Go digital, drive sales

Turning print converting into a service based industry is said to be among the biggest impacts digital technology is having on the packaging chain. Progressive, commercially minded printers can reach for the top by pinning down those executives responsible for the real decision making and proving to brand owners that digital capability can very ably support their sales drives. And thanks to the technology that conveniently dispenses with films, screens, plates and rollers, there is nothing to make, process or clean. With prepress costs minimised and waste levels reduced, environmental impact can be alleviated; all of which will be music to the ears of a manufacturer or retailer.

Digital technology lends flexibility at every stage, from simple copy changes by email to repeat length being no longer dependent on cylinder circumference.

Its champions also speak of abundant opportunity to invent things never before possible: a 100% continuity in workflow avoiding time lost between print jobs; and software that offers variable data printing on demand.

Facility for short run lengths enables swift reaction to market opportunities, faster order turnaround, significantly reduced inventory and less wastage, it is argued. And non-contact inkjet printing affords a broad spectrum of substrate choices. It is suitable for uneven surfaces such as DuPont Tyvek, which is commonly used in medical device housings, for example.

The digital market of equipment suppliers and users seems clear on the breaks this technology offers the customers they serve. But it does require a different mindset. Printers should not look at the volume but the profit per job. To support this, HP estimates that in 2007 digital printing accounted for 2% of the total printed surface and 16% of total print value.

The environmental aspects are a selling point with supermarket suppliers: no stockholding or redundant stock means less material and energy is wasted. Packaging and labels are printed when and where they are needed.

HP has stated that the annual output of its Indigo presses in 2008 amounted to the equivalent surface area of 10 billion A4 pages. Page growth for labels increased by 36% and by 56% for packaging. Further, it estimates that total digital label printing output will be equivalent to 100 billion pages by 2016. The top applications are food, health and beauty, alcohol and other beverages, pharmaceuticals and household products.

A recurrent theme among commentators is the benefit of converters developing direct partnerships with brand owners. Conversations with people in influential roles, probably a level above the buyers, will improve chances to test ideas for driving sales.

An important requirement is deemed to be a good depth of knowledge of substrate characteristics – which will impress a customer as well as get the best from digital.

HP believes that up to 90% of the world’s current analogue printing carbon footprint can be addressed by digital printing solutions. In a technical white paper Reducing the Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Commercial Print with Digital Technologies the company describes improved business models built on digital print and distribution technologies to conserve paper and enable emissions reductions.

According to HP, the widespread adoption of digital printing by 2020, combined with optimal paper supply sourcing strategies, could result in a cut of 30% or more in the world’s CO₂ emissions. It points to the Climate Group SMART 2020 report as a good read on this topic.

HP’s digital technology came into its own when Coca-Cola Israel ran a competition calling the public to submit new designs for Sprite cans. The winners were chosen from 100,000 designs and produced on an HP Indigo press ws4500, printing shrink sleeves for 20,000 cans with 400 different designs. The campaign reportedly attracted some 3.5 million visits - around half of the population of Israel - to the website.

Baker Self Adhesive Labels, of London, UK, used a ws4500 press to produce a strong shelf presence for Braham & Murray’s Good products.

Short run lengths and multiple texts and labels for oil, dressing, and mayonnaise, were printed on self-adhesive semi-gloss paper.

The products made with hemp oil are being exported to France and other European countries. The HP Indigo press offers variable data printing to easily handle language and other necessary text changes, including sell-by dates and barcodes according to export requirements.

“We were able to meet our deadlines with the look we wanted,” says Braham & Murray managing director Aymeric Denoeud. “For a small company trying to establish its brands, digital printing is an ideal solution for colour, quality, turnaround speed and cost.”

Technology developments

Pushing technology to new limits, the Atlantic Zeiser Gamma 70 full-colour inkjet printing module opens up new possibilities for single-pass direct printing onto paper, film, metal and other materials, producing ‘photo-realistic’ production printing for packaging and labels.

Delta Industrial Services achieves versatility in its Mod-Tech Edge laser converting machine, designed to allow complex geometries, precision products and quick change-over, and capable of digital printing as well as high quality flexo and screen printing in the same machine.

For high speed printshop service focused on customer needs, digital print label specialist Borble, of North Wales, has installed the first Xeikon 3300 in the UK. It prints at 1,200dpi at a rate of 19.2 m/min on materials up to 322mm wide and weights between 40-350g/m².

An end to plates means the company can quickly produce a press proof for customers using the exact colours and stock of the final job. Further efficiencies are thanks to the company’s own software called Valid (Variable Label Identification), which groups together label orders based on having the same substrate, cutter size and finishes to print in a single run.

Allen Datagraph Systems (ADSI) claims its Tech Axxis Digital Label System launched at Labelexpo Europe 2009 will produce efficiency savings for small-to-medium-sized manufacturers, who will gain point-of-sale impact and cut down on inventory they may never need.

This is ‘a paradigm shift in label manufacturing’, according to Mark Vanover, ADSI vice-president, sales and marketing. The company is offering a complete desktop system to print high quality labels at ‘astonishingly’ low cost, in addition to die-less die cutting, stripping and rewinding.

Substrate widths can go from 100-220mm, with speed rates up to 100mm/sec or 6m/min. Designed and assembled in the USA, the complete iTech Axxis Digital Label System costs under €25,000.

With reason to be optimistic, UK based Inca Digital says it has a healthy European order book for its new UV flatbed printer aimed at companies with high volume POP (point of purchase) production needs. The Inca Onset S20 is claimed to produce ‘superb’ quality display graphics economically at speeds up to 250m²/hour on substrates up to 50mm thick.

A choice of satin, semi-gloss and gloss finishes delivers ‘enormous versatility’ for printing display POP and exhibition graphics to illuminated displays and outdoor signage.

“Customers report that the combination of gloss modes along with the six-colour option creates outstanding, vibrant prints,” says Heather Kendle, Inca Digital director of marketing.

“They are able to create special effects such as spot varnish finishes to increase impact. The combination of speed and unique print capabilities has attracted the interest of a good number of printers who are able to offer a differentiated print product along with competitive yet profitable pricing,” adds Ms Kendle.

Inkjet or toner?

Drop-on-demand (DOD) inkjet and toner print systems are alternatives for digitally printed packaging. Although toner based systems accounted for half the market in 2005, Pira International’s Digital Print for Packaging: a Market Penetration Assessment 2006 expected growth to be greater for inkjet. Reasons were better efficiency savings, greater print width, enhanced choice of substrates, potential for printing rigid packaging and an increasing number of companies in the inkjet market. Inkjet is also compatible with new technologies such as RFID and nanotechnology, note the report authors.

Converters in printed packaging among the ‘early adopters’ of DOD printing have included UK based engineering firm G-Mat. A plastics cap printing machine and pharmaceutical blister pack printer are reliant on Xaar DOD printhead technology. The 1001 printhead is suitable for use in packaging because it will handle difficult fluids such as white or metallic inks, says Xaar.

A better print quality is thanks to a ‘through-flow’ technology, which has improved print density consistency by re-circulating the ink so that its temperature can be accurately controlled across the head.

Label printers being supplied by the likes of EFI-Jetrion, SunJet and Impika also benefit from Xaar DOD technology.