Digital printing for labels & packaging 2021 by PMMIMediaGroup

Supplement to

JULY 2021

Printing, embellishment, finishing, and a whole new connected packaging platform—all done digitally Cover_DigitalPrintSupplement_0721.indd 1

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Weber’s Secret For Great Digital Labels?

Digital Press Operator Carlos Conde, 18 Years

Experience. At Weber Packaging Solutions, we have been printing labels for thousands of companies, large and small, for over 40 years. And over that time, we have realized that the most important part of the label creation process is the team behind it. Label pre-press experts, press operators, quality inspectors, packers and more. Your digital label is an extension of your brand and representative of your product. Let Weber bring your label to life with creative solutions for economical materials, eye-catching finishes and amazing colors. Our digital label presses allow smaller minimums, incredible high-quality printing, and fast turn-around times. Go to http://info.weberpackaging.com/get-free-label-samples for a free packet of custom label examples and see the intense clarity and high-quality of digital labels. Or contact us at 1-800-843-4242 or info@weberpackaging.com for a free consultation with our experts about improving your labels.

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www.weberpackaging.com Locations Worldwide

6/19/21 6:10 AM

Digital Printing Upgrade and a Second Digital Laser Cutter By Pat Reynolds, VP Editor Emeritus

This Wisconsin producer of both in-mold and pressure-sensitive labels upped its game in 2020 with systems that have enabled the firm to get into the flexible films market.

The stainless steel belt of the LasX digital laser system (A) delivers cut parts to the Dorner vacuum conveyor belt (B), which in turn deposits them on the Dorner discharge conveyor belt (C). Immediately upstream is the LasX system (right).

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JULY 2021 DIGITAL PRINTING FOR LABELS & PACKAGING

ounded as a digital-press-only producer of pressuresensitive as well as in-mold labels, InkWorks Printing opened its doors 12 years ago with the installation of a narrow-web HP Indigo 4500 digital press. Later the firm graduated to an HP 6900 digital press, which has a 13-in. web width, and later still a second 6900 was added. As capacity requirements continued to grow, some thought was given to a third 6900. But instead the Plymouth, Wis., converter opted to go wide web with an HP Indigo 25K digital press, which offers a 30-in. web width. Based on the well-established HP Indigo 20000 system for digital printing of roll-fed flexibles, the new 25K is designed to deliver a 25% increase in short-run productivity and less waste through improvements in color automation, sustainability, and workflow automation. The new press has been running at InkWorks since December of 2020. To complement the new press, InkWorks also installed a Combi Pack Ready Laminator from Karlville, which offers both thermal and solventless lamination. “We had been running solventless lamination on a narrow-web machine,” says President Bob Travis. “But it was not very sophisticated, and in fact it was kind of a home-grown solution. Plus it was for 13-in. wide web, and with the 30-in. 25 K we needed a 30-in. wide laminator. (See sidebar on page 2 for more on the Karlville laminator.) “Among other things,” Travis continues, “these new capabilities allowed us to get into the flexible packaging market. Not to mention letting us offload some of the larger labels that previously we could only run one across on the 6900s. Now we can run those in multiples across the web. So it really came down to a decision to eliminate some of the bottlenecks we had in our operations.” Travis says that when laminating thin films, a thermal process involving heat can too easily make the material curl. “The thermal laminating we do tends to be for pouch materials,” he points out. “In-mold labels are done via solventless technology, usually at speeds in the range of 600 feet per minute. Thermal lamination is more like 150 ft/min.”

