Nord Techniques Etiquetage Installs Mark Andy Digital Hybrid

Addition strengthens the French printer’s partnership with Atypic & Mark Andy

Following its successful launch in Europe at Labelexpo Brussels last year, Mark Andy has been enjoying remarkable success with sales of its Digital One press. One of the latest, and significantly the first in France, is at Nord Techniques Etiquetage (NTE) in the northern town of Lille, where the family-owned and managed company has built a successful business in the industrial label sector since beginning in 1984. Currently employing 20 individuals, NTE enjoys an annual turnover approaching €5m.

An existing Mark Andy user with flexo technology dating back to 1991, NTE has invested heavily to update its technology, with Digital One being the most recent new press acquisition. Speaking for the company, Thibault Duponchel, Director, NTE said: “We have always had demand for short run work from our customers but up until now have sub-contracted it out of house. After seeing the Digital One in action at Labelexpo we saw an obvious way of bringing this outsourced work back in-house and improving the quality of print and service.”

Built for short run, the Digital One is ideal for NTE’s jobs that average 1000 meters (approx. 3281 feet) or less. The press’ 330mm (13 inch) web width, CMYK digital print process and inline finishing capabilities for one-pass production allows it to dovetail perfectly with the company’s flexo capacity. “We were impressed with Digital One’s reliable quality and print capability at the tradeshow, but also important to us was the confidence we have in support from Mark Andy. The press was installed in December 2017 and has already exceeded our expectations,” Duponchel added.

Like many other companies venturing into digital production, NTE is finding that adopting a new mind-set and attention to detail in pre-press has helped to maximize on Digital One’s capabilities and consistent repeatability. 1200 dpi print quality and VDP capability of the Digital One is already attracting new work for NTE, but Duponchel claims that the press is kept busy with jobs from existing customers.

“We pride ourselves on offering excellent service as well as high-quality label products, so retaining spare capacity on our presses allows us to help customers with last minute jobs.  Our aim is to build the business into a true ‘print-on-demand, pay-as-you-use’ facility, which will require a second press, and additional sales personnel.” The company is so pleased with its latest investment that it has agreed to offer reciprocal support to Mark Andy and other local label converters interested in the digital label press.

Reflecting on  the sale, Jean-Louis Pecarelo of Mark Andy’s French distributor Atypic provides “I am delighted that NTE has installed the first Digital One in France, and grateful for their offer of assistance with the many interested converters I have on my list. We are already planning a series of events at which we can demonstrate the press to other companies.”