EFIA and ThePackHub deliver technical seminar success

Packaging Solutions

Hosted at the 3M Innovation Centre in Bracknell, Berks on September 8, The European Flexographic Industry Association (EFIA) and ThePackhub delivered a successful technical seminar on the theme of ‘Printing for Brand Success’.

With 30 attendees from across the print industry, the day kicked off with a welcome from the hosts, who provided an excellent venue for the forum along with a tour of the 3M Innovation Centre in the afternoon.

Paul Jenkins of ThePackHub gave a whistle stop tour of print for packaging innovations citing key trends of ‘Made for me’, ‘Get noticed!’, added functionality, anti counterfeiting and technological advancements being key to the industry today.

Karen Graley, manager packaging and reprographics, Waitrose, presented a fascinating insight into the recent range launch – Waitrose1 – a new premium tier of food and drink products designed with authenticity, provenance and the very best ingredients. Karen outlined her vision for print management going forward and urged the audience to work together at earlier stages in the pack design stage to enable greater efficiency and communication in the industry.

A number of presentations during the day addressed the need for customisation and personalisation of packaging delivered through the complementary combination of digital and flexo print technologies. HP Indigo talked about Mozaic software enabling individualisation of pack designs, backed by Chris Tonge of Ultimate Packaging who has been involved in a number of brand initiatives delivering pack personalisation.

Finally, Mark Naples of DataLase, Gold winners for technical innovation in the 2016 EFIA Print Awards, delivered an interesting presentation on the development of in line digital printing. The laser based digital solution works hand in hand with flexo printing today to deliver pack customisation and personalisation. The key difference being the variable data is applied to a flexo pre-printed patch at the point of fulfillment. Mark wowed the audience with a taster of the full colour technology, which is currently forecast to come to market in 2018.

EFIA’s Debbie Waldron Hoines commented, ‘It was great to see a broad spectrum of our members and partners at the event, from designer to printer to retailer, and hear about how flexo and digital can work together successfully to meet key print and packaging trends. We were delighted with the insights from the day and hope we can repeat the success again next year.’