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Digital finishing, too

DIGITAL PRINTING FOR LABELS & PACKAGING

JULY 2021

Bold as it was, the leap to a new press and laminating system was just the beginning. It coincided with the installation of a second LasX digital laser cutting system. Travis says his experience with InkWorks’ first LasX machine was an eye-opener. “Once we no longer had to rely on conventional die-cutting tooling and could set up jobs digitally, we had the ability to cut any size or shape and go from one to another in rapid succession. When you put that capability in front of designers and brand owners who suddenly realize they no longer have to stick to the same size or shape of a label or package, it just opens up a lot of really interesting possibilities.” InkWorks can use either of its 15-in.-wide LasX systems for either roll-to-roll or roll-to-sheet operations. The roll-tosheet capability comes in mighty handy with two types of labels produced by InkWorks. One is where the customer’s volume requirements are relatively low. “Some of the smaller food manufacturers, or maybe a craft brewer, find it easier to pull pressure-sensitive labels from a sheet and manually apply them to containers than to bother with a roll of labels,” says Travis. “We make labels for pouches, for example, where the customer needs 1,000 of one label, 10,000 of another and 5,000 of a third. Customers find the sheet format easier to handle.” When these sheets of pressure-sensitive labels are in production, the laser kiss-cuts the labels on the release liner and then it cuts a deeper cut to separate individual sheets from the roll. Number of labels per sheet depends entirely on the customer’s requirements. The other application where roll-to-sheet is in demand

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The Combi Pack Ready Laminator offers both solventless adhesive or thermal lamination.

FIRST COMBI PACK READY LAMINATOR INSTALLED

he Combi Pack Ready Laminator at InkWorks represents the first commercial installation of this newly available combo laminating system, which offers either thermal or solventless adhesive lamination. When Karlville debuted the original Pack Ready concept at drupa 2016, it was strictly for thermal lamination. The technology was notable then and remains notable now because it lets converters go from laminating directly into slitting and pouch-making with no time required for curing of adhesives. Here’s how it works. InkWorks surface prints a roll of biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) supplied by a firm like Nobellus. Also supplied by Nobellus is a roll of clear polyester that InkWorks laminates to the surface-printed BOPP as a way of protecting the inks. Both the polyester and the BOPP arrive from Nobellus with an extrusion coating of EVA. So all InkWorks need do is introduce heat to bond the two together—thus the term “thermal laminating.” Because no adhesive is applied, there’s no time required for curing before the material goes to Ink-

Works’ slitting operation. “This capability has opened up new markets and allowed us to partner with makers of stand-up pouches, side-gusseted pouches, and bags,” says Travis. While InkWorks relies on thermal laminating for the pressure-sensitive label side of its business, it switches to solventless adhesive lamination for its in-mold labels. This is not only because the substrates being married are very thin and thus subject to curling when subjected to heat. It’s also because in-mold labels are usually laminations of clear BOPP to surface-printed BOPP. Thermal lamination involves EVA, which would interfere with the monolayer quality you’re after when injection molding PP containers, thus complicating ease of recycling. Solventless laminating involves the application of an adhesive. You feed in two rolls of BOPP and one of them goes through a trough of adhesive. Then comes a doctoring roll, then a transfer roll, and then a nip roll to bond the two layers together. PW

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is where in-mold labels are concerned because it makes it possible to cut and stack individual labels that customers can conveniently load into the magazine feed of their injection-molding machines. Such labels are typically a two-layer lamination of 0.5-mil and 2.6-mil polypropylene (PP). The digitally printed 2.6-mil substrate fuses with the bottle sidewall in the mold, and the clear .5-mil layer traps the inks so they can’t be scratched off. Both LasX systems operate in fundamentally the same way. When a 2D bar code printed along the edge of the roll gets scanned, it sends that identifying information to the LasX software, which then pulls the digital file needed to cause the laser to cut the appropriate shape. “It’s non-stop,” says Travis. “A circle, a square, a rectangle, a triangle, or whatever shape we need to cut. And every time a new shape is called for, the digital system immediately picks that up and changes its cutting mode with no need whatsoever to change cutting tools of any kind.” One significant capability in the second LasX system operating at InkWorks revolves around how the laser-cut units are handled in roll-to-part production. It involves the integration of LasX’s patented stainless steel vacuum processing belt with two Dorner conveyors. The stainless steel belt makes it possible for the laser to accurately register the digitally printed web on the fly and throughcut the web, thus creating each part. The fully cut parts are then delivered from the laser area to the first downstream Dorner unit, which is an inverted vacuum conveyor. The vacuum conveyor carries the parts from the stainless steel conveyor onto the secondary Dorner belt conveyor. The servo driven rewind shaft collects the webbed scrap matrix. The speed of the second Dorner conveyor is variable and can shingle or space the parts. Counting of the parts is done automatically so the secondary conveyor accelerates to create a space to indicate to the operator the stack count has been reached. All that remains is for an operator to bag the parts into cartons for shipment to the customer. “It’s much more fluid than how we’re doing it on the first LasX system,” says Travis. “On that system the machine extracts parts from the web by redirecting the web path after cutting and allowing the cut-through labels or sheets to be captured by a nip that feeds the parts onto a conveyor. If the labels are very small or extremely thin, they wrap up on the nip rollers or they get jammed up. The new vacuum conveyor system completely eliminates these issues. We learned a lot with that first machine. Then, by working closely with LasX, they were able to design just what we needed this time around. It’s just an amazing machine.” PW

