Tag: Digital

  • Corrugated Converters at the Crossroads Blog Series Part 4 “The Digital Printing Revolution”

    Corrugated Converters at the Crossroads Blog Series Part 4 “The Digital Printing Revolution”

    Our first post in the Corrugated Converters at the Crossroads blog series looked at changes in the corrugated printing market, the factors driving them and how big-box retailers and CPCs are increasing their requirements of packaging suppliers. The major areas of change range from graphics quality to flexibility to velocity, and pressroom versatility is the name of the game.

    The final post in our series will explore how digital printing is becoming a key player in the corrugated evolution, with added insight from Paul Aliprando, VP of Digital Technologies at Sun Automation Group. Expanding with digital technology can help printers meet demands for short runs, fast turnarounds, stunning graphics and customization without sacrificing efficiency or, more importantly, profits.

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    Sun Automation CorrStream® Digital Printer

    A new take on old news

    Digital printing is already being used in corrugated plants to produce samples, prototypes and other one-off or small-batch jobs due to its relatively cheap cost to produce shortruns compared to flexo. But the use of digital technology is ramping up as a growing number of jobs creep into its sweet spot – high resolution graphics, smaller order sizes, short lead times, fast turnarounds, customization and personalization.

    Aliprando says, “some users are applying digital to increase value to their customers which allows higher product margins. Other users apply digital as an alternative to current methods for lower total production costs. Either way, money is the motivator.”

    Let’s take a look at the ways digital technology is having the biggest impact in the corrugated post-print sector:

    High resolution graphics

    High-definition visuals, desired by today’s brand owners to create product differentiation and appeal, require high-resolution printing. A flaw with Flexo is as the sheet moves through each color station in the press, it shifts slightly, making it impossible to overlap every ink color and produce the image exactly as it was designed. Bleeds and traps have to be incorporated into the design to hide the registration issues.

    Aliprando states, “In general, Digital has a higher resolution than ‘standard’ Flexo for corrugated.  Although there are excellent flexo machines capable for printing Process work direct to corrugated, the cost, maintenance and operation knowledge is specialized.

    With a digital printer, images are printed in one pass.  There are no registration issues and minimal dot gain, making digital printing a better option for  reducing waste and producing images with high graphic resolution – especially with gradients and very detailed print that requires fine lines or images.

    Smaller order sizes

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    The digital process offers an economical way to produce low-volume and custom print jobs. With flexo presses, high setup costs are offset by their faster speeds and lower production costs over a high-volume, long run job.

    But digital presses are much more agile and a smarter choice for small print lots. The image is transferred directly onto a substrate, with no print cylinders, die-cut tooling, plates, ink tanks, anilox rolls, doctor blades or complex set up processes.

    Short lead times and fast turnarounds

    The quick and easy set-up of a digital press also makes it conducive to short lead times and fast turnarounds. Remember flexo’s cumbersome and expensive setup process – creating plates, filling the ink tank, assembling the ink roll and print cylinder? Digital files can be easily created, changed or updated so customers can request new or custom packaging on short notice or make changes on the fly. The full CYMK spectrum is readily accessible and producing gradients and other detailed effects is easy. Less waste…

    Brands need responsive suppliers that can meet their needs for speed and versatility.

    The flexibility that digital printing brings to the corrugated pressroom can also turn the package printer into a value-added service provider. With short lead times and fast deliveries, CPGs and big-box retailers can keep inventory levels low to save on warehousing and prevent outdated stock. However, Aliprando urges printers to consider the additional converting process with digital printing, stating “an added requirement for the corrugated facility is converting the printed sheet into a box. The digital printer is just that, a printer.

    Customization and personalization

    Although, “Digital has its own ‘specialization’… it is offset by the variability and versatility digital allows,” says Aliprando.  With digital, versioning is simple to execute – brands can customize graphics for multiple adaptations of the same package based on the audience, season, geography, event, market or any other segmentation criteria. The full range of CMYK colors are readily accessible for quick changes. Variable data – personalization with customer names, product expiration dates or any varying data used to personalize packages – is a snap to produce on a digital press.

    Things to Consider

    The Rise of Digital is a hot topic in the industry, and like many others, you may be hesitant to incorporate digital printing in your pressroom. Aliprando advises to “stay hesitant and get knowledgeable.  Take the time to increase your understanding and knowledge of the complete digital process.  You need to be comfortable about the technology and, once comfortable, decide if it fits into your current market or a new market you may want to pursue.” Aliprando adds, 

    “Ask yourself if your current manufacturing operation – order receipt to shipping – can accommodate digital. Digital is not for the faint of heart.”

