Great Combinations
Combining in-line processes provides the key to distinctive products.
COMBINING A VARIETY of processes in package-printing applications is being seen more and more often. This does not mean that it's becoming routine—by any sense of the imagination—just more popular. Commenting on last year's TLMI Awards Competition, Ray Mackura, technical marketing manager for Avery Dennison, Fasson Roll North America and a judge in the competition, said, "The use of combination printing is becoming quite common, and printers are getting really good at it."
The reason why combination printing is not routine (and hopefully, will never reach such a stagnant milestone) is that it provides a multitude of opportunities to add distinctiveness to products. Although Jim Imburgia, senior sales manager for Aquaflex, says rotary screen, water-based laminations, and gravure are most common, "It seems that package designers and brand managers are always pushing the envelope on what can be produced. That leads to some very interesting combination processes," he adds.
As Mackura points out, printers are getting really good at combination printing. This is, in part, born out by the big winners in packagePRINTING's Excellence Awards and the TLMI Awards competitions last year. In both of these competitions, combination-printed entries won top honors.
Spear's "Bacardi Big Apple" entry won first place in the Excellence Awards' Labels—Combination Process category and then won Best of Show when stacked up against the other first place winners. It was produced using rotary screen, flexo, and hot stamping to provide a distinctive no-label look for the Bacardi product.
At TLMI, Dow Industries won first place honors in the Multi-Process—Color Process—Prime category and then won the coveted Best of Show award. This label used 4-color high-definition UV flexo printing in combination with 2-color rotary screen.
The real rewards, though, come on the store shelves where consumer products companies are looking for any advantage they can get. To provide them the greatest opportunity for success, press manufacturers are designing highly productive, flexible presses that will allow brand owners to be creative in the looks that can be achieved for their products.
Common combos
As an indication of how prevalent the use of combination processes has become, Eric Short, director of sales, North America for Drent Goebel, reports that at least 90 per cent of the presses sold by Drent Goebel are combination presses. The most common processes incorporated with their hybrid offset presses are flexo, gravure, and screen printing.
Mark Andy's director of product marketing, Ken Daming, says the use of rotary screen printing is becoming very popular. "Customers want the screen for opacity and for the tactile nature of the screen laydown," he says. Daming is also starting to see gravure applications "where the customer wants a real metallic ink on their package. Both processes are intended to give a higher 'value-added' look to the package."
It is common for high-end label converters serving the cosmetic and health and beauty markets to use silkscreen combined with flexo, according to Steve Leibin, North American sales manager for Omet Srl. In addition, hot foil and cold foil are also being used with flexo "to achieve attractive, glitzy packaging that jumps off the shelf at the consumer." Leibin also mentions that gravure printing is seeing increased use with the growing need for metallic and fluorescent inks. One reason is metallic gravure inks can be used to replace costly hot foil in certain applications.
Even with screen printing and hot foiling being fairly common in higher end package printing, there is still additional opportunity to provide different looks. This is done by providing the capability to put the hot foil and screen units at any point on the press.
Says Lloyd Bradley, senior sales manager for Gallus: "Traditionally, hot foil and screen are at the end of the process, perhaps positions seven and eight. But when you have the ability to move it forward in the process and lay down screen on top of foil, you can generate some very unique looks and give innovation opportunities to label designers. This change gives the label a different feel and look."
Trends in combo processes
The ability and need to provide a different, unique look is not just important on the store shelf—although this is the ultimate driving force. Today, printers also need to differentiate themselves from their competition, and combination printing is a useful approach in this endeavor.
"The growing interest in combination presses is caused by the fact that printers are starting to see that their own technology is no longer 'holy,'" says Short. "Due to market saturation, it becomes necessary for many printers/converters to differentiate themselves. … Numerous cases in the market have proven the success of combined processes. As the brand owners require more quality and versatility, but also lower costs and faster responsiveness, you can identify more and more hybrid printing processing based on variable size offset (VSOP), supported with flexo, gravure, or silkscreen applications."
The ability to move processes from one press location to another is providing printers with the ability to be creative, and differentiate their products for their customers. With modern press designs, this is a relatively easy proposition.
"With the right system it can be accomplished in just a few minutes," says Daming. "This provides the customer with a lot of options and the possibility of providing a unique look. Printing an image over the top of a metallic coating is one example."
Paul Teachout, director of after sales services at Aquaflex, points to the use of vibrant colors and dense whites as a way to provide distinctiveness. "In addition, customers want their packages to be more durable. Water-based laminations and two-part epoxy laminations are becoming more popular. These processes produce a very durable package with a glossy look that is very hard to achieve without using UV varnishes."
Flexibility is the key
Accommodating a wide range of processes in an in-line operation requires the utmost in designed-in flexibility. To provide the necessary flexibility, modern presses incorporate modular design and servo technology.
"The Aquaflex product strategy has always been to provide the greatest flexibility possible," says Imburgia. "Our presses can be equipped with rail systems over the print towers allowing multi-process applications. Lamination towers and other processes such as rotary screens can be moved up and down the press as needed for unique applications. Aquaflex also offers cassette-based presses that provide print station interchangeability. Combination processes are added or removed by a simple exchange of cassettes."
Likewise, Bradley says that with Gallus presses, all the processes are movable into every position, so the creativity of its customers will not be limited. "In some of the Gallus presses the owner has the ability to even move the die position to the middle of the press when the particular job calls for it. Gallus presses give the owner the flexibility to be as creative and innovative as possible without restrictions on press configuration."
Modular designs can provide countless combinations, but when it comes time to run the particular set up a printer has to be ready for the added complexity. "The more processes you try to combine, the more difficult it can get," says Short.
Servo technology goes a long way toward addressing the process integration issues that come with several in-line processes. "With a gearless/shaftless press and options that are servo driven, the integration of the processes becomes easier with less waste, since the registration is achieved electronically—not mechanically—between the different printing units," observes Leibin. This is especially important when competing in today's short run marketplace, he adds.
Modern presses make combining the best qualities of the different printing processes economically feasible. Even if this adds some complexity, it is typically much better than the alternative—off-line operations.
"Of course, adding a lot of different processes does add some time," says Daming, "but if the press is flexible enough, it is still much more efficient to do it all in line than to add several off-line operations. Combination printing is where [printers] can add more value—and make more profit! And the right press that is flexible enough allows them to accomplish this."
In addition to providing flexible designs and versatile technologies such as servo drives, press suppliers stand ready to support customers with training and technical and service support. While some companies have in-house expertise for all the processes that are supplied on their machines, others have formed OEM partnerships to provide the required expertise. In either case, any help that printers might need is readily available.
by Tom Polischuk
Editor-in-chief
