sector and a wave of international brands localizing production. For converters like Hengze, that competition is won or lost on consistency: a label that matches the brand’s global standard on the first proof, and again on every production run, is far more likely to win repeat contracts. Color management is therefore not a back-office function but a commercial differentiator, and benchmark partnerships with vendors such as CGS ORIS give converters a credible, externally validated story to tell procurement teams.
The presence of Durst digital inkjet presses alongside the CGS systems also reflects a wider Asian adoption curve. Digital label presses, once viewed as a Western luxury, are now central to capacity planning for mid-size Asian converters serving short-run, high-variety export orders. Pairing that hardware with rigorous proofing closes the gap between what a brand approves on screen and what arrives on a roll, reducing costly reprints and protecting margin in a price-sensitive region.
Looking ahead, the role of AI in color is likely to deepen. Hengze’s early use of AI for analytics, governance and scheduling hints at a future where color decisions are recommended by models trained on historical job data, then confirmed by experienced operators. The ceremony’s consensus that AI should augment rather than replace the expert is a pragmatic stance that other converters will watch closely as they weigh their own technology roadmaps.
Beyond the immediate operational gains, the Hengze-CGS ORIS partnership reflects a maturation of quality culture in Chinese converting. Where price once dominated procurement, international brand owners now audit suppliers on process discipline, traceability and the ability to reproduce approved color across every substrate and press. A benchmark designation from a globally recognized color specialist is therefore a marketing asset, not just an internal milestone, and it raises the bar for competitors in the region who may lack equivalent proofing infrastructure.
The three-month deployment also matters as a template for change management. Large color-management projects often stall in lengthy integrations that sap momentum and erode stakeholder confidence. By completing the rollout inside a single quarter, Hengze and CGS demonstrated that disciplined project management, plus a responsive local agent in Shanghai Haobo, can compress timelines without cutting corners. Other converters weighing similar investments will note that speed of deployment, not just technology choice, determines how quickly the benefits show up on the bottom line.
