noelward
Well-known member
Postpress Opportunities and More
By Noel Ward, Editor@Large
You may be wondering how to replace some of the revenue lost in the downturn of commercial print. There is no overall answer but there are ways for some shops to generate new lines of business.
Do what you do well
You’re good at putting text and images on a substrate. Leverage this skill and consider adding folding cartons and post press processing, which is a tad more than stitching and guillotine cutting.
For example, much of commercial print bears more than a passing similarity to folding cartons. The carton media is thicker but the presses are familiar and the inks smell pretty much the same. OK, cartons can be more complicated but it’s not a moon-shot.
Cartons are printed as flat sheets and proceed to post press processing where the flat sheets are scored and die-cuts made. They now become blanks. The blanks may make the product visible or be a cut-out (window) in the carton so a consumer can touch the product (such as fabric) in a store. Others let the printed flat sheet be easily separated from others on the sheet. Some of this may put print shops a bit outside their comfort zone but there is expertise and support to help you do it right.
If you are enough of a printing wonk to look at packages you have probably noticed barcodes, SKUs, languages, barcodes, and more. The total run may be 367,512 but they may all be the same or a variety such as 49 barcodes and three languages. Depending on the product, retailer and run length SKUs, languages and barcodes may be altered by changing the black plate or these variables may be added via inkjet.
The variety of folding cartons is nearly endless. Consider those in your home or business. Many are designed with bottoms that fold together in a way that prevents a product from falling through (called auto-bottoms). Consider the open-topped French fry containers at fast-food joints and many other items. Those French fry containers often lack a top but are still folding cartons. Likewise, a donut box requires several scores and a top with a flap but is not glued like a carton for pasta. These cartons are all different and are clad in food-safe inks. These are necessary because inks can undetectably penetrate almost any substrate. The FDA requires special inks on containers containing food products, including the inks on exterior and interior of folding cartons partly because consumers do unexpected things.
Meanwhile, the four-color carton my new brake pads arrived in had a top with flaps that folded back into the sides of the carton. Each application requires planning and post press processing equipment that help create the finished carton. Software ensures the scoring is in the correct place on each carton.
Tapping the Post-Press Processing Opportunity
The right post press processing equipment, associated software, and outside expertise can help you add folding cartons to your repertoire. Making it happen is where deeper expertise comes in. Printing is one thing but applying the scores, folds, and die-cuts can be more involved. For a closer look I dialed up Tom Fitzgerald, Director of Post Press Products at Koenig & Bauer. K&B sells some powerful offset and inkjet presses but also the post press processing machines that make folding cartons a reality. Coming originally from Iberica and Duran (acquired by Koenig & Bauer), the devices now share much in common with K&B’s powerful inkjet and offset presses. More importantly, Fitzgerald told me, the company does not just sell the machines, it helps print providers use them efficiently so they can approach their customers with confidence that helps win over brand owners.
Brand owners? Yep. These are the marketing people primarily responsible for competitive positioning, pricing and packaging of the products you buy from Amazon, supermarkets, Walmart, and others. Brand owners take packaging very seriously. They consider the size and shape of a folding carton, how it is printed, sealed. When you receive the job much of this has been defined by the designer but it is up to you to make it happen.
Three steps
Knowing who to talk with is one thing but it is critical to go in with a plan and that starts with your own company. “We are able to take customers on a deep dive at industry level of their customers,” explains Fitzgerald. “All have specific and often unique needs for groceries, automotive, electronics, and more.”
He went on to describe a three-step approach K&B uses that brings a print provider’s expertise down to the needs of a new customer.
The first thing K&B does is sit down with the management and sales teams and production staff to gain an understanding of what they are doing today and how they see the organization transitioning into the part of the folding carton market they are targeting.
“Next, we’d find out what markets they are currently serving and how they can expand their offerings to those customers,” explains Fitzgerald.
“Third, we look at what new and emerging markets they could possibly enter.”
Together, these show what technological level of folding carton production a print provider will need, based on the best opportunities. It’s important to look at not just the immediate opportunities but those likely to emerge as a print provider gains experience.
“With this knowledge in hand we can help print providers expand and optimize their operations. These can be machines that only die cut as well as those that do logistics, blanking and have fully automated set ups,” says Fitzgerald. “Both inline and near-line devices are available to meet the needs of a printer.”
