„Mass customisation is playing an increasingly important role in packaging printing. The number of retailers offering their customers personalised packaging is increasing, particularly in online shipping. The online service Labelprint24 under the umbrella of Harder-Online GmbH specialises in customised label solutions and a complete one-stop service for packaging of all kinds. Among others, the breakfast cereal manufacturer “mymuesli„ relies on the services of Labelprint24 and offers personalised muesli tins.
The Harder-Online GmbH was founded more than 50 years ago in Weingarten, Baden-Württemberg, as a pure commercial print shop. Today, the production site is located in Zeithain, Saxony. From a producer of occasional printed matter, the company has developed into a specialist for Packaging solutions made of cardboard, paper and film developed, reports company boss Stefan Harder. Harder emphasises that his company is characterised by the fact that all services, including software, are provided in-house using state-of-the-art resources. Customers also benefit from the company's extensive expertise, as they are offered technology and product development as well as process and quality management.
Calculate delivery time directly online
The centrepiece of the services offered by Labelprint24 is the homepage. Labels, folding boxes and laminate tubes can be calculated directly online, delivery times can be calculated and orders can be placed. This also applies to complex tasks such as the creation of Multilayer labels, booklet labels or sandwich labels. The reliable price and delivery time information is a big plus point in the Labelprint24 range, emphasises Stefan Harder: „As far as I know, there are no other providers with Online delivery time calculation in the system.“
„We print in Zeithain, but work and develop in the cloud.“
Stefan Harder, Managing Director of Harder-Online GmbH
The service is worthwhile even for small quantities, as Labelprint24 bundles orders of a similar nature until the Digital printing machines are optimally utilised. This is reflected in favourable prices for the customer.
Labelprint24„s cooperation with “mymuesli" shows just how deeply customisation options can be implemented in production processes. Launched in 2007, the Passau-based start-up is known for allowing its customers to put together their favourite muesli. The best way to do this is, of course, via the website. mymuesli is also available in more than 35 of our own shops and in over 1,500 supermarkets.
Over 1,000 personalised labels per day
For some time now, Harder-Online GmbH has been supporting mymuesli in its endeavours to Muesli tins with the appropriate ingredient lists. The corresponding technology was implemented at the muesli delivery company's production site.
Since the spring of this year, both companies have taken the step into the Full individualisation of the mymuesli tins. Users can now have their personalised mixes filled into unique tins. Names for their own product and customised tin designs can be selected online.
So that this advanced Product personalisation To ensure that everything runs smoothly, Labelprint24 and mymuesli intensively scrutinised and adapted the production processes from the order interface to the digital printing machines and dispatch. After all, they had to ensure that several thousand cans were printed correctly every day.
The solution found is based on the fact that the individualised printing is carried out at Harder-Online in Zeithain, not at mymuesli's production site. An interface between the mymuesli ERP system and the Labelprint24 printing systems was created for this purpose. Print data records are generated from the customer orders on the mymuesli website and transferred to Labelprint24 at night. The data is checked and then printed on label rolls - including optional metallised finishing effects.
The printing process is monitored by camera. The camera images are compared with the order data. This checks whether the labels specified in the ordering system have been printed and processed correctly. Around twelve hours pass from the Print data transfer until the printed label rolls are dispatched to mymuesli, where they are then stuck onto the muesli tins.
Digital printing on laminate tubes
In addition to major customers such as mymuesli, small and very small Pharmaceutical company without their own packaging infrastructure are important target customers for Harder-Online GmbH. All production facilities at the Zeithain plant are HACCP and GMP-compliant and thus meet the requirements for the required and safe packaging production.
Accordingly, the latest product innovation from Labelprint24 is aimed at pharmaceutical and cosmetics suppliers: laminate tubes printed directly using digital offset printing. A corresponding Tube laminate plant has started operations at Harder-Online's Zeithain plant. The ABL or PBL laminate is printed directly onto rolls and cut to size. The tube can also be customised with various closures such as a flip-top cap or screw cap. In addition to the laminate tube, Labelprint24 also offers the printing of matching leaflets and folding boxes for the tubes.
Tube printing is interesting for customers from a quantity of 1,000, explains Stefan Harder, especially as digital technology opens up all the possibilities for product customisation. In addition to Pharmaceutical and cosmetic products the tubes are also suitable for technical oils and greases.
