March 2007 Issue
Buoyant Business
There’s a lot of the action in the package-printing industry coming from the flexible packaging sector. You can’t go into a supermarket these days and not see some new packaging configuration for products that previously had been packaged in a different form—tuna fish in a flat pouch, drinks in stand-up pouches, frozen foods in plastic bags—just to mention a few. From a printing and converting standpoint, even some of the more trendy labeling applications require press and converting capabilities geared toward the processing of flexible, unsupported materials. These include shrink sleeve labeling, in-mold labeling, and even pressure-sensitive film labels. It is not surprising
Changing Environment
The tag and label industry continues on a steady path of change. It wasn’t too long ago that primary product labeling meant one of two decoration formats—pressure-sensitive or glue-applied paper labels. But with major inroads being made by film materials and competition from other product decoration methods, tag and label printers find themselves dealing with a multitude of challenges and opportunities. Corey Reardon, president and CEO of AWA Alexander Watson Associates, acknowledges the changing landscape of the tag and label industry. “Product decoration and identification has become a much broader platform in recent years, with the two macro technologies—pressure-sensitive and wet glue labels—now
Defining the Buzz
No business serious about its commitment to its customers would shy away from enhancing its product offerings. Current trends in the package-printing industry reflect just that, especially the trend toward short-run printing. One such enhancement is adding digital printing capabilities for your existing product lines. But just what is digital printing? When people say “digital printing” what do they mean? Defining digital printing “It really depends on what aspect you’re looking at,” says Dan Briley, North American category manager, industrial products, HP Indigo Digital Press. “In general, when you’re talking about the packaging application, digital printing refers to the fact that every single package,
Edging out the Competition
Today’s package printers know that the more appealing a package looks to the consumer, the more they will reap monetary benefits. With this in mind, printers have been juggling the demands of high-productivity, easy maintenance, and environmental responsibility. It’s no wonder that because UV and EB technology allows for these benefits, it has been a major presence in the packaging industry. According to a RadTech International report titled, “Radiation Curing for Packaging,” the non-profit UV and EB organization expects that the currently estimated $480 million curing market for packaging will jump to $550 million by 2009. With UV/EB technology increasing momentum, converters must know
Evolution —Polischuk
The State of the Industry Reports compiled for this issue provide an opportunity to step back and view, as a package, many of the trends and topics that are covered throughout the year. Rarely do new trends emerge just in time for these reports, and it is more likely that many of the trends are continuing—albeit with some new twists—from year to year. Flexible packaging still continues to lead as a dynamic packaging segment, led by growth in pouches. The label industry is continuing its steady move into the use of film substrates, which opens up doors into flexible packaging. The folding carton
Finding Your Niche Equals Success
The state of the folding carton industry is hard to pin down. Walking up and down the supermarket aisles reveals no shortage of folding carton containers. But as we all know, there’s far more to the folding carton market than just food packaging. The majority of large consumer electronics items come in corrugated or paperboard packaging. These items, however, are often manufactured in foreign countries, and are therefore packaged there as well. So the North American folding carton market takes a hit. Couple this reality with changes in the supply chain, and some might consider the North American folding carton market in difficult straits.
Green Gains
The global packaging market is approaching a half-trillion dollars, and North America represents nearly one third of this, most of it printed. While many print segments in North America are stagnating, packaging is growing at more than 4 percent per year. Market trends are creating the demand, and technology is creating solutions and opportunities. Consumers, retailers, and brand companies are continually raising the bar: • Better quality: fresh, natural, food ready-to-go; • Environmental sustainability; • Better graphics, more color, but with less material; • Shorter runs, quicker turnaround; • Packaging that delivers more than just the product; • Supply chain efficiency. Technology has
Inline Versus Offline Inspection
Consumers are probably as smart as you think they are, and when it comes down to one vendor’s package versus another’s, they notice everything. They’ll notice print and graphics on the package that are out of registration, and they’ll definitely notice when the bar code isn’t printed correctly as they wait at the checkout for an item to scan properly. You’ll see it in your bottom line if the vendors to whom you print packaging aren’t completely happy with the end result, especially if what you printed doesn’t match what they approved at the tail end of press qualification. Today’s web inspection systems have
It’s a Brave New World
“All the Woulda-Coulda-Shouldas/Layin’ in the sun,/Talkin’ ‘bout the things/They woulda coulda shoulda done….” The beloved Shel Silverstein poem is a cautionary tale for flexographic trade shops still on the fence about implementing a digital plate workflow. Said to eliminate many of the variables associated with its analog counterpart, digital flexographic platemaking has matured, and a growing number of trade shops and their customers are wondering why it took them so long to “come around.” NPP Packaging Graphics Specialists is one such company. Although the $7 million, Indianapolis-based prepress house serving the corrugated, wide and narrow web, and tag and label markets has had digital
The Pressure’s On
Pressure-sensitive materials have staying power. Because of the many functional and decorative possibilities pressure-sensitive materials offer to meet consumer demand, it should not come as a surprise that most converters are heavily involved in the conversion of these substrates. While the food segment makes up a majority (almost 20 percent) of the pressure-sensitive market, beverage labeling—with an emphasis on clear film labels—accounts for 15.6 percent, according to the Tag and Label Manufacturers Institutes’s (TLMI) North American Label Study 2007. And, with more concern directed toward brand protection in recent years, there has also been a growing need for tamper-evident labels, according to the study.
