How innovative and reliable presses help RRD thrive in linerless labels

 

This article was originally published by Napco Media in 2020.

 

RR Donnelley (RRD) is a name that is nearly synonymous with printing. The marketing and business communications giant is consistently ranked as the largest printing company in North America in the annual Printing Impressions 400 list of largest print companies and has a footprint spanning more than 30 countries. But while the RRD name has become so intertwined with the world of commercial print, the company has far broader communications offerings and its label division has turned into a thriving segment of the business, supplying a variety of label formats spanning industrial, pharmaceutical, prime labels, and beyond.

“From a label production perspective, we have a wide array of options with over 175 presses that include flexo, digital and screen capabilities,” says Bruce Hanson, president, RRD Labels & Forms. “We also have all the finishing and embellishment functions you can imagine for those markets.”

While its capabilities and output are diverse, one of the key ways RRD Label Solutions is able to differentiate itself in the market is through its expertise in linerless label production and its robust platform for producing these innovative labels. To maintain its leadership position in linerless labels, RRD turns to ETI Converting Equipment, which has provided two linerless label presses to RRD — the first being a 20" press, and the second, just installed in November 2019, a larger 26" press.

As a leading global marketing and business communications company, RRD requires reliable equipment that maintains consistent uptime and a high-quality output. So when it came time to bring a second linerless press on board, Brian Hamrick, RRD Label Solutions’ senior VP of operations, said there was no hesitation to return to ETI, knowing the Montreal, Quebec-based manufacturer of a variety of printing and converting equipment would once again deliver both a high-quality press and peace of mind.

“With the new press, we had the need for speed,” Hamrick says. “We wanted wider and faster runs, and the ETI team promised to deliver that for us. Based on the performance of our first machine, we had every confidence that the second machine would work as advertised as well.”

 

The linerless advantage

For decades, labels have been produced in largely the same fashion. Though printing processes and technologies have evolved into highly technical operations, the way a label web moves through a press has largely gone unchanged. A liner, typically made of paper, serves as the carrier of the labels through the printing and die cutting process. Then, the matrix that stems from the cut away liner and the remaining portion of the liner becomes waste after the label is adhered to whatever the package may be.

However, with the advent of linerless label technology, the liner is removed from the process entirely, leading to several key advantages. The most obvious advantage is in waste savings.

RRD recently purchased a second linerless label press from ETI Converting Equipment. The 26 in press was installed in November 2019. 

 

According to the “2018 Matrix Survey Report” published by TLMI, the premier label industry association in North America, it can be assumed that matrix waste accounts for 15% of converters’ total material. In a survey conducted of TLMI members in 2017, it was revealed that 75% of respondents utilize landfills for matrix waste disposal, while 10% incinerate it, 8% use it as feedstock for energy, and 7% recycle it.

In RRD’s case, in addition to the sustainability advantages, multiple other factors led to the company’s desire to bring linerless capabilities on board. As Hamrick explains, the key motivator to add linerless was to provide a more efficient product for the company’s customers. With all of the components of label production, being able to remove a variable from the production process can be highly beneficial, and eliminating the liner would remove a significant variable for RRD’s customers.

From an efficiency perspective, Hamrick explains that without a liner, RRD’s customers can benefit from having an automatic application process, with no need for a liner rewind and disposal process. Additionally, removing the liner allows more labels to fit on a single roll. This then leads to reduced downtime, as the roll needs to be changed less frequently.

An example of where this advantage could come into play is for customers who utilize handheld label printers. Hamrick explains that this is common for delivery truck drivers who need to place labels on packages. Implementing linerless labels in this instance can create instantaneous time savings.

“The more labels they can have on a roll, the better off they are,” Hamrick says. “It’s only a small roll that can fit into that printer, so linerless is a definite advantage for them.”

Another key area where Hamrick says RRD saw significant opportunity, however, was in improving safety in production departments. In some instances, as labels were being removed from the liner, the liner would end up on the floor of these production environments, creating a potential safety issue.

