AICC Boxscore 2013

The Path Toward Digital Print By Richard Brown

As noted in the recent spotlight about The BoxMaker , we have invested in digital print for our corrugated business. Within the industry, stories have circulated about box plants, that in the past have made similar decisions with poor results. So why would we venture down this path? You first need to know that our box plant has essentially been a brown box plant. Our 3 color rotary die cutter delivered the best of in-house flexo printing and even that would be considered mediocre compared to many competitors with 4-8 color direct print machinery. Local supply partners produce our litho-lam and folding carton work and we do a fair amount of that business. We also make pressure sensitive labels (on narrow web flexos) and that placed our sales representatives in front of brand managers, product leaders and marketing teams. We serve the Pacific Northwest and our client base has been moving toward faster, smaller and more customized product introductions. To deliver value we must provide impactful displays and protective packaging while reducing lead-time, production quantity, over/ under run and one-time costs. To meet these demands we invested in an entirely digital production area consisting of an HP wide format press and updated Kongsberg cutting table. Our interest in digital print for corrugated and related items began about 10 years ago. A Seattle area silk screener bought a wide format digital press and solicited us for smaller jobs that we’d traditionally run litho-lam. The printer was very expensive (>$500k), slow (+/- 80 SQFT/HR) and didn’t provide high-end resolution but we developed a few jobs a year and it served a niche. Much of this equipment had been geared toward signage so we continued to monitor developments within that industry. In 2009, we found that a new generation of wide

format presses was approaching the speed and quality we needed and an equipment cost that could be justified. In our evaluation there were several presses available to meet our needs. For those that may be evaluating such a purchase we suggest the following considerations: • Print quality match to customer needs and speed of production (there are often different print modes and they effect both quality and speed • Cost of ink, and any other consumables, on a per square foot basis • Ability to deal with warp. Even really good board may have some warp and these presses are generally designed to work with very flat materials • Upgrade path. Technology moves quickly so it is ideal to purchase a machine that allows for upgrades to software, print heads and the like The HP FB700 provides impressive print quality and we have found the speed appropriate for jobs under 10MSF, although we have made 25MSF on more than one occasion. Print resolution is suitable for most applications with font sizes above 8pt and we use the white ink option to enhance the overall result. Most work is then digitally cut on the table however the UV cured ink is durable enough for converting on our flexos and die cutters. Looking back on our first year, we made some very nice product incorporating an array of materials and used digital print to open several key new clients. While appreciative of the progress we made the year was more of an education than anything else. In future articles I will share more about our experiences and continued investment in this technology. We believe it is here to stay and are determined to be a leader in the transition from analog . 

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To deliver value we must provide impactful displays and protective packaging while reducing lead- time, production quantity, over/ under run and one-time costs.

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BOX SCORE