From Folding Cartons to Face Shields: Package Printers Continue to Chip In

Ever since the coronavirus took hold of the country’s collective mindset, the difficulties and challenges that present themselves amidst a pandemic have dominated much of our attention. But mixed in amidst the difficulties we’re all facing have been stories of how the package printing and converting industry is utilizing its resources to help fight this virus, and support those on the front lines.

Pulver Packaging in Elk Grove, Ill., produced these face shields using paper from Case Paper. Image courtesy of the Paperboard Packaging Council.

Yesterday, an email popped up in my inbox that caught my eye. It came from the Paperboard Packaging Council, and included a variety of stories directly from PPC members about how they are faring amidst the crisis. But the image that jumped out right away was of two men, each wearing a face shield that appeared to be constructed of a combination of paperboard and clear plastic.

Curious to learn more, I clicked on the article to find it was written by Ed Zumbiel of Zumbiel Packaging. Having known Ed for a few years and having watched as Zumbiel Packaging has emerged as a leader in digital printing of folding cartons, I was particularly inspired to learn about the company's commitment to produce 200,000 of these face shields to support the New York Department of Health.

But the story didn’t end there. Reading on, Zumbiel explained how his company became involved with Fiber Shield, an organization that consists of paperboard packaging producers and suppliers that are utilizing their collective resources to manufacture and distribute face shields made from paperboard and plastic.

While packaging production has been largely deemed to be an essential business, with presses up and running amidst the pandemic, it has been amazing to see how companies across the industry have stepped up to contribute more than just their typical runs of labels and packaging.

For example, in the label industry, companies have fielded quick calls to action for fast turnaround of in demand products. My LinkedIn timeline has been flooded with updates about how label printers have sprung to action to help brands get hand sanitizer and other cleaning products on shelf quickly and effectively.

One video I saw takes us behind the scenes at International Label & Printing Co., an Illinois-based label and packaging producer. In the video, we see how International’s staff collaborated on the fly to produce and ship an expedited order of hand sanitizer labels set to be delivered to a customer that supplies the airline industry — another business that has been deemed essential and is operating amidst the coronavirus.

Another post came from Robert Petrie of Grace Imaging, a Perrysburg, Ohio-based label printer, specializing in digital printing. The post describes how Grace Imaging was able to assist a nearby distillery, which had pivoted from producing spirts to producing hand sanitizer. In need of labels for the newly produced product, the post describes how Toledo Spirits turned to Grace Imaging, which produced 45,000 labels of the course of a weekend.

These are just a few examples of how package and label printers are stepping up to the plate when their services are needed the most. Please feel free to reach out to me at cfrancer@napco.com to share your story — we’d love to hear from you!