Brand new ideas
constantly striving to stay ahead of the competiton by providing
consumers with attractive-looking products. Consequently, the
market for branding technology is highly competitive.
Branding is a vital component of food packaging. Manufacturers are constantly striving to stay ahead of the competiton by providing consumers with attractive-looking products. Consequently, the market for branding technology is highly competitive, with new innovations being developed all the time.
New technology from Trident, a major designer and manufacturer of industrial ink jet printheads, is a case in point. The recently released SolidJet SystemTM and 768JetTM printhead is said to provide durable print that enhances the brand-appeal of primary and secondary packages respectively. Trident-powered technology was featured at the Pack Expo Las Vegas show along with other innovations in this particular sector.
The new Trident-powered 768Jet printhead is specially designed for carton printing, bar coding and graphics imaging. The ability of 768Jet to print alphanumeric text, bar codes and quality graphics up to 4" tall, the tallest in the direct-to-carton market, illustrates how important branding is. The additional print height also adds flexibility to printing lines, allowing product information, bar codes and logos to be prominently displayed.
Trident's new SolidJet System on the other is capable of printing barcodes and up to four lines of alphanumeric text. The system incorporates a crayon-like wax-based, solid ink that is melted into a liquid state for printing. The ink then resolidifies in less than one second on packaging as durable, solid print safe for use on food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic packaging applications.
"The SolidJet System and 768Jet printhead combine brand-appeal enhancing high-quality print with rugged industrial design which allows these ink jet products to provide consistent, reliable performance in even the harshest factory environments," said Trident marketing director Steve Liker.
The brand sector is crammed with innovation. Dutch packaging company PortionPack Europe Holding (PPEH) for example has just installed the.factory (the dot factory), a digital inkjet press from Belgian company dotrix. Following an initial test period, the.factory will be introduced to PPEH's customer base as an additional production solution.
"dotrix has provided us with a solution for delivering a wider range of portions to more customers throughout Europe," said PPEH managing director Gerard Nota.
"I'm convinced that existing and new customers will soon share our digital passion and all that remains is to introduce people to the broad design possibilities that will be available to them." PPEH produces a total of eight billion portion packs a year, 75 percent of which are food packs. The company handles design, printing and packaging on site. Print is currently undertaken by 15 offset presses spread across the group.
The decision to introduce a digital operation was prompted by the possibilities to save on plate and cylinder costs, increase flexibility, provide shorter run lengths, reduce stocks held on site, enter test marketing application markets and turn jobs around more quickly.
"We considered all the possible digital options available and dotrix provided the best mix of components including ease of use, quality and speed," said Nota. "dotrix is a really customer-focused company and the team listened to all our requirements and took into account our needs. They have made it easy to take the leap into digital production."
