"Barcodes West saw a great opportunity to expand our digital print offerings with the high resolution and fast speed of the Colordyne Production Class line," said Glenn Allen, general manager of BCW. "We have been digital in one form or another for over 25 years. With our demanding customer base, we always have to be on the look-out for better, faster and unique printing and converting technologies. The Colordyne Production Class is that technology."

BCW purchased a CDT 1600-PC Sprint in May 2012. The company highly valued the 1600 x 1200 dpi resolution the Memjet™ print engine presented with its four printheads containing 70,400 nozzles each giving the print quality a true flexo-like look and feel. The CDT 1600-PC Sprint runs at print speeds up to 160 feet per minute (49 m/min), which at that time, was the fastest speed at the lowest capital cost.

After a year into using the CDT 1600-PC Sprint, BCW needed to further enhance its manufacturing capabilities and in June 2013, elected to add in-line rotary finishing leveraging its current inventory of rotary dies and years of experience with rotary equipment. This decision turned BCW's existing unit into a CDT 1600-PC Rotary Pro. This model expands the Sprint into a full-featured, in-line digital label and tag system, including printing, laminating, varnishing, rotary die-cutting, slitting and rewinding.

The addition of the in-line finishing on the CDT 1600-PC Rotary Pro resulted in BCW being able to deliver jobs to customers faster by eliminating the need for off-line finishing. The Rotary Pro could also maintain its fast print speeds and high resolution, making it even more cost efficient.

BCW's decision to upgrade its existing Rotary Pro to the CDT 2600-PC Laser Pro was seen as a key business strategy. The CDT 2600-PC Laser Pro gives BCW capabilities that set it apart from competition. The 2600 Series print engine is Memjet's latest, most advanced technology that increases the print speeds to 225 feet per minute (69 m/min) and the print resolution to 1600 x 1375 dpi. It also delivers improved print quality and usability driven by industry-standard Harlequin RIP (HDS) Frequency Modulation (FM) screening and an improved PDF workflow. 

"The Laser Pro's ability to add high-end color graphics and high density variable barcodes at the quick speeds of the Colordyne equipment keeps us in a great position to expand our offerings for our customers," said Allen.

BCW is able to deliver improved services to its customers at lower costs because the CDT 2600-PC Laser Pro complements the other digital manufacturing capabilities available at the shop. Overall turnaround time is reduced when moving from rotary die-cutting to laser die-cutting, especially when it comes die maintenance and rework. The Laser Pro's capabilities greatly increase BCW's opportunities because it instantly brings a wider range of finishing options for its customers.

"Barcodes West took a somewhat unique approach with its adoption of Colordyne technology as they have been able to gradually increase their investment in the technology while simultaneously realizing increased revenue and bottom line profitability," said Gary Falconbridge, president and CEO at CDT. "With the recent transition to the CDT 2600-PC Laser Pro, they have acquired an even stronger platform for Colordyne digital technology going forward."

Based out of Seattle, Wash., Barcodes West is the label, tag and systems industry leader providing high performance print, identification and data collection solutions to its customers globally. BCW offers integrated software, scanners and on-demand label systems to many industries, including retail, electronics, manufacturing, warehouse, automotive and medical. Learn more about BCW at www.barcodeswest.com.