In recent years, Durst has continued to grow its label and packaging operations in North America. Steve Lynn, director and GM, new markets, has been tasked with leading this initiative. 

As the RSC line has seen greater adoption, Lynn has recruited the necessary talent to foster growth of Durst’s label team. Lynn has also been intstrumental in building on relationships with finishing equipment and substrate partners to offer Durst Tau users the most comprehensive range of digital label and specialty packaging growth opportunities. L&NW recent sat down with Lynn to learn more about how the evolution of Durst’s RSC line of digital label printing presses has positioned the company for significant growth in the short- and long-term future.

L&NW: How would Durst characterize the role of digital printing in today’s label industry?
SL: Digital printing has traditionally been viewed as only being for short run or versioning/variable data. At Durst we feel that developments in inkjet quality and speed, and a lower cost of operation, have pushed digital into mainstream production, challenging analog printing methods on medium- and long-run label work also. With high quality and speed, along with low material waste, digital can now be utilized for all aspects of label production – short to long run, all with the traditional benefits of digital like variable data printing and very fast job changeovers.

L&NW: How has Durst optimized its RSC line to meet demand for digitally printed labels?
SL: Durst led the conversion of inkjet-printed labels to 1200 dpi, which is now becoming the standard for digital label production. We have continued to optimize our 1200 dpi RSC platform to offer wider widths of up to 20”, increased speed up to 328 fpm and the integration of flexo decks for combination digital/flexo work  and inline coating.

L&NW: How has Durst’s RSC line evolved and improved in recent years, and what are the benefits?
SL: The Durst RSC 1200 dpi line was originally introduced at Labelexpo Europe 2017, and since then it has become the standard in digital for speed, quality, reliability and low cost of operation.  With additional widths and speed being introduced on the RSCi platform more recently, Durst continues to lead the conversion of analog to digital label production. With a large and stable 1200 dpi inkjet global install base we are redefining the capabilities of digital production.

L&NW: How has Durst prioritized software to ensure efficient label printing?
SL: Durst has prioritized software as a key component of successful digital label production, and users of Durst Workflow Label software are utilizing excellent job setup, imposition color management and variable data tools. An area of focus has been seamless integration into existing print environments where other software is being utilized, and many of our users have become more efficient by utilizing the software tools we have developed to enhance digital label production.

L&NW: With supply chain difficulties and an emphasis on sustainability, how can Durst’s technology meet demand here?
SL: Material supply challenges and sustainability requests from the market have led to the need for more efficient print processes, which use less material for setup and color matching. Durst users are producing short, medium and long run work, with minimal waste and fast, repeatable color control that leads to less time on press, faster delivery times and significantly less waste than analog processes and some slower digital production methods.

L&NW: What can we expect from Durst in the future?
SL: Durst always strives to be technology leaders and innovate all aspects of the print process so that we can lead with technology. In the short term we will be developing solutions for non-standard label applications to push the conversion of label production from analog processes to digital.