• Sandee Biggar, owner of Think Ink, with the Trimatt ColorStar AQ V
    Sandee Biggar, owner of Think Ink, with the Trimatt ColorStar AQ V
Close×

A new start-up business offering on-demand packaging is up and running in Melbourne, with the ColourStar AQ V, manufactured by Trimatt, as its main production equipment.

Think Ink was founded by Sandee Biggar, specifically to service the short-run, on demand, custom run length, packaging market. She went to the Trimatt factory and spent time studying the capability of its equipment.

“The first thing that struck me about the ColourStar AQ V was that the quality of the graphics was superb. And then its ability to print on different substrates, including paper, carton and pouches was also impressive, it meant there would be a huge range of applications it could be used for,” Biggar says.

“The digital printing meant no make-ready and run lengths of any size. I felt it was exactly what I had been looking for.”

Biggar is also keen to point out its local credentials, saying, “The fact that is manufactured in Australia was significant to me. Quite apart from the desire to support local manufacturing, which I’m keen to do, it meant support would be readily available if I needed it.”

This article was first published in the November-December 2024 print issue of PKN Packaging News, page 46.

About Trimatt ColourStar AQ

The Trimatt ColourStar AQ is an innovative short-run packaging colour digital print system. It will print on a variety of substrates including paper and cardboard, pouches with applications including packaging boxes, lunch bags, valved coffee bags, burger packs, lunch trays, pizza boxes, envelopes, sachets, paper bags, kebab sleeves, and many other porous, paper, and cardboard items. It features a 297mm wide CMYK 1200DPI HP print head for precision and vibrant prints. The system's product handling capabilities include a 500mm feeder, and self-cleaning print head, enhancing efficiency.

Trimatt has now released a 900mm print width system, the ColourStar AQ BoxPro, based on the ColourStar AQ. It prints four-colour onto carton boxes and paper sacks of varying sizes up to 2000mm long, with minimal makeready, down to as little as 60 seconds between jobs. Trimatt says the ColourStar AQ BoxPro is also the ideal addition to cardboard box manufacturers wanting to print short runs in-house to retain print profit, and customers, through shortened lead times.

Food & Drink Business

The team that shook up Australia’s cracker market segment is back, this time with the snack category in its sights. After selling Gourmet Food Holdings and brands including OB Finest and Olina’s Bakehouse to Mondēlez International in early 2021, the seasoned FMCG operators have launched SnackHQ and its first brand, ReFil.

Victorian food manufacturer and distributor, Katoomba Global Foods (KG Foods), has acquired Paris Creek Farms (PCF) from Maggie Beer Holdings (MBH), three years after the company first announced it would offload its dairy assets.

The latest research from IWSR has shown that overall growth is slowing in Asia Pacific’s beverage alcohol scene. A market that has previously been strongly driven by Australia is undergoing significant change as alcohol consumption declines, with emerging regions taking the lead.