“When that liner with a silicone coating is laying on the production floor, or on the floor of a warehouse environment, it can be very slippery and create a safety hazard,” he says.

 

A trusted relationship

ETI manufactured its first linerless press — the 20" model that has been in action at RRD Label Solutions since 2005. Hamrick explains that the development of the first press required significant collaboration from both companies, due to a specific need from RRD’s side. He notes that RRD utilizes a proprietary aqueous-based adhesive, but at the time, ETI had only been producing equipment for hot melt glue applications. However, with strong communication from both sides, Hamrick says ETI was able to provide just what RRD needed.

“It was a good challenge for ETI and they rose up to that challenge,” he says. “They were able to deliver a piece of equipment that did work as advertised.”

Over the years, Hamrick says RRD and ETI have maintained a strong relationship, in which ETI has been able to find ways to improve on the press that was installed in 2005. One example he points to is in how ETI has been able to help RRD increase the capacity the press can handle. Hamrick recalls that when ETI brought a sales representative on board who had experience with oven dryers for printing and adhesive coating applications, he was able to work with the team at RRD Label Solutions’ facility in Angola, Ind., to add a larger oven to the press, increasing its hourly output.

However, as customer demand for linerless labels has increased in recent years, RRD required even more capacity, which led to the decision to install the new 26˝ ETI linerless label press. Hamrick explains that increasing the web width will give RRD significantly more capacity. And with the reliability of the company’s first press, he says the combination of size, speed, and uptime will give RRD the boost it needs.

“The efficiency gains that we’ve seen on the equipment — even with the upgrading of our initial ETI press — was with the assistance of ETI engineers,” he says.

 

The ETI offering

As ETI has carved out a leadership position in printing and converting, its Cohesio platform has become a highly trusted solution for pressure-sensitive label production. Part of what makes the Cohesio product line stand out is its unique production process, which provides significant reductions in both waste and cost.

In its conventional label production configuration, the Cohesio process begins with the facestock and liner placed on separate unwinding systems. The liner, which can be film or paper, is then coated with silicone and adhesive prior to joining with the facestock in lamination.

Printers and converters can use paper, film, or board as the facestock. Because pressure-sensitive material made in the first pass is used, rather than traditional facestock or liner, a piggy-back construction is formed that can be printed on one or both sides.

In addition to innovating the traditional label production process, ETI has been a leader in developing linerless production capabilities that can be implemented into the Cohesio platform. Prior to developing production-level linerless label capabilities, linerless labels were typically only found in hand-applied applications, and could only be rectangular in shape. However, ETI has developed in-line die cutting for linerless labels, opening up opportunities for varying shapes in linerless production. 

In the linerless printing process, the substrate — typically a clear film — is printed first. The printing can take place on both sides of the material if desired, and is then followed up by a silicone being applied on the top of the substrate, while adhesive is applied to the bottom.

With the versatility that ETI’s equipment provides, a variety of linerless label applications and market segments have emerged. For RRD Label Solutions, the ability of the equipment to work with its proprietary adhesives makes it a highly beneficial solution. One segment in particular where this has proven to be a significant advantage is in window and door label production.

Hamrick explains that RRD has developed a proprietary microsphere adhesive that allows a label to stick to a window or door throughout the duration of the production process. Then, once that window or door is installed and it’s time to remove that label, the adhesive leaves no residue.

“Think about labels you’ve seen on windows before where you’ve had to have a razorblade to chop it off,” Hamrick says. “With our proprietary adhesive, you’re able to easily peel that label off of the window without leaving any residue.”

In the end however, thriving in the label and packaging industry requires the ability to manage high levels of output at fast speeds. With its ETI equipment, RRD Label Solutions has peace of mind. And now with a press that’s both wider and faster, the company’s linerless label production can be taken to new heights.

“What is really making us excited about the next ETI press we’re bringing on board is that it’s a wider piece of equipment that’s going to give us exponentially more capacity,” Hamrick says. “It’s a very reliable piece of equipment. It’s well-engineered, we have not experienced any significant downtime, and ETI has been very responsive to any issues that we’ve had.”