Over the the last twenty years,
digital printing of labels has
emerged and expanded. Today
every second press is equipped
with electrophotographic motors
or inkjet heads. This isn’t
surprising because the
advantages of today’s digital
technologies are strong, for
example, printing short runs at a
viable cost is now a reality
(compared with traditional
processes such as flexo or
offset), a success-factor that
fully matches and supports the
trend for the ever-shorter
consumer product lifecycles.
Now really is the time for
packaging to enter into the
digital arena. Of course, the
number of digital presses sold in
this new segment is still much
lower than the number of
presses sold for labels
production, but everything
suggests that it is only a matter
of time.
Growing customer demand is
influencing companies and
leading them towards
differentiation, individualisation
and personalisation in their
products. An example of this
was seen early on by Coca-
Cola, introducing Coke Light
and Coke Zero. Their lines have
now expanded significantly and
now Coca-Cola can be
purchased as sugar-free,
caffeine-free or flavoured with
raspberry, vanilla and sugar-free
lemon. All these products are
then sub-set into dozens of sizes
and formats (33cl, 1l, 1.25l,
1.5l, in PET bottles, in glass, in
cans). This is just one example
of how a brand is utilising
product proliferation to their
advantage.
Individual consumers are
becoming more particular... they
must be offered products that
match their needs. “Share a
Coke” has demonstrated the
success of customisation and
mass-versioning, after
successfully tapping into the
millennials mindset and
reaching followers of the “me,
myself and I” movement. “Share
a Coke” is undoubtedly the
most successful example
however it isn’t hard to find a
multitude of other brands
already offering their products in
a wide array of sub-articles sold
in different countries in multiple
formats or presentations. This
packaging revolution has
already begun and impacts not
only large companies but also
smaller producers of products
such as jams, energy drinks or
skincare creams. Add to that the
rise of e-commerce and with it
the beginnings of productionon-
demand. Krones, one of the
leading bottling companies,
presented “Bottling on Demand”
at Drinktec in Munich
(Germany) in September 2017,
an on-demand production and
packaging concept, enabling
each individual consumer to
order a personalised, flavoured
beverage — orange, for
example, in a 50cl glass bottle
format, which is then shipped in
a package of 1, 4 or 6
according to the consumer’s
wishes.
You can imagine yoghurt
companies offering consumer
lead online ordering, allowing
them to create their own
multipack, featuring only the
flavours they like. Thousands of
other products could one day
be produced and sold in this
way too, a method already
used frequently in the
automotive industry to reduce
inventory costs. Thanks to
digital packaging, products can
be manufactured on-demand.
Taking advantage of digital
methods, brands and their
print-suppliers will be able to
test new products to the
market, using flexible print-runs
to limit excessive risks and
costs.
The second reason to believe
that digital printing will soon
develop across packaging is
down to the technology. Over
the last decade, enormous
improvements to print quality
have been achieved. Whether
in electrophotography or inkjet,
the results in terms of resolution
are impressive: increasing from
600 to 1200 dpi. This is such a
good quality that only a keen
eye can distinguish an offset
rendering from a digital
rendering. Then there is the
print-speed that has also really
gained pace. HP Indigo paved
the way in 2012 with digital
presses such as the HP Indigo
20000 and 30000,
respectively, dedicated to film
and cardboard sheets. They
can reach speeds of 34m/min
in 4 colours (up to 45m/min in
3 colours emulation mode) with
the 20000 and 3450 sheets/hr
in 4 colours mode (up to 4600
sheets/hr in emulation mode)
with the 30000. Lately, inkjet
has reacted and caught up.
Examples include the Fujifilm
Jet Press 750S, launched in September 2018, capable of
printing 3600 sheets/hr in 4
colours, claiming to be the
fastest 4-colour digital press on
the market in B2 format. In
terms of coil-printing, Kodak
prides itself on being the only
one to reach a speed of 300
m/min, for a resolution of 600
dpi in wide, namely on 650
mm coils using Stream
technology that it is developing
with integrators like Uteco. The
American company, which puts
forward “very competitive”
operational costs compared to
electrophotography, has
announced for the next drupa a
resolution of 1200 dpi with
Ultrastream technology. Above
all, thanks to its print-speed it
can directly compete against
traditional processes. “We’ve
calculated that up to 20,000
square meters it is more
beneficial to use inkjet, until flexo
becomes more profitable,” said
Dan Denofsky, director of OEM
partnerships for the digital
division. To put this into context,
until recently, the crossover for
the digital/conventional curves
did not exceed 10,000 m2. In
sheet-to-sheet technologies,
which many players place today
at 5,000 sheets, it could rise up
to 10,000 sheets. The current
industry equilibrium begins to be
challenged as digital printing,
for a long time confined to
small print-runs, evolves towards
longer runs and ever-bigger
print jobs. This paradigm shift is
also because the market is no
longer the territory of specialists.
Big traditional printer’s
introduction to digital such as
Koenig & Bauer, Heidelberg or
Bobst diversifies the print-offer,
increases competition and
lowers prices. Above all, the
arrival of these general
manufacturers brings print
know-how and the necessary
control over medium and longer
runs. Printing itself is not
everything: to go fast on a
machine, you also must know
how to hold and pull the sheet
or the reel and the big pressmanufacturers
also know just
how that’s done.
The third reason we believe
that digital will continue to
develop is the process of
embellishment and converting.
When we talk about labels or
packaging, the addition of
gilding and embossing is often
a customer requirement, an
example of which would be the
perfume and luxury goods
market. This can also be seen in
the mass market as
demonstrated by certain beer
labels or in the packaging of
high-end confectionery
products. Soon, holograms and
invisible markings will be added
as aesthetically as a means to
fight against counterfeiting and
to avoid parallel businesses.
Some markets like pharmacy
and tobacco are very
demanding in relation to this. It
may soon be necessary to print
RFID antennas with metallic inks
to enhance the packaging and
brand experience, to make it
more communicative than
what’s currently offered with QR
codes. It cannot be overlooked
that packaging on offer today
has already been enriched by a
very interesting array of
technologies from companies
like Scodix and MGI, which are
able to digitally enhance clients’
packaging with visual and
tactile effects (embossing,
metallization, 3D varnish)
achieved with speeds from
4000 to 5000 sheets/hr. In
cutting and creasing, Highcon does the same with a process
that reaches 5000 sheets/hr.
Although this is not yet a
reality, we can easily foresee in
the short term the emergence
of complete lines where the
material — film, paper,
complex or corrugated
cardboard sheet or coil — is
successively printed,
embellished then cut and all
this implemented in the context
of a 100% digital process.
Crucially this will be
economically viable on runs of
20.000 m2 or 20.000 sheets.
Beyond that volume, it will
continue to be more viable
using flexo or offset
technologies.
This packaging production
revolution, however, will
require packaging converters
to review their entire supplychain
system. With print-runs
ever-more diversifying –
whether small, medium or
large – this will require the
review of numerous flows,
materials, consumables and
finished products that are
completely different than the
current ones. Investments in IT
and also in people (with new
skillsets) will be required. This is
change-management from “A to
Z”, from within both the
converters and their clients.
In 2016, the drupa motto was
“touch the future”. But in 2021
visitors should “embrace the
future”. A visit to drupa in 2021
will be more interesting than
ever, as the industry
transformation is, like many
things, happening faster than
expected. The fair is giving
impulses on how to successfully
integrate important trends like
digital management through
keynotes, discussions, guided
tours or visionary exhibitions —
important impulses that each
and every company should
sooner or later incorporate. So
yes, the first 100% completely
digital printing and converting
lines for packaging production
will be born in a few years
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