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TECHNOLOGY POUCHES
Opportunity
Digitally-printed pouches offer label printers a way to diversify into packaging
There has
IN THE BAG
been a trend
in narrow
web label
printing over
the past few
years to diversify
into packaging,
which has led to wider, more automated
presses. Digital label presses have
with minimal investment
been slower to follow this trend, partly because
the nature of shorter runs means they are more
focused on the label market, but mainly because
it’s more of a challenge to handle flexible films with a digital
press, especially for inkjet.
Nonetheless, both HP Indigo and Xeikon showed off
solutions for producing pouches at last year’s Labelexpo
show and several British label printers have recently
ventured into this business. There’s an obvious attraction
for brands as Filip Weymans, vice-president of marketing
for Xeikon, explains: “Brand owners looking for a diversity
of containers for their products are drawn to the pouches’
ability to stand and stack, their light weight and their
sustainability. This new application development is taking
digital production to the highest levels.”
Pouches can be used for a variety of different products,
particularly food stuffs including liquids such as soups.
They are also widely used for pet foods, but can equally hold
other items such as hearing aids or small spare parts.
The process involves printing the image, usually in
reverse on the outer layer, and then laminating this to one
or two further layers to form a barrier between the toner or
ink and the contents – the exact composition depends on
the product and the type of barrier required. This is then
sent to a pouch-making machine to form the pouch and add
the enclosure, such as a ziplock.
HP complete solution
HP has put together a complete solution that can be based
around either an Indigo 20000 B2 press or an Indigo 6900
narrow web press, plus a Karville Pack Ready laminator and
a choice between two Karville stand-up pouch making
machines. This is all driven by a HP PrintOs web-to-pack
workflow.
Baker Labels, based in Brentwood, has used HP’s pouch
solution as the basis for a new division, BakPac, which will
take on flexible packaging work such as stand-up pouches,
Printweek April & May 2020
pillow pouches, shrink wrap and
printed film. Baker Labels is
a family-run trade label
printer and is offering short to
medium runs of digitally
printed pouches as a trade
service. Typical applications
include seasonal or event-driven
promotions, market testing packaging
and product life cycle solutions.
The printing is done on an HP Indigo
20000 B2 press. Baker Labels already produces
labels on three HP Indigo 6900 presses
and has a long established relationship with HP
since first producing digitally printed labels on an HP 4050
in 2006, so it was a natural progression with the move to
flexible packaging to continue the investment with HP.
Once printed, the materials have to be laminated
together. Bakers commissioned a thermal laminator from
Enprom, a Spanish company that was set up in 2012, and
bought in 2019 by AB Graphic working in partnership with
Kocher & Beck. Again, this was a good fit for the firm which
uses AB Graphic’s Digicon presses for label embellishments
and finishing. The eTL laminator installed at Bakers is
Enprom’s first thermolaminating machine and has been
designed specifically for flexible packaging, with a short
web path to reduce waste by up to a third. It allows different
types of flexible packaging products to be laminated.
We have put a lot of work into
developing the materials and a hell of
a lot of work into designing the nishing
equipment” Richard Warne Houp.com
Bakers has opted for Karville’s dual web pouchmaker, the
KS-DSUP-400GSW, which can be used with both the Indigo
20000 and 6900 presses. This folds the web of material to
create a pouch with a doyen or K-seal, and also allows the
production of pouches with different materials on the front
and reverse, as well as another for the gusset. It has a very
low scrap rate during machine start-up, changeovers and roll
changes, thus reducing waste. It allows printers to manufacture
three-side-seal pouches, stand-up pouches and zipper
pouches from multiple reels up to 420mm width.
Steve Baker, managing director of Baker Labels, says: “It’s
a big step to move into the manufacture of flexible packag-
Words Nessan Cleary
BAGS OF OPENINGS
These pouches have
been printed on a
Xeikon dry toner
label press