Is digital packing a punch?

Despite lingering concerns over speed, price and spot colours,many believe digital has potential for the packaging sector, says Philip Chadwick

Although digital print is widely accepted in the commercial print market, it’s a tougher sell in packaging. With runs generally longer and colour management critical, traditional processes such as flexo, litho and gravure have held up strongly.

However, there are signs that the latest developments in both inkjet and toner-based technology are slowly starting to make in-roads in the packaging sector. In labels, digital is very much an accepted technology, while in the cartons market there are signs that the big names are making concerted efforts to gain a bigger slice of the action. The technology is still at a formative stage, but in years to come, a packaging printer is as likely to have a digital press in its armoury as it is a flexo press.

It is testament to how digital technology has evolved, that it has now become a viable option for packaging firms. In the past the quality and speed of the print wasn’t up to the standards of gravure or flexo, while run lengths were also an issue. However, this is changing, with digital presses getting up to speed (although still not quick enough for long-run packaging) and the print quality significantly increasing.

Mark Stephenson, Fuji UK sales manager for digital solutions, says even today, if you directly compare a piece of digital print with, say, gravure, under close scrutiny you can still tell them apart. In isolation, that’s not the case. There are still people who check things over with an eyeglass, but sometimes you can get too caught up with that. At first glance, often people would be stuck to tell if it is a digital print or not.

Personalised options
In addition to the ability to produce high-quality work, digital printing offers practicalities such as tighter turnaround times and shorter run lengths, and this can be key when it comes to marketing. Manufacturers believe their products can really triumph when it comes to special, limited-edition packaging or labels, with variable data offering a range of personalised options. And they have not been slow in developing presses that can muscle in on a market that is traditionally dominated by a blend of gravure, flexo and litho. In the toner-based market, HP, Xeikon and Xerox have all been actively developing their presses.

In Xeikon’s case, the time and money spent targeting the labels market has paid off. The manufacturer, part of Punch Graphix, has found that sales are holding up strongly. We are selling lots of machines – it is outstripping other markets, says Greg Neesham, Punch Graphix UK sales director. Our view is that the self-adhesive labels market is more mature and resilient to the recession.

Neesham believes that digital is proving to be such a success in the market that it’s now eating into flexo. Combining shorter runs with alternative image designs in that run has meant that label printers can be more flexible. Instead of doing a run of 1m labels, you can now just do 20,000. There are also a host of variations, he says.

Barry Griffiths, director at Rhyl-based Borble, agrees. His firm was the first in the UK to install Xeikon’s 3300 (see box). With digital, you can do tens of different designs in one short run, Griffiths says. The print quality is also good from the faintest highlight to the deepest solid colour.

Digital developments
Developments in the toner market haven’t just been limited to labels. At last year’s Drupa, there was a new press targeting the pharmaceutical and cosmetics markets.

The Gallop has in-line options for varnishing, stacking, conveying and die-cutting. Xerox linked up with Stora Enso to develop the product, which consists of an iGen3 press, an Epic CT0-635 varnishing unit with aqueous and UV options, and a Kama die-cutter for a sheet size of 580x400mm. Stora Enso’s Tambrite, Ensocoat and Ensogloss boards were tested and approved for iGen3 use by Xerox.

There is a lot of interest in the machine, explains Fuji’s Stephenson. It’s ideal for the trialling of a new line of cosmetic or pharmaceutical products. What gives the Gallop the advantage is that it can do embossing and foil-stamping.

Typically, digital is for the short-run market but Stephenson says runs on the Gallop can be quite high in the case of packaging, ranging from 2,000 up to 20,000. What digital also lends itself well to is the prototype – the packaging can be effectively road-tested before it goes into general production.

As well as xerographic, Fuji has a foot in the inkjet market, thanks to its Dimatix printhead, which goes up against other well-established players such as Xaar. The latter’s latest printhead, the 1001, was developed for use in industries such as packaging, textiles, ceramics and printed electronics. It incorporates Xaar’s drop-on-demand technology and was designed to handle difficult fluids such as white or metallic inks.

Another manufacturer to have latched onto the latest technology is Nilpeter. With technology partners Xaar and FFEI, the company unveiled the Caslon in 2007 – a conventional narrow-web flexo press with an inkjet unit.

We have combined the printing technology to optimise the cost per label, explains FFEI managing director Andy Cook. We have hit the sweet spot for the Nilpeter customer.

For the label market, digital isn’t new, but using inkjet technology is. The next challenge is to push on into new markets. FFEI is looking at adapting the technology for niche applications such as DVD covers, pharmaceutical products and cosmetics packaging.

Overcoming obstacles
The challenge is the text, adds Cook. We can use some screening technology to enhance the text, but inkjet is a non-impact technology. Trying to get a crisp finish to the text is challenging.

And that’s not the only hurdle the digital sector must climb when it comes down to packaging. The sector loves spot colours and that’s difficult to change on digital especially on the short runs, explains Fuji’s Stephenson. Then there is the cost-per-copy issue – digital is better suited to special packaging and one-offs as well as prototypes.

Speed is also an issue. To run an inkjet machine at 25m per minute may suit short runs, but the technology simply can’t compete with the speeds of gravure or flexo.

Cook believes there is still a lot of work that can be done to make digital a credible option for packaging printers. We are still playing around with the technology. There are lots of technical issues but there are plenty of niche markets that are well suited to digital.

Stephenson agrees, adding that the market is realising the quality of digital has matured. There are some great ideas out there and people are bringing all the elements together; it is a challenge, but the interest is high.

With the labels market now well and truly embracing digital, only time will tell when sectors like cartonboard and flexible packaging can go right up against more traditional processes. Expect next year’s Ipex to be a good indication of how far digital has come.
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CASE STUDY (BORBLE)

The story behind Rhyl-based Borble is as much a lesson about planning as it is the digital technology used in the labels market. Co-founder and director Barry Griffiths had a background in gravure print for flexible packaging, but by 2004 he had spotted the potential benefits of digital.

Digital print by then had become industrially viable, he says. By August 2004, I had written a business plan based on an emerging shift in the labels market. People wanted to have shorter runs and a wider variety of labels. They didn’t want their cash tied up with stock on the shelf.

With the bank giving the business the green light, Borble made its first investment with a Xeikon 330. According to Griffiths, HP was also considered but the company went for Xeikon because the 330 met the criteria we wanted. Since then, Borble has gone on to become the first UK firm to install a Xeikon 3300 and has been able to carve out a few niches.

Small independent food manufacturers have called upon Borble’s services, as well as print brokers and some printers themselves. We are targeting small markets and that suits us, adds Griffiths.

Digital print has also given Borble’s clients the chance to view labels before they go to the market – a form of prototyping.

Griffiths adds that digital technology allows you to do this thanks to the ability to do very short runs and the faster makeready times. By not using plates you are saving money and eliminating the disposal of those plates, which is also good for the environment.