The info gathered shows you what you will need to succeed. Your next step is seeing if the print buyer at one of your current customers also handles packaging. He or she may not, so ask who does and get a referral. That buyer and brand owner are the next targets for your sales effort. If you’re new at this you may want to see if someone from Koenig & Bauer can join you when talking with these folks.
Adding Value with Folding and Gluing
Printing the flat sheets is a good starting point but the best value is in folding and gluing, which are usually expected. This lets you create a package ready to receive a customer’s product. There are a host of requirements related to food products, but you may be able to place non-food items in cartons you fold and glue. Adding value beyond printing can transform your business.
With folder-gluers in the mix the range of containers that can be produced gets wide fast. Some customers may want boxes that are easy for customers to open while others require a tight seal. Still others need a more sophisticated offering with multiple compartments that are not printed but scored and folded on a machine and glued in place. For example, some cosmetics may require multiple compartments or partitions. These are often done using highly automated folder-gluers, some of which can reduce makeready to a set of measured specifications. Then the machine does the rest. According to K&B, some fully-automated machines can turn out standard size cartons up to 120,000 boxes per hour.
Automation is always part of the story, in this case for setup and process. Setup ensures the cartons are ready for products to be placed in them, followed by process automation that places the product in a carton so it can be sealed and ready to ship. Further enhancing this are inline inspection systems to help ensure any versions are 100% accurate. For commercial printers, this is not a lot different than having ten runs of a documents destined for cities, each with unique names of sports teams. The automation is what makes efficiency possible.
Worth considering?
Folding carton production is not a fit for every commercial printer. Your existing presses may not accommodate the varying thicknesses of folding cartons so may limit what you can do. Your physical plant may not have room for additional postprocessing equipment. You may be challenged by availability of people who can run the machines you need. The list goes on.
But for those that can make the changes and are willing to climb a learning curve and go after new types of business, folding cartons present a compelling opportunity for expanding what you do. This story is not about selling iron, it’s about helping you transition your business to another form of commercial printing, a place where you can strut your expertise and experience in print in a way that helps one or more of your customers make money. And what can be wrong with that?
Folding cartons are worth a look. Size up your customer base and think about those that might benefit from you having some folding carton expertise. Talk with Koenig & Bauer about the potential. This may be a profitable new dimension for your business.
By Noel Ward, Editor@Large
You may be wondering how to replace some of the revenue lost in the downturn of commercial print. There is no overall answer but there are ways for some shops to generate new lines of business.
Do what you do well
You’re good at putting text and images on a substrate. Leverage this skill and consider adding folding cartons and post press processing, which is a tad more than stitching and guillotine cutting.
For example, much of commercial print bears more than a passing similarity to folding cartons. The carton media is thicker but the presses are familiar and the inks smell pretty much the same. OK, cartons can be more complicated but it’s not a moon-shot.
Cartons are printed as flat sheets and proceed to post press processing where the flat sheets are scored and die-cuts made. They now become blanks. The blanks may make the product visible or be a cut-out (window) in the carton so a consumer can touch the product (such as fabric) in a store. Others let the printed flat sheet be easily separated from others on the sheet. Some of this may put print shops a bit outside their comfort zone but there is expertise and support to help you do it right.
If you are enough of a printing wonk to look at packages you have probably noticed barcodes, SKUs, languages, barcodes, and more. The total run may be 367,512 but they may all be the same or a variety such as 49 barcodes and three languages. Depending on the product, retailer and run length SKUs, languages and barcodes may be altered by changing the black plate or these variables may be added via inkjet.
The variety of folding cartons is nearly endless. Consider those in your home or business. Many are designed with bottoms that fold together in a way that prevents a product from falling through (called auto-bottoms). Consider the open-topped French fry containers at fast-food joints and many other items. Those French fry containers often lack a top but are still folding cartons. Likewise, a donut box requires several scores and a top with a flap but is not glued like a carton for pasta. These cartons are all different and are clad in food-safe inks. These are necessary because inks can undetectably penetrate almost any substrate. The FDA requires special inks on containers containing food products, including the inks on exterior and interior of folding cartons partly because consumers do unexpected things.
Meanwhile, the four-color carton my new brake pads arrived in had a top with flaps that folded back into the sides of the carton. Each application requires planning and post press processing equipment that help create the finished carton. Software ensures the scoring is in the correct place on each carton.