    By adding digital printing capability to the corrugated pressroom, printers can optimize efficiency and profitability by using the “right man for the job” every time.  And that is just the tip of the iceberg – Digital press manufacturers are continually improving the digital print process with new technologies.

    In October 2018, Sun Automation will introduce the new CorrStream®, which will have a new Aqueous ink set, capable of printing on standard white top sheets and clay coat for more “pop” to the printing. The new system allows 600dpi printing without any pre or post coating of the sheets and boasts a modular design, equipped to accommodate future system upgrades. “Obsolescence is not in our design”, comments Aliprando.

    All in all, Digital Printing gives Corrugated Converters a cost-effective way to meet the market’s demands for flexibility and responsiveness. At the same time, the flexo presses are freed up to do what they do best – crank out large volumes of standardized products at fast speeds and low cost.

    To sum up our Corrugated Converters at the Crossroads blog series, the logic is simple: what the consumers want, the manufacturers have to produce, and what the manufacturers want, the suppliers have to provide. The corrugated converting industry has responded to this market evolution with advancements in ink delivery, equipment, substrates, and digital processes to name a few. By adopting these market innovations, converters can embrace the market evolution as a great opportunity for not only survival, but future growth and prosperity.

    For more information on Sun Automation and the new Corrstream Digital Printer, contact Paul Aliprando at [email protected].

    We hope you enjoyed our Corrugated Converters at the Crossroads blog series. Click on the links below to view previous posts in the series:

    Part 1: “The Consumer Is King” – Read about the forces behind the corrugated package printing renaissance

    Part 2: “Necessity Is the Mother of Ink Delivery Innovation” – Read about ink delivery system innovations

    Part 3: “This Is Not Your Father’s Pressroom” – Read about innovations in equipment and substrates

  • Hybrid Printing Technology Combines the Best of Both Worlds

    Hybrid Printing Technology Combines the Best of Both Worlds

    The TeaToaster.  An appliance that makes tea and toast?  How nice would it be to have the option of preparing your breakfast and morning beverage at the same time??!  (It doesn’t actually make toast, but a good idea, right?)

    There are also innovations in the printing industry that combine functionalities to make life a little easier for press operators.

    Today’s brand owners are more demanding than ever, looking for variable data and versioned graphics, short lead times, fast turnarounds and, of course, competitive prices.  These forces are driving industry innovation, and Mark Andy and Flexo Concepts® have led with hybrid technologies that bring flexibility and efficiency to the modern-day pressroom.

    Hybrid press technology

    In his 2016 article, Hybrid Presses – Combining digital and conventional printing offers converters the best of both worlds, Associate Editor of Label & Narrow Web Greg Hrinya compares hybrid press technology in the label printing market to that in other industries – a hybrid car which relies on multiple power sources or hybrid golf club that features the qualities of an iron and a fairway wood.  Similarly, new hybrid presses combine the benefits of digital with the power of flexo in one piece of equipment.  For printers, according to Hrinya, “The goal is to meet demand for large run flexo orders on the same press that is capable of handling a 500-label order from a local winery.”

    Mark Andy’s Digital Series – best of flexo and digital

    Mark Andy’s Digital Series, a 2017 technical innovation award winner, does just that.  Built upon the industry-leading Performance Series architecture, these presses leverage the advantages of digital technology with the proven capabilities of flexo.  The optimized hybrid platform is an efficiently designed, end-to-end workflow offering digital printing with in-line converting, decoration and finishing.  This happens all in a single pass and any size converter or job can be accommodated.  The machines run at printing speeds up to 240 fpm (73 mpm) and feature an intuitive user interface and consistent controls.  Operators can customize and enhance their production process to:

    • Increase throughput
    • Minimize cost of operation
    • Optimize process for short to medium runs
    • Maximize versatility
    • Create a superior user experience
    • Obtain reliability of proven P-Series platform

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    Flexo Concepts’ TruPoint Orange® – best of steel and plastic

    Just as Mark Andy’s Digital Series brings together the best of digital and flexo in one press, Flexo Concepts’ TruPoint Orange combines the advantages of both steel and plastic materials in a single blade product.

