Folding Carton Printer Embraces New Technologies

Feel a change in the air? Why, invite it in, sit down with it, and make it feel welcome to stay a while. That about sums up a key operational mindset at CANAMPAC, a triumvirate of Ontario-based printing and packaging companies where innovation in the name of meeting customer needs is typical, everyday fare. The trio of firms (spanning four facilities) includes Boehmer Box, a carton converter in operation since 1874 that produces seven hundred million cartons annually for North American national and private label brands; Strathcona Paper, a dedicated producer of 100-percent recycled, medium- to heavy-weight paperboard in operation since 1873; and LYFT Visual, a graphics, digital printing, and marketing services company founded in 2010.

The CANAMPAC entity was created in 2005 when private equity firm Atlas Holdings acquired Boehmer and Strathcona, a move that ushered in an entrepreneurial environment characterized by "a huge appetite for change," relates Craig McMeekan, vice president of sales and marketing at Boehmer. A pivotal driver of that appetite, McMeekan explains, is the realization that as market needs change, clients' needs change—a dynamic that requires CANAMPAC "to be two steps ahead." It's a dynamic that CANAMPAC customers, too, must embrace to succeed—a notion that CANAMPAC strives to teach by example.

A first demonstration of CANAMPAC's comfort level with change can be seen in Boehmer Box's ongoing capabilities upgrades. Peter Jesus, vice president of technology, says the company's "continuous improvement culture is supported by significant capital investment in technology." Recent steps forward within Boehmer's offset printing operation include the 2010 additions of a 56˝ KBA Rapida 6-color press (the company's other offset presses are a 56˝ Roland 900 and a 50˝ Mitsubishi Lithrone) and a 56˝ Bobst Die Cutter—investments designed to expand production capacities.

On-press, inks don't sit stagnant, either. Boehmer uses Hostmann-Steinberg Limited's vegetable oil-based !nkredible Reflecta Process series, which is registered to the National Association of Printing Ink Manufacturers (NAPIM) Bio-based Renewable Content (BRC) labeling program at the 70 level (a bio-based renewable content between 65.1 percent and 75.0 percent). The inks do not contain mineral oil, which eliminates direct food contamination concerns, and have a Volatile Organic Content (VOC) of less than three percent. Boehmer will soon distribute these inks via direct-to-fountain pumping systems on all three offset presses—a new measure which, through the use of 200 kg re-useable drums, will reduce inks' waste packaging more than 80 percent.

Changing colors

The technological forward transitions don't stop there. Boehmer Box continually works to hone its extended color gamut offerings, which include both proprietary and standard solutions. Four years ago, Boehmer became the first North American printer to adopt FM6, an expanded color gamut technology that Boehmer executives originally travelled to Europe to see in action. The technology's seven process colors (six can be run at a time) eliminate the need for spot colors, thereby enabling jobs incorporating virtually unlimited colors to be completed in a single pass on a 6-color press. VP Jesus calls it "a wide-ranging value proposition" because it offers savings in manufacturing and provides higher impact packaging graphics.

One application Jesus cites as deriving particular benefit from FM6 technology is kids' food packaging. Often designers of these packages are after a "whimsical" look that might require 20 colors. In these cases, Boehmer can provide color books and color combination examples (printed on customers' substrates of choice) so that packages can be created in a regular Quark or InDesign environment, yet smoothly converted to the wide gamut color formulations during production.

For Boehmer, FM6 and other extended color gamut solutions, such as hybrid screening, are an apt complement to the carton converter's commitment to offering high-definition print quality—400-plus lines per inch—as its standard graphic output on recycled board. This accomplishment, according to Jesus, requires a dedication to color management, CTP capability, and a strong supporting prepress structure, not to mention the education and buy-in of customers. Jesus estimates 80 percent of Boehmer's customers are on board with any adjustments needed on their end to achieve this caliber of quality on their finished cartons. "Change management is key," he sums up.

Going digital to keep pace

Change management on entirely different levels was the impetus behind CANAMPAC's 2010 founding of LYFT Visual and its concurrent investment in Agfa Graphics' 25˝ Dotrix Modular digital printing system. The Dotrix enables the company to meet a growing need for shorter print runs, and offers promising applications in the area of point-of-purchase (POP) marketing materials such as sales samples and mock-ups. The press's digital printheads can produce variable graphics, and two conventional flexo stations can be employed for coatings, special colors, and white inks. In-line slitting, diecutting, and sheeting modules can also be integrated. Packaging substrates that CANAMPAC has used on the press include foil-board folding carton, clear PVC folding carton, paperboard, flexible films, and shrink film material.

Overall, says Jesus, digital output represents a small percentage of CANAMPAC's print work, but the Dotrix technology enables the delivery of high-value products. For instance, when one of Canada's largest retail brands sought to test the introduction of a new private label ready-foods product in ten select stores, CANAMPAC found the retailer's plans were best supported with digital printing. After an initial printing of under 100 packages on the Dotrix, the retailer could monitor product pull at these select stores and immediately adjust future print quantities accordingly. It was also able to apply test market feedback to accomplish two packaging redesigns for the product over the past year. Sums up McMeekan, "The Dotrix has introduced us as a packaging and marketing partner versus a carton manufacturer. We can serve more needs of existing customers."

Is digital printing a change that will ultimately become the norm? "We're early adopters but expect to make more investments," says Jesus. "We have a deep belief in where the industry will go." He says it is CANAMPAC's strategy to get involved now, work out any issues, and ultimately be the name that customers remember when additional momentum kicks in for the technology. Jesus expects to soon see a tipping point in end-users' appreciation of digital technology's advantages, and high interest in its low cost of entry.

Taming turnover

CANAMPAC's change management resources for customers extend well beyond the press room, largely because the days of packaging artwork staying the same for two years are long gone. Jesus describes "an incredible amount of turnover" in current packaging designs, due to consumers' growing practice of making purchase decisions at-shelf—a trend that significantly elevates the package's marketing role.

In food packaging, he relates, the pivotal marketing function of packages coupled with frequent regulatory changes puts even more pressure on art departments to quickly create, approve, and disseminate new package designs. "We look at things holistically and try to help customers shave off cycle time at any point in the production process, to get on the shelf in a relevant quick manner," Jesus comments.

Though CANAMPAC's core business remains the production of folding cartons, through LYFT Visual it can partner with customers further upstream in the packaging workflow, by offering creative services, copy development, prepress support, and content management tools, such as digital asset management and online approvals. One LYFT content management tool is focused specifically on helping designers more efficiently manage changes to a package's promotional content, such as coupons. LYFT also offers a color management software solution that can be used whether the finished package is produced through CANAMPAC or elsewhere.

Implementations of content management software rank alongside short-run digital printing applications as significant emerging growth opportunities for the company. Jesus also expects 100-percent recycled board to show continued strength due to its fit with customers' sustainability plans.

McMeekan projects that growth will be seen both organically and inorganically as CANAMPAC owner Atlas Holdings—already an operator of 27 facilities and nine creative offices worldwide within its Packaging Group—continues to feed its "appetite for acquisition." As CANAMPAC sets its sights on attracting more national brands, it's clear that change is a fundamental certainty in its progression and its appeal to packaging end-users. pP