24 March 2014

Packing a punch with flexible packaging

Attendees at Labelexpo Europe 2013 couldn’t have failed to miss the volume of companies talking up flexible package printing to the label industry. From material and pressroom consumable suppliers to machinery manufacturers, a healthy percentage of the record exhibitor list for the show had at least one product to hook them into the growing market for package printing.

Neil Coley, strategic accounts manager at UK-based flexible packaging specialist Discovery Flexibles, notes that material specification is one of the most important technical challenges facing label printers looking to make the move into flexible packaging.

Decorating is one thing, but manufacturing and converting is another. Can the required print quality be achieved? Yes. Can a press handle the different substrate type? In most cases the answer is yes.

Coley says, ‘Can label printers specify the right structure and substance for that job? That is trickier, as in my experience only around 30 percent of orders specify the structure. In many cases, the converter is expected to be able to supply the right solution for the job.