    At one time, steel doctor blades were the only option capable of providing the fine, consistent contact area with the anilox roll necessary to produce high-end graphics.  However, printers had to accept the risks of using steel – dangerous injuries and anilox scoring.

    Although plastic is safer to handle and doesn’t produce metal fragments that can cause scoring, traditional plastic doctor blades must be engineered thicker to provide enough rigidity to meter the anilox.  This thicker contact area can’t meter high line screens effectively, so plastic blades were ruled out as an option for narrow web printers.

    That is, until the hybrid doctor blade came along.

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    A product of Flexo Concepts’ Doctor Blade Innovation Lab, TruPoint Orange is constructed from a next generation polymer material and engineered with MicroTip® technology in a combination that is capable of achieving a fine, consistent contact area with the roll.  The blade can effectively produce high quality graphics as well as steel while retaining the benefits of traditional plastic – no dangerous cutting edge or metal fragments that will damage the anilox roll.  Orange doctor blades are able to:

    • Effectively meter line screens up to 2,000 lpi (785 L/cm)
    • Reduce pressroom injuries
    • Eliminate anilox scoring
    • Prevent UV ink spitting even at high press speeds
    • Handle specialty coating chemistries

    As the label and packaging market evolves, printers need products that can keep up.  With their hybrid technologies, Mark Andy and Flexo Concepts are at the forefront in developing innovative solutions that combine the best of known technology to help printers operate efficiently and competitively.  What the TeaToaster did for breakfast (in theory), the Digital Series and TruPoint Orange have done for printers:  combine two technologies in one to bring maximum success to the narrow web pressroom.

    Learn More about the Mark Andy Digital Series
    Request a Free TruPoint Doctor Blade Sample
  • Versioning and Variable Data in Flexible Packaging

    Versioning and Variable Data in Flexible Packaging

    versioning in flexible packagingAccording to Smithers Pira in its “Future of Global Flexible Packaging to 2020” report, “Flexible packaging has been one of the fastest growing packaging sectors over the past 10 years, thanks to increased consumer focus on convenience and sustainability, and this rapid development will continue to accelerate.”  This growth, however, will depend on the industry’s ability to cope with market trends driving shorter run lengths.

    Versioning and Variable Data Printing

    Two of these trends driving shorter run lengths are versioning and variable data.  Versioning is used to produce packages for different variations of a product (such as a line of flavors) while maintaining brand continuity.  For the printer, a large print job is segmented into smaller lots that are customized based on each “version” of the product.

    Variable data printing is mainly used in flexible packaging applications for product authentication and logistics in the distribution chain.  Companies can add a unique identifying code to each package, allowing individual products to be “tracked and traced” through the supply chain.  Bar codes and RFID codes are used to facilitate inventory and prevent counterfeiting.

    Both versioning and variable data lend themselves well to digital printing, a process that can easily and cost-effectively produce small lots.  In flexible packaging, however, long runs are required to achieve the economies necessary to be profitable.  How can a flexible packaging printer be competitive?

    1. Take Advantage of New Wide Web Technologies

    As run lengths become shorter, changeover speeds become more critical than press speeds.  The wide web industry has responded with equipment technologies that make faster set-ups possible such as gearless presses, anilox sleeves and automatic impression settings.  Some printers are converting to fixed ink sets, such as extended gamut, to minimize the number of wash-ups, or eliminating manual cleaning altogether with automatic wash cycles.

    2. Add Mid-Web Equipment

    A number of large format printers are adopting mid-web press technology for economical production of medium-length jobs.  By comparison, these presses not only cost less but are built for faster changeovers, lower tooling costs, and less consumption of ink, plates and other consumables.  They require fewer operators to run and deliver easier reproduction of high-quality graphics.

    3. Incorporate Digital

    Finally, for some work, digital just makes more sense.  Digital printing’s sweet spot is its ability to produce short runs economically.  By adding this complementary technology, printers can take advantage of the flexibility offered by having both capabilities under one roof.  Like narrow web, using digital for short run work also frees up wide-web presses for big jobs.

    The flexible packaging industry is experiencing a reduction in run lengths driven by shifts in the way brand owners do business.  Printers have to find ways to adapt to such changes as versioning and variable information printing by creating new technology and processes.  By improving equipment to shorten changeover times and adopting additional printing capabilities, wide web printers will be able to claim its share of future growth in the package printing market.