Change Is Coming To The Folding Carton Market

By Noel Ward

Narrow Web for Cartons: The Value Prop

Narrow web flexographic press manufacturers are claiming:

Flexo is as Good as Offset

Flexo is more than an adequate replacement for offset in terms of print quality. This is a reasonable argument given flexo’s objective technology advances in recent years. Also, while products printed on narrow-web small-format presses may be complex, the smaller size makes print quality less visually demanding than it would be for larger graphic images.

Flexo Costs Less

Flexo is less costly in terms of presses, consumables, service, and staffing than offset. This is also largely valid and especially true in a narrow-web context.

Flexo Web Wastes Less

As a web process, flexo tends to involve less waste than the sheet-based offset process used for folding cartons.

Better Economics for New Fragmenting Markets

Narrow web offers better economics when processing shorter runs and smaller format final print products because it is more easily scaled to that purpose.

In-Line Conversion Saves Costs

Narrow-web press configurations offer in-line conversion that can be easily adapted to the special needs of folding carton production (heavier servos, stronger dies etc.) providing integrated, low-cost economics. By comparison, conventional sheet-fed folding carton converters often use separate printing and conversion processes.

Modular Inkjet can be Included with Flexo Narrow Web

Narrow-web presses are becoming available with full-color, single-pass UV Inkjet modules. This lowers costs and simplifies printing of variable content within runs or across batches of print jobs, without stopping machines to change plates. The ability to gang jobs in this way and provide fast response to customer needs may be the single most important driver for some users. UV inkjet has yet to prove itself acceptable in terms of food regulation and print quality, though it is not suggested that will be problematic

-- IT Strategies, Inc.

Global researcher Smithers Pira cites three trends in folding cartons that drive some of the demand for narrow-web solutions.

1. Downsizing: Brand owners are reducing package sizes in an effort to reduce costs for packaging and shipping, and to gain some positive public relations spin. For some applications, this makes narrow-web printing a more effective way to produce folding cartons with less waste.

2. Single serve packs: With an increasing number of meals being eaten alone or by consumers on the run, single-serve packaging is in high demand. The smaller containers can be a good fit for narrower webs, although ironically, smaller packages often require more material per volume of product, than the larger containers they replace.

3. Printing techniques: No matter the size of the container, brand owners want it to stand out on the store shelf. To add that “pop,” many are adopting the use of multiple colors, foils, holographic images, and more. Many of these can be more easily applied inline on a web press than via offset.

Folding cartons are the containers of choice for an immense range of products, from pharmaceuticals and health and beauty products, to cereal boxes, frozen foods, consumer electronics, and more. Together, they account for an estimated value of $61 billion worldwide, spread over about 3,500 converters.

The vast majority of folding cartons are presently printed in relatively large quantities on sheet-fed offset presses and trimmed on flat-bed die-cutters. But the nature and shape of the folding carton market is changing and some innovative converters are taking a straight and narrow approach to keep pace with customers' requirements. Smaller package sizes, the rise of single-serve packaging, and the capabilities of narrow-web presses offer new opportunities for converters seeking ways to meet changing market requirements.

Existing Width Not Satisfying Demand

Recent research by IT Strategies of Hanover, Massachusetts indicates that some press manufacturers and brand owners believe the folding carton market is increasingly commoditized. Over the last 40 years its converting and printing capacity has developed primarily around large-scale, low-cost plants. As a result, folding carton converters have had to work with ever-thinner margins. Yet at the same time, demand for folding carton specialties—different options in size, shape, and features—has grown. The unique nature of some specialties has made it difficult for large-scale operations to offer flexible lower run lengths, in-line single-site conversion, and fulfillment.

But over the past five years, narrow-web press manufacturers have seen opportunities emerge for folding cartons. The first thing narrow webs bring to the party is faster production of smaller cartons in smaller quantities. This is well-suited to production of increasingly common smaller packaging formats, such as sachets, pharmaceutical boxes, health and beauty products, and a host of convenience foods. It is also a reflection of a broader movement to smaller packages, SKU proliferation, and an ongoing fragmentation of markets into ever-smaller user groups.

Common ground with labels

Market dynamics such as shorter runs and more SKUs are familiar territory for label converters, but can be terra incognita for folding carton companies. The common ground for both is starting to be narrow-format presses. According to IT Strategies, narrow-web presses—which have largely been tailored to the pressure sensitive label market—can readily accommodate short run and small format folding carton production. What's more, narrow web presses commonly incorporate standard in-line conversion features such as die-cutting, creasing, and folding, along with print enhancement options such as coatings and lamination. Plus, they are designed to work with UV and aqueous inks at high quality levels using flexographic technology, which these days can often deliver print quality every bit as good as many offset presses.

Seeing opportunity, narrow-web press manufacturers including CPS, Edale, Gallus, Mark Andy, MPS, Nilpeter OMET, Rotatek, and others have been tweaking their performance to suit the requirements of folding carton markets. Offering, for example, strengthened servo motors that can support heavier substrates, larger unwind diameters and stronger die cutters. Some are also playing the quality card, selling their flexo machines as dedicated folding carton presses that offer the qualitative equivalent of offset with the advantages of a narrow web-fed press. One oft-mentioned attribute is less waste. Suppliers say web printing and conversion cuts down on the inherent waste of sheet printing. For some converters on the pioneering edge of narrow-format folding carton production, this can be a compelling argument.

Dedicated Presses

There are two primary approaches for label converters considering an expansion into narrow web folding carton production: a flexo press dedicated to folding carton production, or a digital press.

For many converters, a dedicated flexo press from one of the leading flexographic press suppliers is the most compelling. Flexo is a familiar, proven technology that can use existing prepress systems and staff, making for a straightforward integration into a converter's operations. A key advantage with flexo presses is that diecutting, folding, creasing and trimming can be handled inline, streamlining operations.

Alternatively, digital presses can be used for both labels and folding cartons. A web-fed model, such as the HP Indigo WS6600, prints 12.5 inches wide on a 13.4-inch web, and the sheet-fed Xerox iGen handles sheets 14.3 x 26 inches. For more width—which translates to greater throughput—Xeikon's 3500 system supports web widths up to 20.3 inches. More digital options are in the wings. However, digital presses all require additional third-party systems for diecutting, trimming, folding, and gluing. These are typically near-line configurations that require additional workflow steps. Still, digital presses have their own appeal to folding carton and label markets independent of width, so they are a factor in the emerging folding carton market that is developing beyond the traditional channel.

So what other companies are playing in the narrow-web space for folding cartons? For flexo, it's the same firms that already have a presence in the flexo space with label presses, and they are leveraging relationships with existing label converters who are looking to move into folding cartons. IT Strategies estimates these customers are buying about 10 percent of their new presses specifically for folding cartons. With a global annual market size of approximately 500 presses across all press vendors, that means that about 50 or so narrow web flexographic presses are sold for at least partial folding carton applications.

Flexo and digital narrow-web printing appear to be viable options for small folding carton production. While unlikely to become a major application for either technology, it is one that bears watching, and offers some converters a way to serve customer needs in an ever-changing marketplace. pP

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