2008-11-01
10 Tips for Getting the Most Out of Package Printing
Package design is increasingly being driven by customer needs—indeed, consumers and brand managers alike are demanding packaging that is more customized, personalized, specialized, or “promotionalized” than ever before. Package designers also are altering packaging to enhance perceived product quality or desired marketplace positioning. These market trends are leading to shorter production runs; they also require package printers to adapt processes quickly and inexpensively. Below are 20 tips from Heidelberg on how to get the most from your package printing in the current industry environment. 1) Be flexible. Packaging is increasingly diverse, making it crucial for package printers to employ the most adaptive and flexible
Bridging the Gap
These days, the more you can offer your customers in house the better. By not outsourcing certain phases of the label printing process, such as foil stamping or embossing, you can reduce the time it takes to get your order to your customer. It also allows for some cost cutting, the savings from which you could pass onto your customer.
It’s Elementary
Smart packaging takes on many forms and purposes. Some smart packaging communicates to end users via thermochromic inks that change color with temperatures. Other types will remind patients to take their medicine or combine communication with functionality in cases like self-cooling beer kegs or self-heating soups and coffees. One area where smart or intelligent packaging has practically become a necessity is in the area of brand security/authentication. One way to make packaging for brand protection smart is employing RFID. According to a -NanoMarkets study, “Smart Packaging Markets: 2006-2013,” printable and chip-based RFID tags will be consumed by smart packaging to the tune of $1.1
Mother Nature —Polischuk
The Tag and Label Manufacturer’s Institute (TLMI) held its annual meeting last month in the picturesque setting of The Breakers in Palm Beach, Fla. The annual meeting is always a highlight affair, mixing excellent presentations with a tabletop reception, business meetings, and a formal banquet. TLMI Chairman John Hickey of Smyth -Companies and Meeting Chair Dan O’Connell of UPM -Raflatac worked the presentations around the theme, -“Celebrating Our Legacy and Meeting the Challenges of Our Future.” Sustainability and the environment were the focus of several of the sessions including, “A Contract With Our Future” by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and “Forever Green” by
Plate Mounting Technology Showcase
Company: J M Heaford Limited, www.jmheaford.co.uk Product: Flexo Plate Mounter Proofer (Viper) What is it?: A device with cameras for attaching flexo printing plates to print sleeves in register using microdot technology and, afterwards, making a printed proof of the plates to confirm register, separations, and plate quality. Features: • High magnification cameras, servo drives, and PLC control • Simple touch-screen operator interface for ease of use • High-quality construction for extreme repeatable accuracy, low maintenance, and a long operating life. Company: DuPont Imaging Technologies, packaging-graphics.dupont.com Product: Cyrel Microflex 850 mm What is it?: A plate mounting system, developed for
Problem Solved
Dirt, dust, and any number of other contaminants can wreak havoc on a printing press. Package printers understand this well and work hard to maintain clean working environments and provide the necessary systems to eliminate contamination in their printing operations. Key components incorporated onto printing presses to achieve this purpose include static-elimination and web-cleaning systems. With the growing use of film materials, run at higher and higher press speeds, the need to control static (a.k.a., dirt magnet) and assure that substrates are free of foreign material is greater than ever. There are a number of companies that supply static-control and web-cleaning equipment and
Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.
It seems as though labels are everywhere. In an office, many items like White Out, hand lotion, and water bottles all have labels adorning the exterior of the package. At restaurants, one can’t help but notice the labels. They appear on bottles of almost every condiment: ketchup, mustard, Tabasco sauce, soy sauce, and even some salt and pepper shakers. Where one can see a decent amount of labels is at the bar or at a social gathering. It is truly amazing what the “turnaround” time is on beverage labels. It’s not that long after seeing someone twist off a bottle cap that you can
Standing Out in the Crowd
Differentiating a brand is critical to its success in the marketplace. In some way, shape, or form, a product needs to stand out from its competition—to be distinctive in such a way that gives a customer a reason to buy it. There are many aspects that come into play with brand differentiation including the product attributes themselves, product positioning, packaging, and the overall marketing message that pulls it all together. It is also a very dynamic endeavor, requiring a continual awareness of market trends that can provide opportunities for product enhancements. One thing is for sure, in most cases, distinctiveness doesn’t last for
True Colors
Of all the mission-critical elements involved in package production, one of the most critical remains color process control. Prepress professionals, print service providers, designers, and others involved in print production have historically struggled to control and manage color. In the packaging realm, the struggle to achieve consistent color has been elevated to a business imperative as the role of packaging shifts from that of a receptacle for the product inside to a key element in selling the product. Keep it calibrated “Color process control needs to be a priority for professionals in any organization who take quality seriously,” says Arjen van der Meulen, director
What Just Happened?
I don’t know about you, but I found myself asking that question quite a bit this year. 2008 has been pretty topsy turvy. I’d drive down the street one day and gas would be $3.64 a gallon, but three days later it would be $3.89. One week Merrill Lynch is a solid company, and the next it is part of the problem resulting in a $700 billion bail out. What just happened? As a nation, we’ve seen unprecedented fuel prices, an economic downturn that may not have hit bottom yet, and by the time this issue hits the streets, a historic presidential election.
