Middleton Printing Installs Epson SurePress and Transitions from Flexographic to Digital Printing

LONG BEACH, Calif., Jan. 21, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Epson America, Inc. today announced that Middleton Printing, a Michigan-based family-owned label printing company, installed the Epson^® SurePress^® L-4033AW label press to provide its manufacturing, publishing, retail, political, and food industry customers with high quality labels. Middleton Printing purchased the inkjet digital label press to expand from its flexographic production services.

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"The SurePress seemed like the right technology to shift most of our flexographic production to digital. After doing much research, looking at competitors and comparing print samples, we were convinced that Epson and the SurePress were the right fit for Middleton Printing," said Steve Middleton, president, Middleton Printing. "What set the SurePress apart from competitors was its reasonable price, reliable performance and world class quality. It truly was a positive experience when the actual use of the digital press exceeded my expectations. After installation, I also found Epson's support to be second to none."

Designed for prime label converters and commercial printers, the Epson SurePress L-4033AW is an easy to operate seven-color inkjet digital label press with White ink that makes high-quality, short-run label printing easier and more efficient, even on clear and metallic substrates. Delivering exceptional print quality and accurate color reproduction, as well as innovative printing features, the L-4033AW is a cost-effective and reliable solution that allows printers to expand their service offerings and improve profitability.

"The Epson SurePress is truly a hands-off machine. Once a job is set up to run, we can walk away, do other things and be more productive," said Middleton. "Additionally, the digital workflow and the quality of the SurePress has definitely saved us time and empowered us to produce our labels with consistent quality and better ink durability than flexographic, and at a price where we actually experience profitability. We are able to print on a variety of textured substrates and our customers are extremely satisfied with the image quality produced by the SurePress."

Among those customers is gourmet food producer, BLiS, who uses Estate 9 uncoated stock for its Blast Hot Pepper Sauce. "Since the creation of our unique hot sauce requires a time intensive process, we found it important to use a label that would help to illustrate the quality and unparalleled taste of Blast," said Steve Stallard, owner of BLiS. "Middleton Printing has helped us to do just that, by providing us with labels with great image quality, produced by the Epson SurePress digital label press."

Additional Epson SurePress L-4033AW features include:

• High-Quality Labels: Epson's acclaimed MicroPiezo^® inkjet technology with variable-size droplets as small as three picoliters provides ultra-precise drop formation and placement to deliver smooth gradations, remarkable color quality, and sharp detail for easy bar code readability, plus crisp small type and line work
• Industrial Quality Inks: Seven-color (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black, Orange, Green, and White), durable, water-based, resin-coated pigment inks provide superior adhesion and reproduce a wide range of colors
• Versatile Substrate Support: Prints on a range of standard, off-the-shelf materials including gloss, semi-gloss, matte, film, and clear and metallic substrates
• Variable Web Width: Supports rolls from 3.15 to 13-inches wide up to 0.013-inches (0.32 mm) thick
• Enhanced Productivity: Time-consuming, short-run jobs can be transferred to SurePress for more flexibility and timely results at speeds up to 16 feet per minute
• Less Waste: No chemicals or plates are required in the pre-press process and less substrate and ink is used in make-ready for short-run jobs

"With the ability to print high quality digital labels with accurate spot color matching on various substrates, the Epson SurePress L-4033AW allows more flexibility for a productive and profitable workflow," said Mark Elsbernd, North America region sales manager, Epson America. "We are pleased to provide printing technology for label printing companies like Middleton Printing, who are looking for a digital printing solution."

The Epson SurePress L-4033AW is currently available. For additional information, visit www.epson.com/surepress or contact Mark Elsbernd, North America region sales manager, Epson America, at 562-290-5244.

About Epson

Epson is a global innovation leader whose product lineup ranges from inkjet printers and printing systems, 3LCD projectors and industrial robots to sensors and other microdevices. Dedicated to exceeding the vision of its customers worldwide, Epson delivers customer value based on compact, energy-saving, and high-precision technologies in markets spanning enterprise and the home to commerce and industry.

Led by the Japan-based Seiko Epson Corporation, the Epson Group comprises more than 73,000 employees in 94 companies around the world, and is proud of its ongoing contributions to the global environment and the communities in which it operates. Epson America, Inc. based in Long Beach, Calif. is Epson's regional headquarters for the U.S., Canada, and Latin America. To learn more about Epson, please visit: www.Epson.com.

You may also connect with Epson America on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/EpsonAmerica), Twitter (http://twitter.com/EpsonAmerica) and YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/EpsonTV).

Note: EPSON, SurePress and MicroPiezo are registered trademarks and EPSON Exceed Your Vision is a registered logomark of Seiko Epson Corporation. All other product brand names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective companies. Epson disclaims any and all rights in these marks.

SOURCE Epson America, Inc.