Flexo Technology
Trends in packaging production By Miraclon European marketing manager Nilgun Turan
increasingly driving brands to diversify their product ranges and offer a greater variety. And with more product options comes more competition. As a result, packaging needs to be eye-catching and stand out on the shelf.
QUALITY
Quality is an expectation from most brands. They want to rely on their printers to deliver packaging that is of premium quality, that perfectly reproduces the brand colours that are approved at the design stage, and that is consistent. Having a reliable technology that can achieve this is, therefore, a must have requirement for print shops.
F
rom decreasing print runs to a heightened awareness of sustainable practices, there’s a number of trends that are currently shaping the packaging production process. In the past year, and in light of the pandemic, we’ve seen that many of these trends have been accelerated. This has led printers to evaluate their practices to ensure they’re maximising efficiencies and meeting customer demands. In this article, Nilgun Turan, European Marketing Manager at Miraclon highlights five of the prominent trends and explains why flexographic print technology is well suited to help printers succeed in 2021 and beyond.
REDUCED TIME-TO-MARKET AND ENHANCED EFFICIENCIES ‘Time to market’ is a commonly used term in the industry because brands require their designs to be printed and on-the- shelf within a few days. This means that packaging producers need to be more efficient across the whole production chain and so they’re looking for ways to run presses faster, for longer and with fewer changes.
SHORTER PRINT RUNS
The need for speed mentioned above extends to different run lengths too – from short, low volume, to long-run orders. However, a key trend impacting many printers is the one towards shorter print runs.
GREATER PRODUCT DIVERSIFICATION The move towards health-consciousness, longer life, city-dwelling and individualism is
SUSTAINABILITY
With an increased demand from consumers for brands to develop sustainable packaging, this pressure is being passed onto printers. When promoting their environmental credentials, printers need to consider all components, including using more sustainable technology, lighter substrates and reducing waste. Observing these trends, it’s clear that printers need to have the flexibility to profitably, efficiently and sustainably meet demands for ever-decreasing print runs, maximum quality and more diverse products. While this adds complexity to the print process, many printers are thriving, thanks to the latest flexographic print innovations.
As a result of a decade of concentrated technology development, flexo’s performance has radically improved in three key areas – quality, efficiency, and sustainability. The technology offers converters the opportunity to innovate and be creative, delivering on customers’ expectations.
These advances in flexo plate technology have been critical to levelling the playing field for flexo and alternative processes. Since its launch in 2008, KODAK FLEXCEL NX solutions from Miraclon have been recognised for making a particularly strong contribution. The technology offers controlled ink transfer for optimised print performance, enhanced quality, durability, brighter and cleaner colours, smoother transitions, a wider tonal range and an expanded colour gamut (ECG). More recent developments, including the FLEXCEL NX Ultra aqueous flexo plates system, enables printers to produce more sustainable packaging. Despite the ongoing demands that come with these trends, there’s concrete evidence of the new enthusiasm for the process in packaging production and, at Miraclon, we’re seeing that innovation and a willingness to go the extra mile are key drivers for many of our customers. That’s why we’re confident that these advancements in flexo technology will enable printers to take hold of new opportunities and thrive in the market.
u
miraclon.com
convertermag.com
June 2021
19
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48