Tapping the Post-Press Processing Opportunity
The right post press processing equipment, associated software, and outside expertise can help you add folding cartons to your repertoire. Making it happen is where deeper expertise comes in. Printing is one thing but applying the scores, folds, and die-cuts can be more involved. For a closer look I dialed up Tom Fitzgerald, Director of Post Press Products at Koenig & Bauer. K&B sells some powerful offset and inkjet presses but also the post press processing machines that make folding cartons a reality. Coming originally from Iberica and Duran (acquired by Koenig & Bauer), the devices now share much in common with K&B’s powerful inkjet and offset presses. More importantly, Fitzgerald told me, the company does not just sell the machines, it helps print providers use them efficiently so they can approach their customers with confidence that helps win over brand owners.
Brand owners? Yep. These are the marketing people primarily responsible for competitive positioning, pricing and packaging of the products you buy from Amazon, supermarkets, Walmart, and others. Brand owners take packaging very seriously. They consider the size and shape of a folding carton, how it is printed, sealed. When you receive the job much of this has been defined by the designer but it is up to you to make it happen.
Three steps
Knowing who to talk with is one thing but it is critical to go in with a plan and that starts with your own company. “We are able to take customers on a deep dive at industry level of their customers,” explains Fitzgerald. “All have specific and often unique needs for groceries, automotive, electronics, and more.”
He went on to describe a three-step approach K&B uses that brings a print provider’s expertise down to the needs of a new customer.
The first thing K&B does is sit down with the management and sales teams and production staff to gain an understanding of what they are doing today and how they see the organization transitioning into the part of the folding carton market they are targeting.
“Next, we’d find out what markets they are currently serving and how they can expand their offerings to those customers,” explains Fitzgerald.
“Third, we look at what new and emerging markets they could possibly enter.”
Together, these show what technological level of folding carton production a print provider will need, based on the best opportunities. It’s important to look at not just the immediate opportunities but those likely to emerge as a print provider gains experience.
“With this knowledge in hand we can help print providers expand and optimize their operations. These can be machines that only die cut as well as those that do logistics, blanking and have fully automated set ups,” says Fitzgerald. “Both inline and near-line devices are available to meet the needs of a printer.”
The info gathered shows you what you will need to succeed. Your next step is seeing if the print buyer at one of your current customers also handles packaging. He or she may not, so ask who does and get a referral. That buyer and brand owner are the next targets for your sales effort. If you’re new at this you may want to see if someone from Koenig & Bauer can join you when talking with these folks.
Adding Value with Folding and Gluing
Printing the flat sheets is a good starting point but the best value is in folding and gluing, which are usually expected. This lets you create a package ready to receive a customer’s product. There are a host of requirements related to food products, but you may be able to place non-food items in cartons you fold and glue. Adding value beyond printing can transform your business.
With folder-gluers in the mix the range of containers that can be produced gets wide fast. Some customers may want boxes that are easy for customers to open while others require a tight seal. Still others need a more sophisticated offering with multiple compartments that are not printed but scored and folded on a machine and glued in place. For example, some cosmetics may require multiple compartments or partitions. These are often done using highly automated folder-gluers, some of which can reduce makeready to a set of measured specifications. Then the machine does the rest. According to K&B, some fully-automated machines can turn out standard size cartons up to 120,000 boxes per hour.
Automation is always part of the story, in this case for setup and process. Setup ensures the cartons are ready for products to be placed in them, followed by process automation that places the product in a carton so it can be sealed and ready to ship. Further enhancing this are inline inspection systems to help ensure any versions are 100% accurate. For commercial printers, this is not a lot different than having ten runs of a documents destined for cities, each with unique names of sports teams. The automation is what makes efficiency possible.
Worth considering?
Folding carton production is not a fit for every commercial printer. Your existing presses may not accommodate the varying thicknesses of folding cartons so may limit what you can do. Your physical plant may not have room for additional postprocessing equipment. You may be challenged by availability of people who can run the machines you need. The list goes on.
But for those that can make the changes and are willing to climb a learning curve and go after new types of business, folding cartons present a compelling opportunity for expanding what you do. This story is not about selling iron, it’s about helping you transition your business to another form of commercial printing, a place where you can strut your expertise and experience in print in a way that helps one or more of your customers make money. And what can be wrong with that?
Folding cartons are worth a look. Size up your customer base and think about those that might benefit from you having some folding carton expertise. Talk with Koenig & Bauer about the potential. This may be a profitable new dimension for your business.
