Immij Print & Packaging is accelerating its pivot into folding cartons, with a string of equipment investments across its Melbourne and Sydney sites designed to lift speed, automation and packaging capability.
As packaging surpasses commercial print in its revenue mix, Immij Print & Packaging is backing folding cartons with new presses, die cutters and automated finishing lines across two states.
Immij partner Darren Sibbison outlined a program of recent and imminent installations to support customer demand and a decisive shift in the group’s revenue mix and long-term strategy.
In December, he tells PKN, Immij installed its second new die-cutter in the past 10 months. In March, it will take delivery of two brand-new, fully automated folder-gluers.
“That’s pretty exciting,” Sibbison says. “Our new machines will run around 60 per cent faster than our current equipment and have robotic palletising at the end. It’s all about speed, efficiency and quality.”
The new lines also open new formats, including four- and six-corner glue cartons, expanding the company’s capability in the folding carton space.
The most significant change, however, comes in July, when Immij installs a new full-size, six-colour plus coater packaging press from Komori in Melbourne. The result will be three full-size A1 presses across the group, supported by five die cutters and four folding-gluing lines, with UV and conventional capability.
Packaging overtakes commercial print
The investment follows a marked change in Immij’s revenue profile. Eighteen months ago, packaging accounted for around 30 per cent of group sales, with commercial print making up the balance.
“As of December 2025, we’re sitting at roughly 60 per cent packaging and 40 per cent commercial,” Sibbison says. “The trend is clear that packaging clients will continue to grow. Commercial print, while still very important to Immij, is not growing at the same pace as packaging.”
He says growth is being driven by new clients switching to Immij’s folding cartons for rapid, sub-two-week turnaround that outpaces traditional industry lead times.
While some sourcing has moved back offshore post-Covid, Sibbison believes folding carton work has largely returned to local suppliers equipped with modern, efficient technology.
“We can compete with offshore pricing,” he says. “A lot of offshore supply requires customers to buy container loads. We’re happy to print three months’ volume, warehouse it and let them draw down. That reduces their upfront outlay and risk. We also offer a print-on-demand model.”
He adds that packaging offers something commercial print increasingly does not – predictability.
“With commercial, you don’t know what’s coming in each day. You get your regular campaigns, but a lot of it is ad hoc. With packaging, ordering patterns are repeatable and more predictable, and we can provide consistent service and value.”
Immij’s ambition is to push the mix to 80 per cent packaging within the next 12 to 18 months.
Automation at the back end
The move into higher-speed equipment has also highlighted bottlenecks at the end of line. Manual packing and palletising can limit throughput and present OH&S challenges.
“At the moment, the people at the back of the machine just can’t keep up,” Sibbison says. “They’re packing into cartons, sealing and stacking. To really maximise the speed of the machines, we’ve had to introduce some robotics at the back end.”
The company is currently trialling robotic palletising in a segregated area of its warehouse, with safety systems installed ahead of full deployment. Sibbison describes the approach as measured.
“We’re at the infancy stage. We’re dipping our toe in the water and seeing how it goes. But if we want to run these new folder-gluers close to their capability, automation at the end of line is essential.”
Planning for growth
Melbourne remains Immij’s larger site, although Sibbison acknowledges that its layout – developed organically since 2008 – is not ideal for today’s packaging volumes. As commercial work declines, warehouse space is being freed up, but the longer-term vision will involve a more purpose-built facility.
“If the growth continues as we expect, it would be nice to be in a position to move into a purpose-built site designed around packaging flow and efficiency,” he says.
For Immij, the strategy is clear: invest in quality, sustainability, people and automation, and align capability with customers’ current and future needs. As Sibbison’s numbers show, that shift is already well underway.
This article was first published in PKN Packaging News March 2026 issue, page 28.
