HP announced
that Connect Packaging, of Benfleet, Essex, UK, has installed an HP Scitex
FB7600 Industrial Press for cost-effective short-runs and limited edition
production, as well as to accelerate the packaging design process.
Connect Packaging, part of the CBS Packaging Group,
installed its HP Scitex FB7600 Industrial Press to provide digital printing
services to the corrugated packaging sector and develop a clear competitive
advantage. The press installation with a Kongsberg digital cutter from HP
finishing partner Esko has given Connect Packaging a completely digital
production alternative, from design through printing and finishing.
“Typically, it could take packaging buyers up to six months
to make decisions – largely because of the cost involved in developing new
packages,” said James Newton, sales and marketing manager, Connect Packaging.
“We are seeing this period cut to a matter of weeks, and the cost of short-runs
and prototypes reduced significantly; these are important factors that help
reduce time-to-market. The HP Scitex press is a step change for our business
and a real game-changer for our customers who understand the benefits digital
can offer. It’s encouraging to see customers get on board with digital printing
and share our excitement at the vast potential for future collaborations.
“A key to our success is that we have one of the best
structural design teams who can create innovative packaging solutions,”
continued Newton. “Their designs meet the demands for strength, product
protection, and efficient material use, and these characteristics add up to a
competitive advantage, as does the ability to see prototypes and samples
quickly and affordably. The digital press and plotter cutter have enhanced the
services and products we can now offer.”
A major factor in making shorter run packaging financially
viable is the digital workflow that eliminates plate-making, plate mounting,
its associated chemistry, waste and registration. For short-runs, these
analogue processes are expensive and time-consuming, whereas, depending on the
size of the package, substrate and the desired resolution, substantial medium
runs can be printed digitally.
The company’s new HP Scitex FB7600 Industrial Press handles
media up to 25mm thick and can print in up to seven colours at speeds up to 95
full-size sheets(1) per hour. Cost-effective short-runs for trials, special
editions or localised versions, including store details, QR codes and runs of
one, can be quickly produced enabling design decisions to be made on the spot.
“Jitha Singh, managing director of CBS, had the vision for
Connect Packaging to develop digital printing services in the corrugated
packaging industry,” Newton said. “He saw the opportunity to build on our
experience and established business, develop the power of digital printing and
take it to our customers. The HP Scitex FB7600 Industrial Press was seen as the
means to make that vision a reality, and it hasn’t disappointed.”
Connect Packaging has 60 years’ history as a manufacturer of
corrugated packaging and is proud of its heritage and pedigree. Offering an
end-to-end service from package design to fulfilment, Connect Packaging
provides in-house case-making, flexo printing, die-cutting, stitching, gluing,
and now, digital printing services. Typical products include transit packaging,
retail and shelf-ready packaging, counter display units, dump bins and
point-of-sale displays. Enquiries for screen and litho printing are also accepted
and handled within the group.
“Once customers fully appreciate the concept and its
implications, you can see their excitement build,” Newton said.” Very often
they’ll say, ‘Now I can do something with that idea that we’ve been playing
with for years!’ And it’s not just short runs that are stimulating interest;
already I’ve been asked for a quote to produce up to 2,000 packages. For our
customers and for us, the HP Scitex FB7600 Industrial Press opens a new world
of revenue-generating opportunities,” Newton concluded.
