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By: Donald Allred, VP of Packaging at Memjet.
There is no denying the shifting trend toward digitally printed packaging. Digital helps print providers cost-effectively deliver packaging designed to meet changing consumer demands. These include personalization, versioning and increasing product varieties creating greater SKU proliferation.
Another growing packaging trend is the use of corrugate. This is driven by the increase in online purchasing through e-commerce platforms. The crossover between these two creates a compelling opportunity for both packaging providers and the corrugated press OEMs who supply them with print technology.
Increasingly, OEMs of corrugated converting equipment are evaluating the best options for integrating digital print into their equipment. During these processes, they should ensure the technology selected is designed around three key features: sustainability, flexibility, and scalability. Each of these is critical for meeting the needs of today’s consumers while also equipping print providers for long-term success.
Sustainable packaging is a growing priority for consumers and a key feature that they are willing to pay a premium to support. Corrugated packaging is a sustainable way to ship, protect and deliver products to consumers because of its ecological advantages. This type of packaging is both commonly recyclable and can be made from recycled paper. But, brands, print providers and corrugate press OEMs need to ensure that the print technology used also supports recyclability to deliver sustainable packaging.
Memjet’s water-based pigmented inkjet inks fully support the recycling of printed corrugated materials and will not create toxic waste in streams. This makes Colordyne’s ChromaPlex AP print engine powered by Memjet an ideal solution for sustainable corrugated package printing.
Not only are consumers looking for sustainable packaging, but they also want packaging with colorful graphics and customizable content – all delivered as fast as possible. Inkjet technology integrated onto corrugated equipment offers high-speed, single-pass printing direct to the board. This technique is a cost-effective way to accomplish each of these demands with flexible print production.
The inkjet print engines developed by Colordyne using Memjet’s DuraLink® technology offer on-demand, single-pass production at speeds up to 668 feet (204 meters) per minute. This allows OEMs to deliver print technology that can cost-effectively produce flexible print runs with full color variable images and data. Plus, Colordyne’s print engines enable users to reduce turnaround times by eliminating the need for plates, reducing setup times and minimizing changeover time between jobs.
The final feature corrugate press OEMs should evaluate is the scalability provided by their partners. This is important because not all presses or print production needs are the same. The scalability provided by the ChromaPlex AP through its modular Memjet components, like the printhead module, allows Colordyne to tailor each print engine to the OEM’s press specifications.
To achieve single-pass inkjet printing, Colordyne positions multiple Memjet printheads across the width of the substrate. This is done in 8.5-inch (215.9 mm) print increments up to 102 inches (2,590.8 mm) wide. Corrugate OEMs can work with Colordyne to identify their market’s printing requirements and offer upgradable solutions for customers who’s needs may change in the future.
For a solution that delivers on all three elements, Colordyne offers its ChromaPlex AP print engine Powered by Memjet’s DuraLink technology.
By working with Colordyne and Memjet, OEMs can leverage both companies’ inkjet expertise, while maintaining their own core competencies. Corrugate OEMs who partner for their integration also get to market faster and at a lower cost than complete in-house development.
Contact Colordyne today to learn more about the benefits they offer to strategic integration partners (SIPs).
Explore all the ideas outlined in this post by downloading the NAPCO report on Digital Printing of Corrugated Packaging sponsored by Memjet.
Colordyne designs, engineers and manufactures digital inkjet print engines that can be integrated with partner’s printers and presses.