The future of packaging: web, in line, single pass

Packaging Solutions

During drupa, Pantec GS Systems opened the doors at Gewa Etiketten, Germany to demonstrate the single pass manufacturing of luxury packaging. International visitors of all kinds – printers and packaging designers – joined the event.

‘The future in packaging: web, in line, single pass’ was promised to be seen. And Gewa delivered evidence by performing two impressive jobs, both in single pass from the blank substrate to the die cut pack. The first job was a highly decorated chocolate pack with complex foil embossing and blind embossing. Even though the label press was not adapted for carton die cutting at this stage, a pharmaceutical job with an attractive security foil embossing was set up after completing the first job. The demonstration was performed on a narrow web Gallus press with an integrated Pantec Rhino flat bed hot foil embossing system.

After the demonstration, participants had a lively discussion with Uwe Refflinghaus, managing director of technology at Gewa, and the former printer and head of production, Oliver Jung (now Gewa designer).

An essential outcome of the discussion was that in line single pass operation is removing some of today’s cost limitations for packaging. The participants agreed that designers should know about the possibility of single pass manufacturing with the combination of printing (offset, flexo, screen printing) and high end refining (micro embossing, debossing, security features, die cutting), thus getting rid of many of today’s limitations.

Peter Frei, CEO at Pantec GS Systems, says the feedback of the participants was very encouraging: ‘The attending printers confirmed that impossible design proposals for brand owners will now become possible with in line single pass processing with a powerful hot foil embossing system like Rhino.’