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The Path Toward Digital Print
By Richard Brown
35
BOX
SCORE
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
.
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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