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6/19/21 5:48 PM

Digital Printing: Quick Hits By Pat Reynolds, VP Editor Emeritus

DIGITAL PRINTING FOR LABELS & PACKAGING

JULY 2021

#HerSheGallery transforms a chocolate bar wrapper, label printing progresses, digital enhancement shines on a confectionery pack, and a whole new connected packaging platform emerges.

oincident with the last two March 8 International Women’s Days, Hershey Brazil has been actively leveraging the power of digital printing in a campaign that uses chocolate bar packaging to promote and value female talent. Partnering with Hershey in developing the campaign is agency BETC Sao Paulo.

photographers during the month in which International Women’s Day falls. Printed for the “Her/She” campaign in 2020 were 30,000 chocolate bar wrappers with the work of six artist/ influencers: Illustrators Ana Flávia (@affnana) and Alessandra Lemos (@loleland);. writer Luiza Mussnich (@luizamussnich); poet Camila Lordelo (@euliricas); and musicians Yzalú (@yzalu) and Bruna Mendez (@brunamendez). The packaging artwork for the two musicians included a QR code linked to their current singles. Yzalú (@yzalu) is also the voice behind the video promoting the campaign (pwgo.to/6061). For the 2021 “Her/She” campaign, Hershey expanded considerably, as 320,000 chocolate bar wrappers were digitally printed with the work of eight new female artists. “We also added a Virtual Reality component to bring an emotional tone to the campaign,” says Larissa Diniz, Hershey LATAM Marketing Director. “It was a QR Code that led to virtual content highlighting each artist’s story of challenges they had to Hershey Brazil has capitalized on digital printing of flexible film as a way of overcome, thus creating a connection to celebrating female talent during International Women’s Day. the reality of thousands of women.” For both campaigns, the chocolate The converter printing the flow-wrap packaging on an bars in their digitally printed wrappers were available for HP Indigo 20000 is Camargo Cia de Embalagens Ltda. a limited time in select stores of Grupo Pão de Açúcar The structure is a reverse-printed polyester laminated to and through Hershey’s e-commerce platform at www. white BOPP. The roll-fed 20000 is capable of handling media hersheys.com.br. To broaden the reach of the campaign, thicknesses from 10 to 250 microns and web widths to Hershey populated the featured artists’ work throughout 30 ins. at speeds to 19,500 sq. ft./hr in four-color mode. It its social media network. The brand also encouraged other produces print quality that rivals offset and gravure. And women to post their work using the hashtags #HerShe and because it’s a digital press that requires no printing plates, it #HerSheGallery. opens up numerous opportunities for short-run quick-change Felipe Toledo, Business Director at Camargo Cia de production. Embalagens, says the Hershey campaigns provide a perfect In some ways the springboard for the campaign was example of what brand owners can accomplish through the simple recognition that embedded in “Hershey” are digital printing. He notes that one other Hershey project, the pronouns “Her” and “She.” Seizing on this fortuitous quite separate from #HerSheGallery and executed in coincidence, Hershey developed a campaign called 2020, was the HEROES campaign. This was a run of 5,000 #HerSheGallery that transforms a chocolate bar’s otherwise chocolate bar wrappers that went to frontline workers humble flow wrapping into a space to expose and celebrate battling COVID-19. Go to pwgo.to/6062 to view a YouTube the work of female musicians, illustrators, poets, and video.

