02.12.21
Skanem is a producer of self-adhesive, liner-less and smart labels, alongside flexible packaging film with production sites in the UK, Scandinavia, Poland, Asia and Africa.
Since the 1990s Skanem’s Cardiff branch has relied on Fujifilm’s Sericol inks.
"Worldwide, Skanem produces millions of labels every day for over 3,000 customers,” said Paul Morgan, ink technician at Skanem Cardiff. “Manufacturing all of these products for so many brands means we need the most reliable equipment and the best quality inks in our production sites to ensure we’re delivering what our clients expect of us.
"In the Cardiff branch of Skanem, we specialize in labels for over-the-counter pharmacy products, beers, wines and spirits, household cleaning products, skincare and cosmetics – we also provide labels for the motor industry," Morgan added. "We started using Sericol inks around the mid-90s when we were using screen printing primarily. Then, as our facilities in Cardiff expanded, the company realized we needed an ink supplier in the UK that could deliver quality ink within just a matter of days. In 2007, we turned to Fujifilm’s Sericol JD flexo range of inks as a solution and haven’t looked back since."
Morgan outlined the benefits that UV cured flexo inks have provided his narrow web applications.
"With our customers expecting their branded colors to be perfectly reproduced, we know we can put our faith in the JD flexo ink range – the color consistency, strength and vibrancy in each and every print is excellent and so important to our operations," he said. "It has also allowed us to create bespoke color matches the first time, rather than after several submissions, which cuts the speed to market in the label development process.
"These inks offer our customers a wider color palette, higher quality metal effects, solid whites, and by using denser ink pigments, allows for less ink usage overall, which is better for the environment," he added.
According to Ian Furmage, production manager at Skanem Cardiff, Skanem offers a "Sustainable Labels, Designed for Recyclability" program, "where we utilize every opportunity to help our customers to achieve their sustainability goals through the selection of the correct raw materials, design optimization, production processes and logistics.
"The whole emphasis is to ensure our customers design their packaging with recyclability in mind,' Furmage said. "Our principles are clear, but they wouldn’t be anything without our suppliers who must also fit in with our ethos. Fujifilm’s Sericol inks are always delivered with minimal packaging, meaning there is very little wastage. The metal and plastic tubs the inks arrive in are easily stacked and simple to recycle, saving space and reducing the number of collections required."