Fespa, the global federation of national
Associations for the speciality print industry, will introduce a new Digital
Corrugated Experience at Fespa Global Print Expo 2018 (Messe Berlin, 15-18 May
2018).
Fespa's Digital Corrugated Experience is an
educational and experiential area, which will showcase the commercial and
production advantages of digital print for corrugated packaging and retail
display applications, aiming to highlight to packaging converters and
box-makers the benefits of integrating digital technology into their production
mix.
The Digital Corrugated Experience will address all
elements involved in printing corrugated materials, including: substrates;
workflow solutions; digital printing technologies; materials handling; primers,
inks, coatings and varnishes; and cutting and folding. Digital print complements traditional
analogue methods, enabling converters and display makers to expand their
offering with prototyping, short-run, versioning or customisation of boxes and
displays.
Visitors will also gain inspiration and knowledge
from a showcase of digitally printed corrugated applications, such as
shelf-ready and transit packaging boxes, pallet surrounds, promotional
packaging and POS displays, supported by like-for-like printing comparisons,
samples and narratives helping visitors to evaluate the wide range of
commercially available solutions.
The launch of a Fespa Digital Corrugated Experience
reflects growing interest from both the packaging and speciality printing
communities in the technology solutions, materials and workflows required to
take advantage of digital print for short run and customised packaging. This is
supported by independent research by Smithers Pira, which predicts that
digitally printed corrugated material will accelerate from a global value of
$1.44 billion today to be worth over $2.35 billion by 2020.
Fespa CEO Neil Felton explains: "Fespa has
been a leading force in the transition from analogue to digital print in the
signage and graphics market, guiding our community of printers and sign-makers
on the integration of digital inkjet technology alongside their analogue
production processes as a driver of business transformation.
Felton continues: "When it comes to corrugated,
many of our exhibitors have expertise in preparing, printing and finishing
these materials for signage, display and packaging applications. This
specialist knowledge is vital, not only for packaging converters, but also for
the Fespa print service provider community, for whom short-run promotional
packaging may represent a valuable new revenue opportunity capitalising on
their experience of flatbed printing and cutting, and their existing supply
chain relationships with brand owners and retailers."
Luis Christophe, EMEA Corrugated Segment Marketing
Manager at HP, a sponsor of the new feature, comments: "HP is very pleased
that Fespa is organising a dedicated Digital Corrugated Experience. We have
seen a lot of interest from the corrugated industry in learning more about the
economics of digital production, the potential to add value, and the workflow
implications of integrating digital technologies into the existing production
environment. We are excited to showcase our applications in both pre- and
post-print and to offer visitors in-depth discussions with our
specialists."
Fespa Head of Events Duncan MacOwan concludes: "Fespa's Digital Corrugated Experience
aims to offer an excellent return on time investment for corrugated box-makers,
converters and large format print service providers who are interested in
entering the short-run packaging market. In the space of a single day at Fespa Global
Print Expo in Berlin, they will have the opportunity to deepen their
understanding of the latest technological developments in digital printing and
converting of corrugated board, and the chance to look at the entire corrugated
production process. Through the applications showcase, they'll discover the
technology behind a range of finished products, while gaining valuable insights
from the expert conference sessions."
Fespa's Digital Corrugated Experience is free to
attend for registered visitors to Fespa 2018 Global Print Expo. For more
information visit: www.corrugatedexperience.com