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PERFORMANCE, PACKAGED

Closer. Fresher. Cleaner. ID Technology owns seven label converting plants across North America – strategically located in California, Georgia, New Hampshire, Texas, Wisconsin, Edmonton, and Toronto. So we produce and inventory labels closer to you, equating to cost savings on shipping, shorter transport times so you receive the “freshest” possible labels, and a reduction in our overall carbon footprint for a positive impact to the environment. Our state-of-the-art production provides quality stock and custom labels, no matter your need: • Flexographic printing, up to 10 colors • High volume production of blank and shell labels • Digital labels via HP Indigo systems • Warehouse/barcode labels

• Synthetic labels for use in high technology products and harsh environments • Hybrid printing – flexographic presses with digital heads for variable data and barcodes • RFID labels

ID Technology is your single source provider of labels and labeling automation systems. To learn more, visit http://bit.ly/idtlabels or contact an account representative at IDT@ProMachBuilt.com today.

PHONE 817-624-6805

TOLL FREE 888-438-3242

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EMAIL IDT@ProMachBuilt.com

WEB IDTechnology.com

ID Technology, LLC 5051 North Sylvania Avenue, Suite 405 Fort Worth, TX 76137

6/21/21 8:22 AM 6/21/21 10:27 AM

The BoxMaker is big on corrugated

DIGITAL PRINTING FOR LABELS & PACKAGING

JULY 2021

The BoxMaker, a leading U.S. manufacturer of digitally produced packaging, has announced the purchase of a second HP PageWide C500 Press, adding significant capacity as the converter launches a nationwide expansion. This investment makes The BoxMaker the first converter in the world to operate two sheet-fed HP C500 presses. HP PageWide C500 presses deliver direct-to-board offset quality print at mainstream production volumes, making One of Hershey’s digital printing campaigns in 2020 honored the benefits of digital print available at scale. Installation of the many first responders battling COVID-19. the new press begins this year in Springdale, Ark., at The BoxMaker’s newly acquired all-digital production facility According to Diniz, the three digital printing campaigns located there. that Hershey has executed so far taught the brand a lot about The addition of the industrial-scale HP PageWide C500 distribution, logistics, and deadlines. “We want to bring more builds on the company’s nine plus years of experience and more initiatives like this in the years to come,” she adds. producing high-value digitally printed corrugated packaging, “Our goal is to take part in the discussion of relevant topics displays, labels, and more. The BoxMaker operates the to our society and raise the audience’s attention to positive Pacific Northwest’s highest-capacity Digital Production conversations in the search for relevant change.” ● Center, which in addition to their current HP PageWide C500 press, features digital finishing with a fleet of fully automated CAD cutting tables and two narrow-web digital presses for labels and folding carton. The purchase of the C500 press is part of a planned multi-million-dollar investment by The BoxMaker to effectively address growing demand in the market for digitally produced packaging and displays. “We are making significant equipment investments in Seattle and Springdale to deliver best-in-class products to clients across the country,” says Richard Brown, President and Co-Owner of The BoxMaker. “The HP C500 has proven valuable to both our business and that of our clients,” Brown continues. “Digital print technology enables brands greater flexibility for quick turnaround times, high-impact designs for multiple SKUs, and the ability to engage consumers with marketing he PACKage Printing Pavilion returns as a promotions directly integrated into their packaging. The highlighted feature in the North Hall at PACK HP C500 is proven technology that will serve as the print EXPO Las Vegas 2021, to be held Sept. platform to drive our growth strategy as we continue on 27-29. This pavilion will shine a our journey with HP to transform the market to digital.” spotlight on digital’s advantages The HP PageWide C500 Press enables The for short-run, on-demand, BoxMaker to digitally print corrugated sheets in cost-effective, variable data, orders of any size in offset quality with sharp and personalized packaging text and barcodes, smooth tone transitions, as well as labeling, coding in the global digital and vivid colors. The press prints with HP and marking solutions. true water-based inks, which allow for the printing packaging market If you’re dealing with any production of boxes with no need for added from 2019 to 2024* of the following, this is a internal packaging or an extra layer of material Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) spot for you to visit: separating the corrugated from the product for *Source: researchandmarkets.com Digital • SKU Proliferation the food and agriculture industry. Printing Packaging Market: Trends, Forecast and Competitive • Micro marketing efforts As an all-in-one packaging partner, The Analysis - 2020 • Sustainability BoxMaker strives to provide custom solutions that • Traceability amplify their clients’ people, processes, and brand. Digital As consumers look for smarter packaging print not only empowers brands to create total alignment options, advancements in digital printing are more between their marketing efforts, retail packaging, and critical than ever, making this pavilion a must-see for all display, but also enhances their supply chain management show attendees. Visit www.packexpolasvegas.com to and reduces waste. The company is currently focused on learn more and register to attend. PW scaling their digital production offerings and capacity to meet these growing needs. ●

