Printers’ Impact: Hub Labels sees influx of new print jobs in response to COVID-19

Jul 14, 2020

Thomas Dahbura, president of Hub Labels, with Labelfire 340

KENNESAW, Georgia ⁠— As COVID-19 continues to impact the world, printing companies throughout the nation are noticing how essential their roles are to people’s day-to-day lives.

In Hagerstown, Maryland, Hub Labels Inc. is seeing an influx of new jobs due to COVID-19, including labels for face masks, hand sanitizers and boxes for curbside delivery. In order to keep up with the high demands being put on the company, Hub Labels uses its Heidelberg-Gallus Labelfire 340 due to its unique combination of high machine productivity and high quality output.

“I think people can lose sight of how important print is," Thomas Dahbura, president of Hub Labels, said. "During COVID-19, I’ve really made sure our staff knows that we are essential. We play a crucial role in the food supply and product segment. We’re playing a huge role for our community and the country ⁠— even if it is behind the scenes.”

PRINT QUALITY THAT AMAZES CUSTOMERS

With numerous requests from companies needing short turnaround times, Hub Labels finds that the Labelfire 340 is the best machine to depend upon for printing high quality labels while also meeting customers’ needs during this trying time.

Running at 50m/min, the Gallus Labelfire 340 is raising the bar in the label market by combining the latest digital printing technology with the benefits of conventional printing and further processing technology. The Labelfire is a complete in-line solution handling digital, flexo, cold foil, rotary screen and die-cutting from start to finish — all from a single machine.

“I find it hard to describe the technology on the press to our customers as it can be hard to take in all the capabilities this press has, but when I show the customer what we can do for them, they are always amazed,” said Dahbura. “Our competitors are printing amazing resolution of 600x600 dpi on other machines, but the 1200x1200 dpi on the Labelfire is just incredible. Plus, I receive consistent color from run-to-run, which is crucial for our customers who have specific brand colors that need to match on each label.”

On the digital side, the Labelfire features the latest inkjet technology with 7 colors plus white and three flexo conventional print units. Depending on customers’ label design needs, the press can print flexo white or digital white without slowing down the press speeds. Jointly created by Heidelberg and Gallus, the Labelfire is run by Heidelberg’s Prinect Digital Front End, which includes spot color matching, the PDF Toolbox, and Prepress Manager. 

“We are very proud to work and depend upon the Labelfire 340," Dahbura said. "The technology on the press allows us to complete any job that is requested of us. It’s a flexible piece of machinery, so we can use it for several types of jobs. It really helps set us apart from our competitors.”

For more information on Hub Labels and their Labelfire 340, click here.