Kalas installs HP-Tresu folding carton line for new web-to-print service

Kalas Packaging, a Boston, UK-based packaging converter, has installed a digital folding carton line, which it will use to introduce an online personalized gift bag and bottle box service for consumers.

Vanilla Reindeer allows consumers to order bottle cartons and rope-handled bags, in a wide range of format sizes, for numerous special occasions

The digital folding carton line features an HP Indigo 30000 digital press integrated with a Tresu iCoat 30000 flexo coater. The integrated line has a maximum speed of up to 4600 sheets per hour (3450 in four colors), handling 750 x 550mm paperboard and 250-600-micron metallized boards. After coating, the automatically stacked sheets are manually transported to cutting and creasing equipment nearby. Kalas is also using the Tresu iCut 30000 digital sleeve cutter for fast, on-demand imaging of sleeves that are used on the coater.

The HP Indigo press and integrated Tresu coater provide a single-pass printing and coating line with minimal waste and set-up times for gift boxes, while bags are digitally printed then laminated near-line.

On the new one-stop web-to-print service, Vanilla Reindeer, consumers may order bottle cartons and rope-handled bags, in a wide range of format sizes, for numerous special occasions, in addition to matching greetings cards. The website offers delivery within 48 hours of ordering.

An easy-to-use interface lets customers decorate products by uploading their choice of high-definition images and creating messages, based on a wide range of designs.

Jonathan Padley, managing director at Kalas Packaging, commented: ’Personalized gifts are so popular because they give us something unique – they make us feel special. A one-of-a-kind package, marked with the recipient’s identity, is bound to be as well-appreciated. But demand has not been met because bag and box converting is too complex for ordinary printers to consider.

‘With our long and varied converting industry experience, we already have the post-print facilities in place, perfectly suited for roped bag and box making. The addition of the HP Indigo and Tresu digital printing and coating line, with variable data capability, means we are uniquely positioned to provide an immediate premium-quality personalised service that is certain to complement any special occasion.’

Padley added: ‘After closely researching the digital printing market and assessing the capabilities of the technology, we chose the HP Indigo 30000 press together with the Tresu iCoat 30000 coater because they provided the first productive solution for quality on the wide range of formats and material thicknesses needed in gift packaging. The installation of the line provides the opportunity for growth and the possibility to develop what until now has been a virtually untapped market.’