Ghent, Belgium – Esko, the global market leader in innovative design, preproduction and collaboration solutions for the packaging and commercial printing sectors, reports that label printer 5 SEPT ETIQUETTE has experienced gains in productivity and increased print quality with Esko Automation Engine and WebCenter.

Based in Courthézon in France, 5 SEPT ETIQUETTE specializes in printing labels for the wine, food and health-care sectors. “Because information management is just as important as paper conversion,” states Patrick Wack, Managing Director of 5 SEPT ETIQUETTE, “we trust Esko solutions and chose to integrate their tools into our workflow.”

Gains in customer satisfaction and service levels

5 SEPT ETIQUETTE converts six million square meters of adhesive material and prints more than a billion labels every year, including self-adhesive labels, booklets and peelable coupons in rolls. “In order to remain competitive, we must continually speed up delivery times and control costs,” Wack explains. “By integrating Automation Engine with CERM MIS, we have been able to automate work stages, standardize data exchange across the production process and achieve better overall data management. In addition, WebCenter has streamlined our online approval process. All of this adds up to a much more efficient and accurate workflow, which in turn translates to the kind of improved customer service levels we need to be successful.”

Improved profitability

Automation Engine, coupled with the MIS solution from CERM, is the nerve center of prepress departments of all shapes and sizes. It ensures an unequalled automation of the production flow with strict quality control. Automation Engine improves efficiency and increases throughput. It is an effective solution to the daily challenges of printing professionals who seek to optimize quality while reducing costs and errors.

At 5 SEPT ETIQUETTE, Automation Engine has resulted in time savings of more than half an hour per job across a variety of activities, including:

Administration of files (from 5 minutes previously to less than one minute with this new tool);
Imposition (from 15 minutes before to 1 minute now);
Parameter setting (from 5 minutes to less than 1 minute); and
Makeready (from 20 to 10 minutes).
In addition to improved productivity, the percentage of material waste in digital printing has declined from 17% to 12%.

“Automation Engine eliminates errors from the process by making it possible for users to automate repetitive tasks and decisions within the production flow,” remarks Cédric Caboche, Prepress and Systems Integration Manager. In addition, the interfaces between order management systems (MIS or ERP) and prepress production further reduce the level of human interaction required.

Important safeguard for end customer

5 SEPT ETIQUETTE has also invested in WebCenter, a unique and powerful web platform that makes it possible to better manage the packaging life-cycle. By integrating WebCenter with Automation Engine, 5 SEPT ETIQUETTE can more easily develop products and publish files so that the customer can check and approve them on-line. Any risk of error in the final proof version is thus eliminated: WebCenter’s dynamic forms and collaboration tools translate to improved data sharing. “This is an important safeguard for our customers,” Wack affirms. “We eliminate any risk of misunderstanding with this real-time collaborative process.” 5 SEPT ETIQUETTE’s customers agree; they give the company top marks for quality of service!

Raoul Rodrigues, Commercial Manager at Esko, concludes, “5 SEPT ETIQUETTE is a true partner. Thanks to our joint efforts, we are continuously improving our solutions and tools so they can achieve maximum customer satisfaction while ensuring a profitable future.”