At the recent FlexoTech Awards black-tie ceremony, held 13 October 2021 at the Royal Lancaster in London, The Label Makers won two awards for labels printed on one of their numerous MPS flexo presses.
Since travel has been picking up a bit more after times of staying at home, one of the most asked questions was who was going to attend the FlexoTech Awards! One of the first large award shows since the start of the pandemic in Europe. The event did not disappoint! It was great seeing so many familiar faces and also meeting new people. I have always been a believer in personal contact and this was the place to meet everyone again!
During the award show, we were treated to a night of sophisticated dining before being entertained by comedian, John Thomson. Once the ceremony concluded, there were networking opportunities and throughout the evening there were arcade games to play.
The winning labels
The first award won by The Label Makers was for their Crown Paint Grey entry in the ‘Labels (line and tone)’ category. It was printed on their MPS EF 430 flexo press using seven colours with a gloss varnish finish.
Their second win was for the ‘The Kraken Black Spiced Rum’ label in the ‘Best use of hybrid printing’ category printed on their MPS EF 430 flexo press with an integrated AB Graphics International Big Foot hot foil/embossing module. The label was printed with four colours, cold foil, hot foil, high build screen varnish, matt spot varnish and spot high gloss varnish.
As shared by The Label Makers, the rum brand takes its name from the ‘Kraken’, a mythical giant squid-like sea monster in Scandinavian folklore. The iconic bottle is styled on a Victorian demijohn, including two hoop handles in keeping with the tradition of sailors hanging bottles on hooks to prevent breakages during rough seas.
To achieve a seamless no-label look, The Label Makers used black matt wine uncoated paper, which avoided white edges when die-cut, as well as a black flexo print and high gloss varnish finish on the edges of the label.
The Label Makers was also nominated in the ‘UV flexo on paper or board’ category for their Coastal Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2020 label, also printed on an MPS EF 430 flexo press.
You can find out more about all the winning labels of FlexoTech Awards here.
First time entrant award
MPS have been a keen supporter of the Flexotech awards evening for over ten years and in the past have sponsored numerous categories during the awards evening feeling that it is important to show support throughout every facet of our industry. This year we thought it was particularly important to show our support so we decided to offer ourselves as a Gold Sponsor for the evening and chose the category of first time entrant as we felt that this category would ultimately harvest the attendees and participants to follow along in the coming years. The standard of the entries to the category was incredible and the number of companies entering the competition for the first time was also very very encouraging.
Andrea Bassi, on behalf of Trevikart, and Nick Tyrer (R), sales director, MPS.
First-ever bespoke flexo/embossing hybrid solution
Owning four of our flexo presses, including an older EC model running full production for over 15 years, The Label Makers is a valuable MPS partner.
The Label Makers has been serving UK-brands for over 50 years. Label embellishment that create strong visual and tactile impact on products is their specialty. In March 2021, The Label Makers has recently been acquired by Printeos, a Spanish based printing group.
A few years ago, The Label Makers approached MPS Systems UK and AB Graphics International (ABG) with a request for a customized flexo/embossing hybrid press combining our EF flexo press with the ABG Big Foot hot foil/embossing module.
In just months after the initial request, The Label Makers became a proud owner of an MPS/ABG combination press – marking the first time an ABG Big Foot module is integrated on a flexo machine, along with another first in the module accommodating 430mm material!
This same press printed the award-winning Kraken Black Spiced Rum label.
It’s truly an honour to see our customers awarded for labels printed on MPS presses!
I’m hoping to see many more MPS customers winning awards for their beautiful work.