中文Mercury Walch, one of Tasmania’s longest-established commercial printers, has expanded its label printing capabilities with the installation of a new Screen L350UV SAI-S digital label press, supplied by Jet Technologies. The new press has lifted label production speed from roughly nine metres per minute to 60 metres per minute, letting the company finish jobs far faster while holding colour consistency and print quality across longer runs.
A Step Change for a Local Icon
The Screen press marks a significant step forward for the Hobart-based business as it grows its presence in Tasmania’s label market, offering faster turnaround, greater flexibility and the ability to support larger, more complex customer requirements. Operating continuously from Moonah since the early 1900s, Mercury Walch has grown into Tasmania’s largest sheetfed printer, providing commercial print, digital print, direct mail, packaging, large-format point-of-sale materials and now an expanded label offering.
The business combines traditional craftsmanship with current production technology, delivering end-to-end services entirely in-house. That vertical integration is rare for a state the size of Tasmania and is central to its pitch: keep the work local, control the quality, and remove the freight and lead-time penalty of sending jobs across the Bass Strait.
Why White Ink Was the Deal-Breaker
General manager Adam Glover said the investment was driven by growing customer demand and the need to broaden label capabilities. “Our previous label press could not print white, which limited the range of work we could produce for customers,” Glover said. “If we could not meet all of their label requirements, it made it difficult for them to move their business to us.”
White ink is the quiet enabler of premium labels. It lets a printer put vivid, opaque colour on clear, coloured or metallic substrates, the kinds of shelf-facing designs that brands actually want for wine, spirits, cosmetics and premium food. Without it, a label shop is locked out of a large slice of the market and can only serve the simplest clear or paper work.
“We had been watching the advances in inkjet technology for some time, and were impressed by both the print quality and production speed of the Screen L350UV SAI-S,” Glover said. Combined with ease of operation, it gave the company confidence to build a stronger label offering for Tasmanian businesses rather than referring that work away.
Keeping Work in Tasmania
The expanded capability also lets Mercury Walch pursue customers that previously sourced labels from interstate suppliers. “With the new capabilities of the L350UV SAI-S, we’re now able to re-engage prospective customers knowing we can fully support their requirements. Our goal is to keep more label production in Tasmania rather than seeing that work leave the state,” Glover said.
For many businesses, producing labels locally means faster delivery and fewer freight delays, a practical advantage that compounds for short-run or time-sensitive work where a missed ship is a missed promotion. The increased efficiency also makes Mercury Walch more competitive on longer runs that once went to the mainland on price alone.
A Partnership That Paid Off
Mercury Walch has worked with Jet Technologies for decades, sourcing consumables and technical expertise before choosing it as partner for the new investment. Jet Technologies managing director Jack Malki said the installation shows how digital inkjet lets printers diversify while staying competitive. “The Screen L350UV SAI-S gives businesses like Mercury Walch the ability to produce high-quality labels at significantly higher speeds, opening new revenue opportunities, while helping customers access local manufacturing,” he said.
The story is a tidy illustration of a wider shift: regional printers are using digital inkjet not to replace what they do, but to finally say yes to work they used to have to turn away. For an island state, that means more of the label spend stays at home, and more of the design ambition Tasmanian brands can imagine is actually printable down the road.
The sixfold speed jump is the headline number, but the strategic gain is optionality. With white ink and far higher throughput, Mercury Walch can now chase premium label work it once referred away, and do so locally, keeping both the margin and the relationship on the island. For a state as geographically isolated as Tasmania, that self-sufficiency is a genuine competitive asset.
It also strengthens Jet Technologies’ story as a partner that grows with its customers. Decades of consumables supply turned into a flagship installation, a pattern that other regional printers may recognize and emulate as they look to add digital label capacity without leaving their existing supplier relationships.
The result is a stronger Tasmanian print ecosystem overall. When label work stays on-island, the design, prepress and finishing expertise compounds locally, and the state’s brands get a partner who understands their market rather than a distant supplier processing orders by volume. That closeness is hard to replicate and easy to underestimate, and it keeps margin and know-how in the local economy.
Source: Print21 – Mercury Walch supercharges digital label printing
