At the Pact Group Annual General Meeting on Friday 21 November 2014, managing director and chief executive officer, Brian Cridland, promised, “We have plans to revolutionise pack decoration through an exclusive licence in digital printing, which we will be commercialising over the next year.”
That promise has already begun to be put into action. “The next generation in packaging print technology, digital print is now fully operational in one Pact site in Victoria and will be operational in a second site early in 2015. Both of these installations are a first for the region and one of only a handful of installations globally,” Pact announced on January 14.
At the same General Meeting, Pact Group Chairman, Raphael Geminder, stated, “Innovation remains part of the company’s DNA…I believe that this culture of and approach to innovation is an integral part of the business and has driven much of the company’s success.”
It, too, is being put into action in the first weeks of 2015. Pact has invested in two specialised platforms for direct to container digital decoration on rigid plastic packaging (tubs and closures) and has exclusive access to both from their suppliers, for the Australian and New Zealand markets. It is also in the process of commercialising another two applications for digital direct to container decoration.
Pact general manager of technology, Mark Nothnagel, commented, “Digital print is the next generation in pack decoration and we’re excited about being able to introduce this advanced technology to the region. Not only will digital print provide our customers with flexible and enhanced branding opportunities, it will streamline our manufacturing process and will permit our customers to respond much faster to the changing demands of their customers. We believe that this is just the start of what will be a significant change in the way all kinds of containers are decorated.
“This a fantastic alternative for our customers, particularly during promotional campaigns, as it allows for personalisation of packaging at a moment’s notice. We believe this will facilitate a seamless and very fast response to seasonal or location based promotions, online marketing campaigns and sponsorship activation for our customers.”
Pact identifies the key benefits of direct to container digital decoration as:
- Extremely high quality print that is comparable with shrink sleeves and able to decorate the whole container.
- Substantially reduced lead times by totally eliminating the pre-press and printing plate production processes.
- Significant reductions in minimum order quantities to the point of being able to have individualised packs if so desired. The technology provides customers with the ability to customise products using high definition, enhanced graphics and print ‘on demand’.
- The ability to decorate containers with photorealistic images.
- Comparable economics to IML decorated packaging due to elimination of the need for labels.
- Comparable economics to offset decoration by reducing scrap and eliminating the need for printing plates and pre-press cost.
Digital print machines for caps and tubs will be installed at Pact sites in the first half of 2015 and this is expected to be followed by another two platforms by the end of 2015.
