Dress-Up Directives

For many, everyday workplace attire has become more casual, but according to Chris Clark, executive VP at Fort Worth, Texas-based offset printer and corrugated box converter Motivating Graphics (MG), more formal attire for packaging remains squarely on-trend. Specifically, Clark refers to MG's new rigid box products as the "tuxedos" for the products of the telecommunications and consumer electronics firms that make up MG's primary customer base.

MG's strong orientation toward helping customers dress their products in the highest quality packaging has driven key capital investments—including MG's purchase of rigid box machines that assure the production of visually appealing, sturdy packaging for the latest tablets and smart phones. When necessary, MG won't shy away from advocating an extra layer of quality to solve packaging challenges; in recent applications, it has advised customers to apply film laminate to their rigid box packaging to provide more comprehensive protection against scratching. It could be said that rigid boxes such as these are akin to tuxedos that never need dry cleaning.

The current Motivating Graphics management team includes two generations of the Clark family—president Ray Glenn Clark, and executive vice presidents Chris and Tim Clark. The Clarks make it clear that their business's high-quality appearances—from the standpoint of its management, customer service, and products—must be supported by high-quality processes at all levels of the organization. "Having the ability to control products in-house gives us the ability to control quality, brand identity, and cost effectiveness all on a parallel scale," Chris Clark explains. Adds executive vice president Tim Clark, "As printers, we can literally say, 'Our work speaks for itself.'"

Expanding in a global fashion

It's a message of quality that Motivating Graphics has worked diligently to spread on a global scale. Ray S. Clark originally founded the company in Dania, Fla., in 1976, and focused its capabilities on the printing of brochures and manuals. By 1998, Clark's son Ray Glenn had taken the helm, and led the company's move into a complete in-house printing plant in Deerfield Beach, Fla., which included prepress, press room, bindery, packaging, and inspection departments. In 2003, with Ray Glenn's two sons, Chris and Tim now added to the management team, the company transitioned to a new plant in Fort Worth, Texas, which marked the company's formal entry into the packaging market. The plant, explains Chris, was specifically designed "to conform to customized products, specialty packaging, and high-yield operation" capabilities. After a 2006 expansion, this plant now occupies 175,000 square feet.

During the past five years, MG's expansion activities have largely been international, with new plant openings occurring in Brazil, Mexico, Malaysia, and Hungary. In 2011 a second Fort Worth plant was opened to house MG's molded pulp product manufacturing and thermoforming capabilities, and host the company's new rigid box operations. It's little surprise then, amid so many expansion successes, that the concept of formal, even celebratory, attire for MG's packaging and its leadership would be part of the company's natural mindset. "[We] are very proud of the fact that there has never been a losing year since the company's inception," notes Tim. "While the expansion of the company has been phenomenal, our success is largely due to continually striving to meet our existing customers' needs … to remain competitive and maintain longevity."

According to the Clarks, offset printing is—and will continue to be—the mainstay of Motivating Graphics' commercial and package-printing capabilities. MG's offset press machinery includes models from KBA, Heidelberg, Harris, and Hantscho. At the U.S., Mexico, and Brazil plants, offset presses are complemented by diecutters, folders, and glue machines, foil stampers, and corrugating and laminating equipment.

Formal commitments to new solutions

While offset printing has been a common thread throughout the evolution of Motivating Graphics' service offerings, the company has been able to continually elevate its offset output by teaming up with supplier partners that support its mission to create the latest, greatest "tuxedo" for dressing up telecommunications and consumer electronics products. ACTEGA Kelstar, a producer of UV and aqueous coatings and chemicals for the graphic arts industry, has partnered with MG for more than 10 years. The two companies have worked closely together to develop unique customer solutions, such as Starkote® ultra-high-rub aqueous coating and Ultrasheen® ultraviolet coating, both of which provide high gloss, durability, and flexibility for intricately customized carton designs. Additionally, the specialty aqueous and UV coatings jointly designed by the two companies have delivered such unique packaging attributes as soft-touch textures; reticulation gloss and textures (the appearance of metallic ridges and ripples); and a pearlescent, or glossy pearl appearance.

In one case, a Motivating Graphics customer's folding carton, which had significant four-color ink coverage resulting in a heavy black look, needed to be UV-coated, diecut, folded, and glued without scuffing or scratching. Since black printed pieces typically show scuffs and scratches, ACTEGA Kelstar and MG had to work closely together to deliver a high-gloss coating for the carton that not only provided high tabor and scuff resistance, but also flexibility to enable proper diecutting and folding without cracking issues. "ACTEGA is an extension to our family here at MG," Tim comments. "At MG our suppliers are part of the team and we expect them to jump through hoops when needed, just like everyone else on our team does—and they deliver."

Sustainable mindset

Another Motivating Graphics strategy to create new solutions for customers amid its core offset operations focus is to continually examine existing jobs for improved sustainability opportunities. "Customers want more sustainable products, faster and cheaper," Chris confirms. "To address this, we do everything in-house, in a customized manner."

As MG is already certified through the Forest Stewardship Council, the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, and the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification, Chris expects more environmentally friendly opportunities to emerge using the company's new molded pulp machines and thermoform equipment. "[For instance,] we offer customers the opportunity to replace the plastic molded trays that hold phones with a more environmentally friendly pulp tray made from MG's corrugate and paper scrap," he notes, adding, "With the thermoform equipment we hope to create lighter-weight packaging alternatives."

For carton printer and converter Motivating Graphics, the underlying certainty that more effective packaging designs and production methods can be found that will appeal to an ever broader array of customers, is a level of confidence that shows no signs of going out of style. pP