The implementation of Automation Engine provides noticeable improvements in speed for Best Label Company. The company now produces most jobs in one day rather than the two or three days it took before.
The implementation of Automation Engine provides noticeable improvements in speed for Best Label Company. The company now produces most jobs in one day rather than the two or three days it took before.
Now, with Automation Engine, job information is completely filled out for us. It eliminates human error and speeds up production.
Art Director, Best Label Company, USA
The implementation of Automation Engine provides noticeable improvements in speed for Best Label Company. The company now produces most jobs in one day rather than the two or three days it took before.
“We had been using Esko Automation Engine for three years before we purchased Automation Engine,” explains Rebekah Harmon, Art Director at Best Label Company Inc. “We had been operating an older MIS system and, when we upgraded by purchasing Label Traxx, we invested in the Connect module. It was taking too much time for our prepress department to duplicate CSR’s efforts, entering similar job information into the production system. We were looking forward to saving time and preventing human error caused by two people entering the same customer and job data.”
Ms. Harmon continues: “We installed the system. After the system was set up, it was easy to use. While we had to let go of some of the control for each job (because now we rely on the judgment of CSRs to enter all of the job information correctly), we are no longer entering data ourselves. Now, with Automation Engine, job information is completely filled out for us. It eliminates human error and speeds up production.”
“Automation Engine has substantially improved our workflow. We never realized how much time it took to enter jobs. Before, it could take up to 30 minutes to process each job. This was mainly a factor of the time it took to set up the job correctly. We are now able to ‘kick out’ every job in about 15 minutes. When jobs go to the plate department, all they need to do is launch the workflow, double-check the layouts and let them go. Their time is reduced in half as well and it allows them to spend more time in the important areas, such as QC.”
Before, it could take up to 30 minutes to process each job. We are now able to ‘kick out’ every job in about 15 minutes.
To Ms. Harmon the improved speed is a substantial improvement for the customers: “While our customers have benefited from our investment in our Automation Engine workflow and the quality of the work created by the system, the addition of Automation Engine provides noticeable improvements in speed for them. We can now produce most jobs in one day rather than the two or three days it took before. If we push it, our artists probably can process 50 jobs per day. Before we were able to connect to our MIS, we only could produce 30 per day. That’s a big difference.”
Best Label Company has an interesting segment of work that they call News Notes labels. These are coupon or ad labels that are affixed to newspapers. While this segment is not a portion of the high-end work, the information still must be accurate and the quality needs to be there as a reflection of the standards of the company. The coupons are relatively inexpensive with very tight profit margins. “Before we invested in Automation, we were spending 15 minutes per job, for about 15 of these per day—nearly 4 hours of time,” Ms. Harmon recalls. “Now, we receive the job, open it, add the die line (all the same size per newspaper), and send it for production. Pushing through this entire segment of our work, by decreasing overhead time, our profit margins have increased with no additional financial demand on the customer.”
Ms. Harmon concludes: “Automation Engine has considerably affected the profitability and efficiency of our prepress and printing departments.”
Automation Engine has considerably affected the profitability and efficiency of our prepress and printing departments.
Best Label Company, founded in 1976 in Cerritos, CA is a privately held corporation with three production facilities, manufacturing labels for a large number of customers—particularly for the food, beverage, health, beauty and pharmaceutical industries.
In the early 1980’s Best Label Company needed more capacity to meet the demands of its ever-growing Cerritos, CA customer base, and also felt the need for a presence in the San Francisco Bay Area. By the middle of the decade the company acquired two Northern California label converters, Imperial Marking Systems and Beeline Label.
Best Label logo
The acquisition and combination of these two companies created the Northern California branch of Best Label Company, located in Union City, CA. This facility employs more than 40 people and operates 9 flexo presses along with hot stamp and foil capabilities.
Best Label Company operates leading flexographic pre-press technologies. The latest investment is the addition of direct to plate digital platemaking equipment, with flat top dot capabilities.
