Package Design | packagedesignmag.com

(October 2011) posted on Mon Oct 10, 2011

By Linda Casey

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Graph Expo, the largest graphic communications exhibition in the Americas, returned to Chicago’s McCormick Place in September. The show hosted more than 475 exhibitors overall and, for the third year in a row, featured the PackPrint Pavilion.

This year, though, packaging’s influence could be found far beyond the 53 exhibitors in the special interest pavilion. Packaging themes abounded, starting with Xpedx’s booth at the front of the south hall. Xpedx designed all its signage to look like prototype packages. The company has recently renewed its interest in this market, with the opening of several package design centers in the U.S.

On the other side of the south hall entrance, Xerox was showing its iGen digital printing press with its automated packaging solution. The system enables in-line converting of paperboard cartons directly from the digital press’ delivery. Shortly before the show, Xerox announced FDA approval for its iGen toner. Paul Butterfield, iGen business manager for Xerox graphic communications/in-plant group, noted that the approval was largely a legal accomplishment because the technology basically had remained the same. What it does for package designers, he says, is help them feel confident about using digitally printed paperboard cartons for food and pharmaceutical products.

Across the aisle, traditional litho press manufacturing behemoth Heidelberg was highlighting the first digital press under its new partnership with Ricoh. The company previously had a noncompete agreement with Kodak after it developed the NexPress. With the expiration of that agreement, Heidelberg is now looking to digital printing technologies as part of its growth strategy.

But that doesn’t mean that it believes digital printing is the best solution for packages. “Customizing every package is exactly what you do not want to do,” says Jorg Dahnhardt, product management director for the company’s very large format group. “When most package printers are talking about shorter runs, they’re talking about 10-, 15-, and 30,000 impressions.”

The Roland booth featured packaging samples that played up coatings used for tactile effects and metallic inks for high-impact results. Metallic packaging was also the highlight at the GMG booth, where the company unveiled its new rapid prototyping machine that uses a metallic substrate as a base.