10th September 2024

Print Capabilities and our customers

Print on packaging can take many forms and types but can make such a difference to the constructional designs our team create.
Renowned for our print capabilities, with customers benefitting from a wide range of print types, we offer everything from one colour to six colour and a variety of printing methods to achieve the look and finish customers require.

Tom Penman, Graphics Manager, Cardboard Box Company explains why printed packaging is so important in the marketplace, the capabilities that we have, and how we support our customers to achieve the perfect print finish.

Why printed packaging is important

Printed packaging is the finishing touch to the constructional design of the box or pack. Whilst the constructional design is vitally important to protect product through all parts of the supply chain, it’s the print that can convey information, represent the brand, or simply create a wow factor.

In a crowded marketplace many products, particularly those in retail settings, must stand out to draw customers into choosing their products over those of a competitor. This is particularly evident in shelf ready and retails ready solutions, where customers are bombarded by many types of the same thing.

Similarly, within a supply chain, printed packaging is key to communicating vital product information. It may be QR and bar codes to help with stock management and location, it may simply explain what is in the pack and in what quantity.

For brands who wish to deliver a user experience when opening products purchased either online or in a retail store, high quality print finishes can assist a product in elevating its status and deliver a positive unboxing experience for the customer.
Whatever the scenario that printed packaging sits in, it’s never been more important to ensure it meets the expectations of our customer and their onward customers wherever they are in the supply chain.

Our capabilities
We have a superb range of printing machinery and a skilled graphic team that understand how to get the best from each type of press.
The latest addition, just a few months ago was the Fujifilm Acuity Prime L, LED UV flatbed printer.

Ideally suited to smaller scale production runs a multi-coloured job can be quickly printed – 1 unit in approximately 60 seconds – and then cut on the CAD table as required.

This is a direct alternative to litho-lamination print we offer which achieves a similar high gloss finish by laminating the print finish to the corrugated. This has brought cost efficiencies for some customers depending upon requirements and volumes. It is always considered as a suitable alternative for smaller production runs and if suitable offered to the customer.

Litho laminating is still required for some larger scale jobs that we run and adds further capabilities to our portfolio.
Our main printing type is flexo printing and we have four presses that do this up to a maximum of six colour print.

Our rotary die cutters – a BOBST 618 and a Martin 924 – print up to four colours, fold/cut, glue and wrap into bundles as specified.
This is complemented by a Martin 1636, one of the largest industry printers at over 3m wide. This is ideally suited to large format boxes, typically to protect heavy and cumbersome products and it is usually a strong board grade that is utilised here.

Finally, our six colour BOBST 1624 is a High-Quality Post Print (HQPP) printer that is proving to be a suitable alternative for some litho-lamination jobs. With a digital checking table and CAD cameras it can bring benefits to customers who are seeking the highest quality print without using a digital solution.

Supporting our customers

Because of the experience we have we support customers to explore new ways to achieve the same or better finishes or explore new options when they expand their packaging range.

We do this by carrying out print development trials, sometimes for customers, sometimes just as research projects in house to discover new and improve ways of doing things. This allows to understand clearly what we can offer to our customers and how we need to achieve this. Small trials are run on each occasion to ascertain the correct expectations can be met on every occasion and that all tolerances are understood.

Quality artwork and ink also plays a part in achieving the highest quality print finishes which we are renowned for.
And, if you’re still unsure about why we’re ideally suited to providing some of the best printed packaging in the business, our print capabilities are award winning, having been commended at the Flexographic Industry Association awards on several occasion and most latterly in 2024 when we achieved four awards for our printed packaging.

To discover how we can work with you to support with printed packaging solutions give the team a call on 01254 232223 or drop us a line on info@thecardboardbox.co.uk