ALL YOUR PACKAGE PRINTING ANSWERS IN ONE PLACE

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14% GROWTH

6/19/21 5:52 PM

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Hybrid label press has big impact

DIGITAL PRINTING FOR LABELS & PACKAGING

JULY 2021

St. Louis-based Wegmann Companies, a manufacturer of custom printed labels with extensive hybrid & digital production capabilities, recently installed a hybrid digital/flexo press. Their experience with the Domino CEI BossJet “powered by Domino” hybrid press is having a major impact on their business. “There have been multiple times where I’ve had 27 hours’ worth of production that would have been done traditionally on a flexo press, and now on the hybrid I do it in one shift,” says Operations Manager Alex Wegmann. “From a production standpoint, come hell or high water, our customers need their products delivered on time, so we don’t have time for downtime. I can receive artwork from a customer at 8 a.m., have it on press within one hour, and have labels printed and delivered to them by the end of the day. It’s impressive.” Mark Wegmann, the owner of Wegmann Companies, describes just how the press is configured. “We start off with a 40-inch unwind, we have a web cleaner, a corona treater, foil, two flexo stations, a turn bar to print the back of the web, and then we move into the seven-color Domino where we can go from white or black to variable imaging or information into full color. We then come out and have two more flexo stations, and then we move right into semi-rotary die-cutting. From there we go into full rotary stations, scrap take-up, and at the last station we can either go roll-to-roll or roll-to-sheet. And it is all powered right in the command center. This allows us to maintain the quality run to run. This is the quality of Domino. This is the quality of Wegmann.” Go to pwgo.to/6063 to see a video of the press in action. Knowing that they are able to deliver more for their customers each and every day means a lot to the Wegmann team. “I have a sincere appreciation for graphic designers and artists,” says Alex Wegmann. “They work really hard to bring their customers’ visions to life. So when I receive that artwork, I know that the Domino’s quality coming off the press will exceed their expectations. The most surprising thing that I’ve seen with the Domino is how accurate the color is, and how consistent it is over time.” ●

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Owner Mark Wegmann (left) and Operations Manager Alex Wegmann of Wegmann Companies stand beside their new hybrid digital/flexo press. Inset left shows the kind of labels the firm is able to produce.

Clustered print heads In 2017 a Bobst division called Mouvent unveiled a new digital label press that is differentiated primarily by its use of print head clusters. Each cluster consists of four Fuji Samba digital ink-jet print heads. Each head has its own fully integrated mechanics, ink management, and software, and each four-head cluster prints one color: cyan, magenta, yellow, or black. Mouvent UV-curable inks are also part of the package. Print resolution is 1200x1200 dpi and print speed is 70 m/min. When Aptech Graphics installed its LB701 Mouvent press in early 2020, it was one of the first in the U.S. to commercialize this cluster technology. “It brings us a distinct advantage of quality and the ability to dial it in and get consistent laydown,” says Aptech President Mark Mader. “I waited for this technology to come out partly because I could see it would be affordable.” (A Mouvent video says “Enter digital printing at 280,000 euros.”) “Don’t get me wrong,” adds Mader, “nothing is free, but this is a quality press delivering high resolution and is a great value.”

Pressure sensitive labels for a craft brewer are a good example of what Aptech produces on its Mouvent LB701 digital press.

