The Zone of Disruption

Digital presses have been taking on a growing share of the market for labels and folding cartons, and making inroads into flexible packaging. Now, corrugated containers are feeling the influence of digital printing, and as with other types of packaging, the flexibility digital presses can provide is an asset for corrugated carton printers.

“Individual run lengths have been declining in other areas of package printing and cardboard containers are hardly immune to the intrusion of digital printing,” says Sean Moloney, global digital product manager for SUN Automation Group which makes the CorrStream series of digital presses that specifically target corrugated containers. “Using a digital press to produce corrugated boxes is not about short-order box runs, it is about short-order print runs.”

Driving this, notes Moloney, are brand owners and retailers seeking more agile approaches that can help increase sales—mainly in-store, but also via the Internet. Corrugated packaging is not immune from this, particularly as demand for “shelf-ready” corrugated expands. These are the full-color cardboard boxes enclosing products from foods to consumer electronics that serve as mini-POP displays to boxes consumers pluck off store shelves and wheel to the cash register. Not long ago, many of these were plain brown cardboard containers bearing little more than a brand name and product model number. Now they boast full color images of what they contain, along with descriptions of a product’s features and benefits—because these boxes are on the retail front lines and the information on those attractive containers helps make the sale.

Yet the products in these shelf-ready boxes are not necessarily the same from one retailer to another, thus requiring (often slightly) different packaging. Combined with frequent feature, product and model changes, and different SKU numbers, shorter run lengths are required to limit waste and control packaging costs. Retailers are also reacting to increased consumer pressure for products to be readily available, plus the need for greater security, reduced inventory levels, and better supply chain economics. Conventional corrugated printing is at its limits in meeting short-run demands and is also experiencing over-capacity that has led to commoditized margins.

“Brands are increasingly requiring just-in-time inventory, shorter runs, and faster turn-around times,” says David J. Murphy, worldwide director of marketing and business development for HP high-speed inkjet products.

Taking share

The well-known advantages of digital printing apply. For corrugated containers, inkjet printing can change the traditional print volume model and provide savings and new capabilities for brands and packaging converters. Shorter set-up times, easier color management and the absence of plates save significant time and material, while lower order quantities trim shipping costs compared to conventional printing.

For example, corrugated containers are normally pre-printed to meet anticipated volumes. This doesn’t change with digital printing, but what does shift are the volumes being printed, making digital presses for corrugated boxes a compelling alternative.

“Digital preprint is more efficient than post-print alternatives,” says Murphy. “Jobs can be combined for short, medium or long runs. Yet unlike conventional pre-print, every box, or a specific range of boxes, can be different. This creates incredible opportunities for customization and ganging of short-run jobs in efficient workflows.”

Three approaches

So far, there are three ways inkjet printing is about to take share in corrugated. First, are the big flatbed machines that were initially used for printing all manner of POP signage and posters. Capable of printing good quality images on an enormous range of substrates, flatbed presses from Canon, Durst, EFI-VUTEk, HP Scitex, Inca, and more have been churning out very short runs of corrugated containers for a few years. And although these machines can be teamed up with various other devices for trimming, scoring and finishing, most lack the speed needed to fill the majority of jobs in the short- to medium-run productivity gap that are needed by brand owners and retailers.

So that speed now comes in at least two forms, medium-speed sheet-fed systems that print directly onto sheets of corrugated board, and high-speed machines that print a top sheet that is later glued to flutes in a corrugating machine. Both fit the corrugated carton market in different ways and target different printers’ needs.

The sheet-fed system consists of the CorrStream 20, 40 and 66 models from SUN Automation, which has recently installed a press in the southeastern United States at an undisclosed location. Because the machines print directly on corrugated sheets, no additional work is needed beyond trimming and scoring. “The CorrStream reduces box maker cost while offering margin-adding opportunity for multiple SKUs, shippers and displays,” says Moloney. “The question comes down to the costs on conventional presses for setup and plate costs versus the cost of heads and inks with digital, then factoring in the value of shorter runs with less waste and no obsolescence.”

Extending the approach of HP’s continuous feed inkjet presses being used for publishing and direct mail applications, HP’s T400 Simplex Color Inkjet Web press prints 40˝ wide topsheet liners at 600 feet per minute. The topsheet still needs to be run through a corrugator, trimmed and scored, but can be a fit for some operations, such as Obaly Morava in the Czech Republic (see sidebar).

Where does digital fit?

“Corrugated industry box makers appreciate its value,” says Moloney. “It’s clear that commercial printers, signage and POP shop and brand owners are also engaged as they begin to see opportunity offered by inkjet technology.”

Digital preprint is ideal for many shorter- to mid-run length jobs, in which inventory, frequent changes, make-ready, and time-to-market are putting stress on the converter.

“At first, brand owners didn’t even think of digital preprint on corrugated boxes because they didn’t think it was possible,” relates Murphy. “It’s similar to how they thought of digital for commercial applications before Indigo introduced its first digital press. Then they started to take notice and ask, ‘What if?’ Over time, as they became educated about what is possible, they started to design differently and build campaigns around digital.”

“For corrugated packaging, we are still in the early days of market education, but based on early orders and growing inquiries, we know demand will grow steadily over time.”