Harnessing Automation and Industry 4.0 for Greater Efficiency and Profitability

Keeping up with 21st-century technology is vital to label and package printing, as efficiency can mean the difference between success and stagnation. While traditional methods often falter under the pressures of cost, speed, and sustainability, a transformative wave of automation and Industry 4.0 practices has unlocked new efficiencies and amplified profits for printing companies ready to embrace change.

The Productivity of Five Additional Presses
OMNI Systems is a label converter and printer in Cleveland, Ohio, with a commitment to its customers, which demands efficiency in its operations.

“Our commitment to reducing costs — and, importantly, passing those cost savings onto customers — requires a commitment to automation and efficiency,” says Mike Murton, president and COO of OMNI Systems. “Automation is a critical component of our continuous manufacturing strategy that keeps our presses running 24/5. This reduces non-productive time and allows us to optimize press uptime during the week.”

Automation in the form of splicers from Martin Automatic enables OMNI’s press operators to change rolls without stopping production while in-line finishing turrets empower the OMNI team to inspect and pack out labels while a press is still printing. “If we did not have splicers on the presses, we would need five additional presses to cover the lost capacity of the downtime for changing rolls,” Murton says. “This lost production time would equal approximately 108 hours per day and over 27,000 hours over the course of a year.”

Real-Time Monitoring
The efficiency gains cited by Murton are more than rough estimates. OMNI has tremendous transparency into its operations thanks to an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system connected to the presses.

“Supervisors can see when the press is not running to speed from the dashboard in the ERP system, allowing them to respond to the issue and help the operator return the press to its proper run speeds,” Murton says. “Prior to the real-time data, we would review reports for the previous day and then solve issues retroactively. It was more reactionary than proactive and many times the jobs were already off press. Ultimately, real-time data allows us to not only get ahead of future issues, but also correct issues as they come up.”

OMNI isn’t the only converter Packaging Impressions has spoken to that leverages the power of real-time monitoring. Morgan Chaney is a Phoenix, Arizona-based package printing company that manufactures an array of custom-printed packaging, from custom cartons for CPGs to custom-printed cups for the food service industry — in addition to stock packaging that can be a cost-efficient option for brands who want to purchase packaging in quantities as low as 500 per case.

With such a wide variety of printed products, inventory control and sales forecasting are essential to the package printer’s success. Morgan Chaney Marketing Manager Erick Nova explains: “By digging into past sales data and keeping an eye on market trends, we’re able to make smarter decisions about what to produce and when to order materials. This means we’re not just guessing — we’re ensuring that our inventory levels are spot-on, which helps us avoid waste and always have what our customers need. Real-time monitoring also gives us a heads-up when stock is running low, so we can reorder before it impacts production.”

Lower Prepress Costs, More Flexibility
Nova says that the efficiency game-changer in Morgan Chaney’s operations is digital printing, especially when it comes to smaller quantities of custom-printed packaging. He explains: “This modern method lets us digitally print designs directly onto sturdy materials using inkjet technology, without the need for costly printing plates or dies. Not only does this keep setup costs down, but it also allows us to produce stunning, high-definition prints that can be tailored to each customer’s unique needs. It’s made it easier for us to provide beautiful, detailed packaging solutions that fit our customers’ branding perfectly, even in smaller quantities.”

The productivity bump from the right digital print and ink system can be significant. For example, a leading contract packager of sports nutrition supplements in North America is using the HP TIJ 2.5 (2580) solvent ink to print date and lot code information on stick packs containing drink powder supplements.

While the name of the supplement manufacturer is off the record, Packaging Impressions was able to interview HP Americas' Regions Manager Paul Barton about the company’s setup.

The stick pack is an increasingly popular packaging choice for companies to deliver products to consumers and retailers, Barton explains, but the challenge is to image clear and dry print on a stick pack’s non-porous surface at speeds compatible with those of vertical form/fill/seal machines.

“The combination of flexibility, productivity, and efficiency provided by TIJ 2.5 solvent ink ensures that manufacturers can meet the growing demand for stick packs while maintaining high standards of quality and cost-effectiveness,” he says.

Furthermore, like OMNI and Morgan Chaney, the supplement manufacturer can continuously monitor its printing process. Barton says, “The software provides real-time data on ink usage, cost per code, and alerts for cartridge changes. Through the printer interface, they can analyze the total cost of the run, output totals, ink settings, and firing parameters as the stick packs move through the machine for date and lot code application. This real-time monitoring ensures efficient production and precise control over printing operations.”

When this supplement manufacturer switched to a coding operation using TIJ 2.5 solvent ink, Barton reports, the CPG increased the efficiency of its coding and filling operations and realized a 33% reduction in costs.

The IoT Influence
Industry 4.0 technologies are also helping suppliers to the package manufacturing industry design more robust and agile machinery. Packsize, which showed its machinery to custom-make a wide range of right-sized corrugated boxes on demand at PRINTING United Expo 2024, uses IoT edge devices to improve insights into the patterns of its equipment and tackle some problems before they happen.

Packsize Vice President of R&D and Solution Design Steve Larson explains, “We are using this to better understand cycles, create greater visibility in a facility to downtime events and core drivers, and enable more proactive alerting and monitoring to events.”

Making the Transition
Automation and Industry 4.0 are no longer optional; they’re essential for staying competitive in the label and package printing landscape. Companies must adapt by integrating advanced technology that bridges connectivity to the cloud, data analytics, human-machine interaction, and engineering advancements.

While the promise of Industry 4.0 technologies, such as those used in IoT devices, has already been realized, the future might be even brighter. “Looking ahead, the potential is even more exciting,” Barton says. “We foresee a time when operators will leverage AI and speech recognition to interact seamlessly with printers, from setting up jobs and requesting analytics to controlling multiple lines with simple voice commands.”

By embracing these technologies, companies can unlock new levels of profitability and efficiency, positioning themselves for long-term success in an increasingly automated world.