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Customers most typically ordering labels from the new press include food, beverage, household goods, cannabis, and craft brewers. When asked if there’s a “sweet spot” in terms of the number of labels in a production run, Mader says it can vary pretty widely. “We’ve run millions for some customers and tens of thousands for others. But one thing we really like is how fast the press runs. We can print 100,000 labels for 16-oz cans in a day. It’s enabled us to go after some work that would ordinarily be flexo work.” Pressure-sensitive roll-to-roll label substrates Aptech prints on include both film and paper. “The inks go on aggressively enough that we don’t even need to apply an overvarnish to protect them,” he says. “And they have a really nice gloss.” Mouvent says that while thus far in the packaging space they’ve only produced label presses, other equipment is in the pipeline. Go to pwgo.to/6064 to see a video animation of the Mouvent technology. ●

Digital enhancement of folding cartons Scodix, the world’s leading provider of digital enhancement solutions for the graphic arts industry, recently announced that Germany S.A.C.I.A.G has installed a Scodix Ultra Digital Enhancement Press. The press is the first of the Scodix Ultra series to be installed in Paraguay where Germany S.A.C.I.A.G is a leading packaging producer in the food, tobacco, clothing, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical markets. S.A.C.I.A.G. specializes in folding cartons, and that is the packaging format it is embellishing with the new Scodix press. Edgar Himmelreich, CEO of Germany S.A.C.I.A.G, states, “It is simple logic to bring the leading digital enhancement press onto our production floor, as it enables us to supply quality short-run enhancement to our customers quickly and economically. The release of the Scodix lowmigration polymer, Scodix PolySense 550, helped our decision to purchase a Scodix press, as we are such a large provider of food packaging.” All presses within the Scodix Ultra series work with PolySense 550 for digital enhancement applications requiring low migration for indirect contact with products such as food, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics, which represent a large proportion of the products Germany S.A.C.I.A.G produces packaging for. Approved by Swiss Ordinance, Scodix PolySense 550 makes various applications—including Scodix Sense™, Scodix Foil™, Scodix VDE™, Scodix Cast&Cure™ and Scodix Glitter™—viable for food packaging. “Our ethos is about bringing our passion to every project we work on,” notes Himmelreich. “We want to develop great packaging at the best possible

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The Ultra Digital Enhancement press installed at Germany S.A.C.I.A.G. in Paraguay is used on a variety of paperboard packages like the one for chocolate shown here.

11 cost. Scodix digital enhancement allows all of our customers to achieve luxurious packaging for their brand, no matter the size of their production run, no matter the product.” The Scodix Ultra press was sold to Germany S.A.C.I.A.G, by Novaprint, Scodix’ partner in Paraguay, also representing the company in Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Peru and Uruguay. Novaprint Director Ariel Musri comments on this latest installation: “We’ve been serving the graphic arts industry in South America since 2004, and as such we have an excellent relationship with Germany S.A.C.I.A.G. When we talked to them about potential new technologies that could really add value for new and existing customers, while serving the increasing demand for short-run jobs, we knew Scodix was the perfect solution.” Isaac Castiel, Scodix VP of LATAM adds, “Germany

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S.A.C.I.A.G is the perfect fit for Scodix, the technology complements their desire to uniquely enhance offset products. We are also delighted to add Paraguay to the list of countries that operate a Scodix press. South America now delivers Scodix enhanced products from coast-to-coast, which is an inspiring achievement.” ●

A whole new connected packaging platform A leader in digitally printed flexible packaging, ePac Flexible Packaging has launched a platform that leverages the power of digital printing to create serialized, trackable packaging especially suitable for small and medium-sized

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DIGITAL PRINTING FOR LABELS & PACKAGING

