PANEL UNPACKS DIGITAL TECH SMORGASBORD

The evolution and education of digital packaging print technology, print on demand, sustainability, the unboxing experience and packvertising were topics discussed by a panel of industry experts at Print21+PKN LIVE.

The theme "the road ahead – challenges and opportunities in packaging print", was discussed by panelists Paul Haggett, Opal Packaging; Joe Foster, Close the Loop Group, Zaidee Jackson, Ball & Doggett; and Paul Sanelli, EFI; in a session moderated by Print21 editor Wayne Robinson.

The session kicked off with Paul Haggett, who heads up sales and design operations for Opal Specialty Packaging in Victoria, highlighting the merits of short-run on-demand print systems in a high volume environment, and discussing integrating today's advanced technology into the workplace.

He said, "We've transformed the way we pitch business. We've got some huge assets of large volume production, and digital is one that fits into the short run space. It's never going to replace long runs and preprint, but it allows the business to offer short runs not only to our large customers, and to our new customers. It certainly has given us significant capabilities."

Regarding brands and their printing needs, he said that it was important to educate and guide brand managers to be able to interrogate and understand which of the print channels a brand best fits with, and what can be offered.

He observed that personalisation is an emerging opportunity, along with the move towards more sustainable packaging and other evolving trends.

"Digital technology really allows us to amplify what the outcomes we can deliver on a corrugated box. It's a solution you are never going get on water based flexo – to be able to get high impact, due to the capacity of UV ink and high-resolution imagery, which really delivers a great message,” he said

Joe Foster, CEO of Close the Loop Group, which includes O F Flexo, and Foster Packaging, spoke of his experience as an early adopter of digital technology and its evolution.

"We were the first to launch digital flexo packaging 11 years ago when we brought it from Ireland. In those early days, we had issues because the machine specification was essentially designed for label printing. And we wanted to adopt it for flexible packaging."

"What we had to do was to reinvent the process for manufacturing pouches, and actually design machinery that made patches from nowhere from top to bottom to register – a process we still use today. I think digital printing for flexible packaging has become a lot easier as a result of companies like ourselves and other companies around the world that have had to be early adopters to find those solutions."

"We want to be at the forefront of bringing digital flexible packaging into Australia. And I'm very happy to see how Australian businesses have embraced digital flexible packaging and that anything from small brands or large brands can see the real benefits of the technology,” he said.

The benefits of investing into digital packaging, printing and technology were discussed by Paul Sanelli, business development manager for packaging and display at EFI, who highlighted the growing trends towards unboxing and 'packvertising' currently being pushed in Europe and the US.

These are made possible by the ability to print double sided and offer personalisation, combined with the passion and appetite to engage with the consumer, he said.

Sanelli went on to acknowledge that although Australia is a small market compared to others on the world stage, EFI is planning to bring a range of five byproducts in the packaging range to the country next year. "The whole idea is to have the right entry points and the right products to fit opportunities" he said.

Zaidee Jackson, sustainability manager at Ball & Doggett went on to discuss how the company works with brands and printers to drive sustainable innovation and addressed the potential misperception that recycled products compromise on quality.

Jackson opened the discussion by saying that everyone in the room is part of the value chain when it comes to sustainability, pointing out that "brands that deliver on the pursuit of purpose that drives sustainable innovation are the front runners of the consumers."

"As the largest supplier of printable materials in the country, Ball & Doggett holds a heavy responsibility to ensure the products that we're bringing in are accredited. Everyone's talking about the turn towards sustainability, and it's great to have the conversation, but more important to act on it and make sure you're ready to invest in it. From our position, we're there to support, educate and influence these decisions based on the knowledge that we know that the products we bring to market are actually supporting the functional needs of the printers."

Regarding the quality of recycled brands, Jackson said, "The market demands from really critical brands don't want to compromise on quality. As a business, Ball & Doggett does not bring in products that minimise the impact that brands can actually achieve, so for us, being part of supply chain is around making sure that we're playing our part to sustain this industry in a way that supports stable outcomes for everybody."

There panel discussion was then followed by a question and answer session.