Hummel strengthens label production with a second OMET press line

Hummel of Magstadt (Germany) has strengthened its label printing division with the installation of an OMET XFlex X6 530 – consultancy and start-up of the second OMET flexo line were once again successfully managed by Chromos Deutschland.

In spring 2025, Hummel GmbH & Co. KG of Magstadt commissioned a new OMET XFlex X6 flexographic printing press. It is the second OMET machine installed in the company’s production department, following an OMET X4 370 introduced in 2018. With this investment in new flexo technology, Steffen Hummel, who has been leading the fourth-generation family business since 2024, continues the company tradition of constantly developing its role as an international full-service provider, adapting to the ongoing evolution of the market. This second installation was once again carried out by Chromos Deutschland GmbH.

The Augsburg-based company, which has represented the Italian manufacturer OMET in German-speaking markets for many years, supported the press start-up process, helping ensure a rapid ramp-up phase and smooth transition into production. The investment in the eight-colour flexographic press was a targeted step toward modernising the machine park, with the aim of achieving greater efficiency, sustainability and flexibility, particularly in the label printing sector.

Economic and technological advantages

“Flexographic printing offers us greater cost efficiency, a wider variety of materials and increased production flexibility,” explains Steffen Hummel. “At the same time, the new press allows us to optimise existing production processes and prepare our company for future challenges.”

The new flexo press increases both production capacity and print quality. The additional capacity also helps avoid production bottlenecks, ensuring even more reliable fulfilment of customer orders. More specifically, higher production speeds and optimised workflows enable jobs to be processed faster, resulting in a significant increase in efficiency. “This is also supported, for example, by the substantial reduction in setup times,” says Peter Plöhn of Chromos Deutschland GmbH. “Fast job changeovers played a key role in the investment planning process, together with the drastic reduction of waste.”

The new press does not only increase efficiency. The company also gains greater flexibility, since the application range of the OMET XFlex X6 530 includes high-quality colour label printing and the possibility to perform multiple finishing processes in a single pass. In addition, the integration of modern LED curing technology enables a significant reduction in energy consumption. Overall, thanks to the transition to more energy-efficient systems, the Magstadt facility is expected to save approximately 165 tons of CO₂ per year.

An important step toward digitalisation

Alongside its traditional B2B business, the Magstadt-based company is increasingly expanding its digital sales channels. In this context, the new press represents not only an important step in optimising production processes, but also the technological foundation needed to support the expansion of online business. A current example is the Labelty webshop, through which Hummel Print offers customers a portfolio of labels and packaging solutions.

“The market is changing, and we want to actively contribute to this evolution,” says Steffen Hummel. “Thanks to the modern technology of the OMET XFlex X6 530, we are now perfectly equipped for digitalised ordering processes as well.”

The challenges of the transition

The integration of the new press required several adjustments within the production department, successfully implemented also thanks to the collaboration with Chromos Deutschland GmbH. The removal of offset presses led to a complete reorganisation of the production area. At the same time, new processes were introduced in prepress, opening up further opportunities for workflow optimisation. All technological and workflow-related innovations were transferred to employees through a five-day training programme, ensuring a rapid and smooth production start-up. Following the successful installation by Chromos Deutschland and the calibration of print curves, the press immediately entered full production, and the first jobs were soon running on the new line.

Conclusion: a sustainable investment for the future

With the new OMET XFlex X6 530, Hummel GmbH & Co. KG strengthens its market position as an innovative label printing company. The modernisation of the machine park not only brings higher efficiency and production capacity, but also actively contributes to the company’s sustainability strategy through CO₂ savings and improved energy efficiency. This path is further supported by investments in sustainable energy generation, such as a photovoltaic system that makes the company energy self-sufficient. Thanks to its recent expansion into the online business sector and the flexibility of flexographic printing, the company is now ideally equipped to meet the growing demands of the market, both today and in the future.

Article by Klemens Ehrlitzer in collaboration with Chromos GmbH