JULY 2021

brands. Called ePacConnect, it creates whole new ways for brands to engage consumers, gain market insights, and protect their brands. ePac will offer all its customers either an entry-level no-cost solution or a fee-based solution for customers with broader requirements. “This brings connected packaging to brands that never had access to it before,” says Ryan Kiley, Director of Market Development at ePac. “If you have the million-dollar budget of a Coke or Unilever, you can do some amazing things to connect digitally with your customer. But if you are a small or emerging brand, it’s Target or Walmart or Whole Foods that maintains the relationship with the consumer. ePacConnect changes all that. It lets us create a unique identity for every single pouch we produce, and it’s all because we are digitally born and bred.” Partnering with ePac on this program is Scantrust, a Swiss company that provides an Internet of Things platform for connecting products and packaging to the Internet using secure unique identifiers. In the case of ePacConnect, the unique identifier is a QR code measuring 1 sq. cm. ePac prints these codes on one of its 43 HP Indigo 20000 digital presses currently running in various parts of the world. “As part of pre-press we include in the digital print file a serialized unique QR code on every single pouch we end up printing,” says Kiley. “We also recommend that the customer come up with some fundamental messaging like ‘Click here for 20% off your next purchase.’ Without this call for action, your scan rate, and consequently the level of consumer engagement you create, just isn’t the same.” According to Kiley, the technology originally appeared in the brand protection, authentication, and anti-counterfeiting space. “What we’ve done in our collaboration with Scantrust is simplified it for small and medium-sized firms,” he adds. “We’ve sort of tucked away a lot of the complexity that you might find in a platform used by a giant packaged goods company. But it’s still there when we need it. And over the past several months we’ve worked with Scantrust to create a self-service brand portal. So the brand owner, whether it’s cannabis or granola, can log in and customize the experience the consumer has. It might be ‘Hey, here are our other products,’ or ‘Here’s our Instagram link,’ or ‘Click here to get to our Amazon Web store.’ And all of it is at absolutely no added cost to our brand-owner customer. Cost only comes into play when we start talking about enterprise integration, like if they have salesforce.com or Mailchimp and they want to get campaigns launched through those platforms by way of the consumer’s interaction. Those take a little bit of elbow grease, which is why there is a cost associated with them.” What any given brand owner wants out of ePacConnect can vary widely, says Kiley. “We have a personal hygiene company who uses this because he wants to manage a

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recall if need be,” says Kiley. “With our unique identifier he can determine, if there are five packages on a shelf, which ones are the subject of the recall if they’ve come from different lots.” Kiley is also impressed with the analytics capabilities that are baked into the platform. “Each time a consumer scans one of these QR codes it registers on Scantrust’s servers,” he explains. “So you know the date, the time, and the geolocation information of that scan. That kind of analytical data can start to inform your marketing decisions. Like where is the best place for me to place my advertising? When is the best time of day to schedule my Google ads? Savvy customers are using this data to shape their marketing practices.”

When consumers scan the unique QR code on the back of the pouch, not only do they get verification that the package is authentic, they also get customized messaging (left). Among the customers using this new connected packaging platform is Concentrate Brands, a comprehensive cannabis management firm based in Denver and with two labs in Colorado, one in California, one in Oklahoma, and one in Missouri. Chief Marketing Officer Kyle Williams greatly appreciates the way that ePacConnect offers opportunities for cross promoting. “Consumers in a dispensary may see one flavor and not even know we have others,” says Williams. “By scanning the QR code they get our cross promotional message about other flavors. There’s also a field for them to fill out that will sign them up for our newsletter. Not to mention the fact that by scanning the code they know this is a verified and authentic product.” PW

ADVERTISER INDEX ADVERTISER WEBSITE

PAGE

ePac, LLC www.epacflexibles.com OBC ID Technology www.idtechnology.com 5 Nobelus www.nobelus.com

3, 10

PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies www.pmmi.org 9 Printpack www.printpack.com IBC SKA Fabricating www.skafabricating.com 11 Tonejet www.tonejet.com 7 Weber Packaging Solutions www.weberpackaging.com IFC

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Dazzling customers is easier than ever with Printpack’s digital printing capabilities. With new investments in digital printing, Printpack is committed to bringing value to your brand through speed, customization, and ﬂexibility so that your products can reach more retailers and consumers.

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6/19/21 5:59 PM

C REATE

INNOVATIVE PACKAGING W I T H D I G I TA L P R I N T 5–15 business day turnaround*

VDP technology to protect + differentiate

Multi– SKU jobs

Low minimum orders

*5 business days for rollstock. 15 business days for pouches. Upon artwork approval.

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844-623-8603

@epacﬂexiblepackaging

6/17/21 8:38 AM