HP announced that Ultimate Packaging, a leader in the
production of printed flexible packaging for the food industry, is enabling
brands and retailers to connect with consumers in new ways with the
installation of an HP Indigo 20000 Digital Press.
With 300 employees, an annual turnover approaching £50
million and an end-to-end capability for the design and production of high quality
flexible packaging, Ultimate Packaging is an approved supplier to all of the
UK's food retailers and many major brands. The company manufactures between
60-70 million metres of food packaging every month from its traditional
flexo-print business as well as its expanding digital business.
“Packaging is the only interruptive media left, and global
brands are starting to recognise that digital print allows them to connect with
their customers like never before,” says Chris Tonge, Sales and Marketing Director,
Ultimate Packaging. “Going digital has allowed us to engage with global brands
on personalisation and customisation projects on flexible packaging, opening up
both existing and new markets, and giving us a unique position in the UK,
Europe and beyond. The HP Indigo 20000 means we can talk to brand owners about
strategic marketing campaigns rather than continually discussing price and
production.”
Ultimate Packaging installed an HP Indigo WS6600 Digital
Press about three years ago to prepare for the wider HP Indigo 20000. A 30-inch
wide roll-to-roll printer, the HP Indigo 20000 Digital Press has transformed
the company’s capability to digitally produce flexible packaging jobs on-demand
with no make-ready and minimum waste. It enables the company to meet growing
requirements for shorter run lengths, shorter lead time and higher print
quality while incorporating customised, personalised variable data printing.
The HP Indigo 20000 can handle substrates from 12-100
microns, which allows Ultimate Packaging to digitally print a full range of
food-approved packaging, resulting in a portfolio of exciting new products.
“As customers worldwide adopt the HP Indigo 20000 and other
HP solutions, we continue to drive the analogue to digital conversion of labels
and packaging printing,” says Julia Cole, UK & Ireland Marketing Manager,
HP Indigo. “The volume of labels printed on HP Indigo digital presses is
growing at a rate of 30 per cent year over year in a market that averages just
5 per cent yearly growth.”
