Logotech's Leslie Gurland talks about how digital printing helped a label customer

Cary Sherburne interviews Leslie Gurland, President of Logotech who gives us an overview of her company including their current equipment set up. She also shares an interesting story about a winery customer and how digital printing made the project possible.

Cary Sherburne: Hi. I’m Cary Sherburne, Senior Editor at WhatTheyThink.com and I'm here with Leslie Gurland who’s President of Logotech. Welcome.

Leslie Gurland: Thank you.

Cary Sherburne: Leslie, maybe you could start by telling us a little bit about your company.

Leslie Gurland: Logotech is a manufacturer located in Fairfield, New Jersey, and we’re part of the Tadbik Group which is located in Israel. Tadbik has very, very strong ties with HP since the early days of the digital process.

Cary Sherburne: So what kind of equipment do you have in your plant?

Leslie Gurland: We currently have a 4050, an older machine, and we’re in the process of purchasing a newer piece of equipment.

Cary Sherburne: So the 6600 maybe?

Leslie Gurland: 6600. And on the other side, our parent company has four HP presses so that’s in our location, but as a group we have five presses.

Cary Sherburne: And what are you expecting to get new out of the 6600?

Leslie Gurland: We really feel we need it for the speed and to be able to offer our customers a quicker turnaround. So our business—we’re running the press on two and sometimes three shifts. By having a second press it allows flexibility, which is really how we commit with the demanding market that our customers have from the retailers who really have to be able to turn around even quicker.

Cary Sherburne: And are you a digital-only company or do you have other equipment?

Leslie Gurland: No. We actually have digital, letter press, and Flexo.

Cary Sherburne: And Flexo, okay. So you’re a hybrid operation.

Leslie Gurland: Yes, we are.

Cary Sherburne: So perhaps you could give us an interesting story about how digital printing in the label business has helped one of your customers.

Leslie Gurland: We actually have a fascinating story which we’re going to be speaking about at Dscoop. One of our customers is a winery up in the Finger Lakes and they decided to redo their artwork. Their brand was very, very stale. Their designers came to us and clearly, with the quantity and the look that they wanted, we felt that digital was the only way to go. So what they did, which is hard to tell on a video, is they came with a design of an Adirondack chair looking on a lake, and they wanted to look as if you were sitting on the lake. We were able to achieve that and the only way we were able to do that was through the HP press. What was interesting about it also is that we were able to use the press, not just in the production but in the whole design process.

So what we did was we sent comps throughout the design and development. It enabled us to work with the customer without having them to come down from the Finger Lakes. We also saved five days in the art approval process, and we are able to give them a product that they really appreciated. And what’s fascinating on their end is their sales increased 12 percent and they were able to increase their selling price to the wine distributors. So on their end they’re actually moving all their business to digital.

Cary Sherburne: That is amazing. That’s an amazing story. So, you know, people often say oh, you know, I can’t do it on digital, it’s too expensive. But the point isn’t the cost per label, obviously, and this story demonstrates that.

Leslie Gurland: Right. It’s creating a premium product and honestly, the digital, when you look at smaller runs, is less expensive. And when you look at the whole issue of plates and everything else, depending on the run size, it really is not any more. And even if it is a little bit more, when you can create a premium product and sell it at a higher price point and increase your sales, it’s a win-win for everyone.

Cary Sherburne: And did you use any special materials on it or was it just your normal pressure-sensitive material?

Leslie Gurland: We used a foil material that we’ve had a lot of success with.

Cary Sherburne: And that’s something that you can’t do that on fusing-base, toner-base digital with the foil, can you? You need the heat and everything.

Leslie Gurland: Yeah, I mean you do. You’re right.

Cary Sherburne: So yeah, that’s great. Well, that’s a wonderful story and I’m sure you’ve got lots more in your back pocket. We’ll have to catch up with you later and get some more of those.

Leslie Gurland: Thank you.