PPG TESLIN® durable labels help expand digital print opportunities for Abbott Label

Abbott Label experienced such phenomenal growth over the past few years that they needed to expand their digital capabilities and purchased a Domino N610i digital UV inkjet label press. With this new UV inkjet press, the company turned to our PPG TESLIN^® substrate to help open up opportunities for durable labels and higher end security applications.

Summary

• Texas-based label converter, Abbott Label, expanded their digital capabilities with the purchase of a Domino N610i press in 2019 and a Domino K600i dual bar digital UV inkjet printer in 2020.
• The company needed a synthetic material for durable labels, track and trace and higher end security applications that would run well on their new presses.
• Having experienced success with PPG TESLIN^® label stock on their HP Indigo and flexo presses, they were very interested in trying it out on their new Domino UV inkjet press.
• Teslin label stock does not require a coating - a clear benefit for productivity and cost savings.
• Abbott Label printed a large run of samples of the Teslin label stock on wine labels and on GHS labels with bar and QR codes. They were thrilled with the ease of printing and positive customer response. 

Challenge

Abbott Label is a large narrow-web converter headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Established in 2000, John Abbott and his father, Jerry, have propelled the phenomenal growth of the company. Today, the company has four full manufacturing facilities (Dallas, Atlanta, Los Angeles and Chicago) totaling 210,000 square feet and the broadest product offering of any wholesale label manufacturer in the country.

“PPG’s Teslin label stock is a great, durable product. It’s extremely unique and not at all like a generic polypropylene which might be offered by ten different vendors.” John Abbott, President, Abbott Label (Pictured here with Whitney Watson, Abbott Labels’ Digital Press Department Manager)

Selling exclusively through resellers, Abbott Label’s biggest customers are major packaging companies requiring solutions for large volumes as well as shorter runs. They accomplish this by carrying a full line of stocked labels (over 300 different sizes ready to ship out the same day) and specializing in custom label options that range from 17” wide, 8-color to 10” wide, 3-color.  

In 2015, the company started down the digital path with the purchase of a HP Indigo 6900. However, with their growth (running 3 shifts, 24 hours/day) came the need for a new digital press.  Citing the continuous improvements in UV inkjet speed and quality, Abbott Label purchased a Domino N610I digital UV inkjet printer for its Dallas facility in 2019 and another for its Los Angeles location in 2021.

Not long after installing the press, COVID hit and according to Abbott, “Everyone needed labels!  We are now running 24/7 seven days a week in all our plants and our headcount has grown by 25%.”  With this exponential growth, Abbott Label added a Domino K600i Dual Bar Digital UV Inkjet press to print barcodes and QR codes with excellent quality and at a very fast rate.  Abbott notes, “Time is money and with our latest Domino press, there’s no downtime - and that’s heaven for us.”

In order to add volume to the new press, they began looking for a substrate that would offer advanced security, high quality printability and extreme durability for high-end security applications.  Having experienced success with PPG TESLIN^® material on their HP Indigo and flexo presses, they decided to test the durable label stock on their new UV inkjet press.

Solution

Although they had an inline coater on their HP unit, some substrates for the Domino require optimized coating.  A clear exception is Teslin label stock, which unlike other synthetics does not need a coating - making it a great solution for the Domino press.  As a result, they decided to test the material and supply printed samples to their customers.

The company is known for being extremely thorough in their testing of any new material.  John Abbott, President, notes that “We’ve been active in the industry and in organizations like TLMI for a long time, so we’ve built great relationships with most of the material vendors. They come to us quite often to test new media. We keep careful track of how the material runs and how fast we could run it.”

He spent the time evaluating Teslin substrate on the Domino press because it is “... a great, durable product.  It’s extremely unique and not at all like a generic polypropylene which might be offered by ten different vendors.”


Abbott Label’s digital print team (left to right): Hayden Wier, Thomas Brown, Harley Mandel, Ron Thompson, Whitney Whatson

Results

Abbot Label’s digital team in Dallas ran sample wine labels of our PPG Teslin label stock on the Domino N610I press and Barcode/QR Coded GHS labels on the Domino K600i  printer.  Abbott confirms that his operators “...loved working with the material - it printed beautifully and didn’t require any extra modifications or adjustments. We just pushed the button and it ran.”

Reactions from customers were very positive as well. With the success of this initial run, Abbott Label has a new tool in their arsenal for chemical drums, wine bottles, racking labels or pharmaceutical applications (because the material withstands a range of sterilization methods as well as cryofreezing).  When asked about possible new opportunities with Teslin label stock, Abbott responded, “Frankly, anywhere you need a durable label.”

He concludes by acknowledging that, “Security and extreme durability are the key benefits of Teslin labels.  The printed information and the label itself are difficult to remove - and even if it does, the label is destroyed - a great indication of tamper-evidence.  It’s really just a great solution for higher end, security applications.”

Contact us to request printed samples and learn more about the high-performance benefits of Teslin label material for durable labels and high-end security applications.