Beau Label Increases Capabilities and Competitiveness with Fujifilm's Illumina LED Retrofit System

Hanover Park, Ill., March 21, 2018 – Fujifilm’s Illumina, an LED-UV retrofit system for converting any traditional UV or waterbase flexo press to LED-UV curing, allows for increased productivity and cost savings at Beau Label LLC, a third generation family-owned New Jersey-based print services provider celebrating their 51st anniversary in 2018. Illumina represents the most powerful new or retrofit LED-UV curing system on the market. The UV energy emitted at Illumina’s 20% power setting is the same as the 100% power setting of other LED-UV curing systems. Patented LED technology delivers up to 44% more energy toward the substrate, resulting in faster curing. “We recently converted our nine-color conventional UV, and our eight-color water based ink press (now full LED-UV) to Fujifilm’s Illumina LED-UV retrofit system. Our install took only about a half day,” said Vincent ‘VJ’ Melapioni, president, Beau Label. “It was a very pleasant experience. We were up and running again very quickly.” “We made the switch primarily due to the cost savings in electricity,” said Melapioni. “Prior to our conversion, we were running 110 or 120 amps of 480 volt service to a press to run the UV’s, and with Illumina, we are now running 10 amps of 480 volt service. That’s a significant savings.” The Illumina LED-UV cure is an instant on/off process, dramatically lowering the energy usage and stress on lamp bulbs experienced in conventional “always-on” UV mercury lamp curing. LED-UV also eliminates the costs generated by cooling air blowers, ozone extraction and heat makeup systems. Illumina employs additional patented and patent-pending technology to achieve even greater savings, resulting in financial savings per retrofitted press per year. The patented design produces less heat than competitive LED technologies and heat-dissipation is also much more effective. “With our previous system, we had a noise factor due to the powerful blower extracting the heat, which was also taking out the (HVAC) heating and air conditioning,” adds Melapioni. “Illumina has made a better working environment, which our operators appreciate. It’s quieter and more efficient to keep the temperature stable within our 30,000 square foot facility.” Beau Label is also experiencing increased press speeds with Fujifilm’s Illumina system. “Since installing the Illumina system we are seeing increased press running speeds upwards of 15 percent compared to conventional UV, and I know it’s capable of more,” adds Melapioni. Beau Label is adapting to new output options since the Illumina install, catering to clients in the food, beverage, wine and spirits industry, as well as private label health and beauty segments, pet supplies, household, industrial and promotional products. “Illumina will enable us to run shrink films without chilled drum rollers,” says Melapioni. “We are only a few months in, and that’s a possibility we are already entertaining.” Beau Label converted to Fujifilm’s 300 Series inks when it converted existing UV presses to LED-UV. The more efficient design of Illumina is optimized with Fujifilm 300 Series flexo inks, and the inks are uniquely designed to perform equally well under LED-UV or conventional UV-arc curing. “Fujifilm manufactures the (300 Series) ink, so in the unlikely event we have an ink issue, I’m not going to be told ‘it’s the lamps not the ink,’ and I know Fujifilm stands behind their high quality inks,” says Melapioni. “With the Illumina system, we’ve had no issues with curing or adhesion on any substrate, and the ink colors are more vibrant.” Beau Label opened its doors in 1967, started by Melapioni’s father, who previously worked for his father’s offset business. Over the years, Beau Label has grown its business, making investments in capital, acquisitions, real estate, and people. “My father and two of his partners started in the label business many years ago,” says Melapioni. “My father will soon be 78 years old, and he still comes in to work every day.” “I have a phenomenal team of over 30 full-time employees, with many of them being long-term, and dedicated to Beau Label, several with 30-plus years of service,” said Melapioni. With continuous investment and expansion of his business, Melapioni looks forward to adding Illumina to his others presses in the near future. “Beau Label is always looking for more business. If you’re not growing, you’re shrinking, you’re going backwards,” concludes Melapioni. To find out how Fujifilm Graphic Systems Division can help businesses meet future challenges, improve quality and reduce costs, please visit: www.FujifilmInkjet.com. To learn more about Beau Label, please visit: www.BeauLabel.com.