Mark Andy marked its 80th anniversary with an outstanding performance at the recent Chicago expo.  

Situated at the entrance to the main Hall, Booth 219 was the busiest throughout the three days, with live demonstrations of various jobs across three presses, the most on show anywhere in the expo and showcasing Mark Andy’s unique portfolio of technology including pure flexo, flexo/toner hybrid, and flexo/inkjet hybrid.  Each of these presses targets a sector of the market where productivity improvements have a significant impact on profitability.  In addition to the printing presses, the booth also highlighted the latest technology in high-speed inspection, and a new inventory management program from MAPP (Mark Andy Print Products).

‘Partnership’ was the key message from Mark Andy according to CEO Duane Pekar.  “Our long and rich history gives us unmatched expertise to share with our customers who want to grow their businesses in a smart way. We brought a variety of productivity solutions across the pressroom for our partners.  Our technology has long focused on lowering cost by improving productivity and reducing waste.  We’re able to deliver on this because of our partnerships and working with converters.”

First of the live demos was the Performance Series S9 flexo press working in tandem with the Rotoflex VLI inspection rewinder.  Developed after extensive market research into customer requirements, the S9 is the ‘sleeve’ version of the well-proven P9 press.  It ran two jobs, which gave the operator the opportunity to show how quick and easy changeovers can be on a 26” press capable of running at 610 m/min.  The S9 featured Mark Andy’s Momentum H3 dryers.  These are highly controllable to reduce energy costs and lower carbon footprint.  Finishing the jobs from the S9 was the Rotoflex VLI, capable of matching the S9 for speed and offering a 40” unwind and two 24” rewinds.

Moving from pure flexo to digital hybrid technology, the DPro MAX showed how simple a productive press can be.  Affordable, compact, and intuitive to use, it brings low cost-to-print operation to short and medium run work.  It also has the benefit of inline converting and embellishment for single-pass production of high-quality finished labels.  This was showcased by the demo labels that featured CMYK toner plus gold cold foil, gloss varnish and die cutting.  This all-round capability makes the DProMAX a solid investment and perfect introduction to digital print production with its capability of upgrading specification as future demands dictate.

Top of the range and the fastest narrow web digital press in the world, the DSHD HighSpeed 1200 made a triumphant return to the Chicago arena two years after its successful launch.  This is the ultimate production tool for label printers, offering exceptional production flexibility and unrivalled productivity – and all from one manufacturer!  The DSHD is a no-compromise performer, as was demonstrated by the two jobs on demo.  The first showed how a spot color can be printed flexo or inkjet at high-speed on a semi-gloss substrate.  The second featured multiple versions of high-opacity digital white and automatically registered flexo varnish on a ‘clear on clear’ substrate.  The DSHD highlighted three key features that make it a highly efficient production tool: inline converting for single pass production; high speed that raises the crossover point between digital and flexo production; and the application of a spot color with either print technique.

Proof of the DSHD’s production capability was shown with a display of work produced in a single eight-hour shift.  Ten jobs totaling 873,000 labels is impressive alone.  But it’s the comparisons that are eye-watering in their extent: compared with flexo, production time fell from 47 hours to eight; set up time fell from 34 hours to three; material waste fell by 83%; and overall costs showed a 28% improvement – the numbers speak for themselves!

Supporting the presses was Mark Andy’s latest version of ProWORX Label Suite providing a DFE (Digital Front End) and Analytics.  This provides the most efficient set up of step and repeat, variable data and effective multiple SKU planning, as well as on press colour management.

Two new offerings were available from MAPP.  The first is SupplySmart, an inventory management program designed to simplify pressroom restocking.  The second is ColorSmart, a system designed to help converters achieve consistent and repeatable color across different jobs, presses, shifts and operators.  Instead of treating color management as a single software setting, ColorSmart standardizes the interaction of all variables on the production floor to improve consistency.

Wrapping up the three-day event, Duane Pekar commented: “Chicago is always a very special place, and LOUPE gave us plenty of reasons to remember this expo!  Old friends, new partnerships, and one very special VIP guest kept our booth constantly busy and buzzing.

We came to LOUPE with one message ‘Proof of Productivity’ because we believe that if our converter partners are not working on productivity every single day, their business is at risk.  We’re here to help drive productivity and we put it on the floor for all to see.  Not just press demos but live production of real jobs to show converters how to accomplish more, improve efficiency, and keep their operations moving forward.

And the surprise visit of Mark Andrews Jr. from our founding family gave everyone a real boost and great photo opportunity for our 80th anniversary.

Thanks to all who visited our booth – see you in Barcelona in ’27!”