中文Auckland-based LabelShop has taken a decisive step into production inkjet, partnering with Jet Technologies to install a Screen Truepress Jet L350UV SAI. The press introduces inkjet production to LabelShop’s digital operations and expands the range of label work the business can turn around quickly, complementing its existing digital and conventional printing setup.
For LabelShop operations manager John Christie, the new press builds on a philosophy that has long defined the company: get the work through fast. “Fast turnaround has always been important to us. Our approach has always been that if a customer wants it today, we want to be able to give it to them today,” he said. The Truepress L350UV SAI, in his view, is the latest in a series of investments in digital equipment, embellishment and finishing that have shaped the business over the years.
Christie was candid about why this particular machine won out. He pointed to its high productivity, consistent colour reproduction and straightforward operation as the factors behind the decision, but also to the simple practicalities of daily use. “What appealed to me about the L350 is how quickly it churns through the work and everything is contained in the one unit. There isn’t a lot of pre-priming we have to do and it’s a simple machine to operate and makes our operators’ lives much easier,” he said. “The display is straightforward and it opens up opportunities for us to do more outside work and bigger labels.”
That ease of use translated directly into speed of deployment. Following installation and operator training, the LabelShop team got the L350UV SAI into production quickly. Christie highlighted simple start-up, shutdown and operation as decisive advantages. “Training went quickly and the installation team got everything set up. We’re running well now with no issues,” he said. “Start-ups and shutdowns are easy and the process itself is very straightforward. There aren’t lots of menus to navigate around. You push play and it comes out the other side.”
With the press running, the focus has turned to filling it. The speed of the L350UV SAI gives LabelShop additional production capacity, and Christie says the priority now is bringing more work onto the machine to make full use of its capabilities. That is a familiar pattern for label converters: the productivity gain only pays off once the sales side fills the new capacity.
Peter Scott, managing director of Screen Australasia, framed the installation as part of a broader success story for the platform. “The success of the LABEL 350 SAI series is amazing. The reasons the customers consistently refer to are highest uptime in digital label presses, brilliant colours on versatile labelstock, reliable after-sales backup, productivity speed, whole 8-hour shifts can run without stopping, precise registration, and ability to print mixed runs without interruption thanks to our Equios workflow, and ease of operator training,” he said.
The reference to Equios is worth noting. Screen’s workflow is designed to handle mixed, variable and short-run work without stopping the press, which is exactly the kind of flexibility LabelShop needs as it chases faster turnaround on a broader range of label jobs. For a trade label printer, the ability to swap jobs quickly without sacrificing registration or colour consistency is a direct competitive advantage.
For LabelShop, the move also reflects a wider trend in the label industry: conventional and digital are no longer either-or choices but complementary layers. The L350UV SAI adds inkjet capacity for fast, high-quality, short-to-medium runs, while existing equipment continues to handle the work it does best. The result is a more resilient operation that can say yes to more customer requests without bottlenecks.
As inkjet label technology matures, installations like this one show why converters keep choosing it: not as a replacement for everything that came before, but as a fast, flexible, operator-friendly layer that expands what a business can promise its customers. For LabelShop, the inkjet move is less a departure than an acceleration of a turnaround-first culture that was already working.
The New Zealand label market, like Australia’s, has been shifting toward digital as brands demand shorter runs, faster turnaround and more versioning. For a trade printer such as LabelShop, an inkjet press that is simple to operate lowers the training burden and lets the business say yes to urgent work without bottlenecking on a single skilled operator. Christie’s repeated emphasis on ease of use is telling: in a tight labour market, machines that ordinary operators can run well are a strategic asset, not just a productivity stat. Screen’s L350 platform has built a reputation in this segment for uptime and colour consistency, and the Equios workflow’s ability to handle mixed runs without stopping fits the realities of label production, where no two jobs are identical. For LabelShop, the inkjet move is less a leap than a logical extension of a turnaround-first culture that was already working. The wider lesson is that digital label investment now succeeds or fails on workflow integration rather than raw speed. A press that churns through work but cannot hand off cleanly to finishing and MIS creates its own bottlenecks. LabelShop’s focus on the whole operator experience, from start-up to shutdown, suggests it is buying a system, not just a machine, which is the right instinct for a converter betting on faster, more flexible growth.
