Machine trumps man in the modern packaging industry

Digital printers are faster, cheaper and of markedly better quality than more antiquated methods. Fans of digital printing – and there are many – find it too easy to share why it delivers time and time again. With so many industries facing disruption from digital, printing is no exception. Fewer man hours and less human intervention means fewer issues, which is always a good thing. But what about the often-repeated issue of digital being unable to handle longer print runs? Or the expense of constantly upgrading equipment that's outdated as quickly as your new phone.

Keeping it simple

Converting Today asked Gary White, managing director at digitalprinting.co.uk, to share his views. With his Milton Keynes-based company entirely focused on the delights of digital, he is in no doubt that this printing solution delivers. White says, “We love digital printing. That's why it is all we do. We have over 20 years' experience of digital printing. We use the latest technology and we print everything on high resolution HP Indigo digital presses for top-quality print and stunning colour reproduction.”

As a resolutely digital company, digitalprinting.co.uk is almost entirely automated – albeit with a very strong, technically-experienced customer service team that is available to give 'ear-to-ear' advice on the phone. White adds, “We have a simple-to-use online ordering system with automated production processes, which means we can pass cost savings directly onto our customers. Customers just have to send us a PDF of their artwork, choose or repeat a few clear options online and then within 24 hours their job arrives. We have an excellent team of digital print fanatics, our production manager, our pre-press team who make sure there are no artwork errors and then there are the guys who run the HP Indigo presses. It has to be perfect. We're quick and totally accurate. Digital affords you that.”

It is certainly known that digital printing is perfect for short runs and special offers, with the alacrity, accuracy and cost of digitally printed labels, wraps and packaging being perfect for brands of all sizes. Take Retrocorn, the fast-growing popcorn brand. This Essex-based natural brand is gaining the attention of buyers as quickly as it is winning new fans of its delicious popcorn, flavoured with crushed retro-favourite sweets, such as cola cubes and cherry pips, with its latest range introducing savoury flavours.

Variety tastes sweet

Retrocorn founder Greg Taylor tells Converting Today how digital printing is helping him grow his brand. “We've just launched our new smaller 17.5g bag to join our bigger sharing bags which have been a huge success. These smaller bags are aimed at the airline industry – but we have also had a lot of parents saying how perfect they are for lunchboxes. The new bags are being digitally printed. We chose to go digital because when launching a new product or a different weight or concept of the same product, it removes the need to buy expensive printing plates. Although you pay slightly more for each impression the overall cost is significantly less.”

Taylor adds, “Printing digitally allows us to also see which products sell better, as we can look to stagger flavours into printed options as each flavour becomes more popular. We get customer feedback, which spreads the cost of buying the plates. We use SPP to print our bags.”

Digital printing suits brands across sectors. Who doesn't want faster, cheaper and reliable quality? For fast-growing baby and toddler organic snack brand Heavenly Tasty Organics, founded by Shona Blair in 2004 and now sold across the UK and exported to 18 countries worldwide, packaging is a visual representation of the products. James Blair, operations director at Heavenly Tasty Organics, tells Converting Today, “Our packaging is usually the first thing our consumers see when they are looking for snacks for their children. So it is vitally important that it is appealing to the consumer both from an attractive artwork view but also in terms of ease of use. Consumers want to engage with a brand and have it look appealing to them, but parents and toddlers also need to be able to use the product.”

Heavenly Tasty Organics’ introduction of a new Heavenly Kids range to join its well-established Heavenly Baby offer has seen fun artwork based around the theme of exploring says. With the brand long-dedicated to its certified Sugarwise promise – not only are the products no-added sugar, they also have very low levels of natural sugars – digital printing suits its evolving portfolio. Blair expands, “Our new range is aimed at parents and toddlers alike. The theme of exploring is about textures and flavours as well as getting outside and being adventurous. We wanted to focus on the toddler and what they want, while also saying to parents that we are a healthy brand to take away a little of the 'parental guilt' of using snacks. Our brief was to include brighter colours from our Baby range and place appealing animals on the packaging rather than babies or toddler figures. Digital is ideal for this process as you can amend and develop the design before quickly approving the final version before it goes to print.”

Driven by design

The design element of digital printing is certainly a major consideration for brands, particularly those that like to offer flash variations or use their packaging for marketing campaigns. For London-based international branding design agency Stormbrands, digital printing goes hand-in-hand with an increased demand for customisation – which shows no sign of slowing down.

Ben Cattley, operations manager at Stormbrands says, “Digital has virtually cornered the market for POS brochures and other short run print. Currently however I don't think we are quite there with digital print for packaging, though I do believe we are approaching a tipping point. All printing processes have their pros and cons and digital is no different, but compared to more traditional printing processes digital is evolving at a faster rate whilst bringing unique features. I think that as digital presses improve to really challenge Litho for speed and quality. This will open up more opportunities to use features, such as personalisation that will drive more adoption of digital. As brands find more interesting ways to use this personalisation to appeal to consumers the more digital will be used.”