Packaging has become a very important part of any product sale. It is used for carrying the product safely. Packaging is one of the major contributing factors for the appeal value attached to a product. Packaged products present at any online or physical store attract the customers towards them which in turn, drive the product sales. Traditionally, long-run packaging production is performed on technologies like Flexography & Offset printing. Nowadays, with the influx of various products, new start-ups, increasing creativity & high demand to stand out, short-run packaging is establishing its roots in the industry. This is achieved by Digital Printing. More and more people are starting to adopt Digital Printing as it offers flexible production, zero wastage, no minimum order, faster turnaround time, and most importantly – personalization.

Corrugate is one of the most widely used materials used for product packaging. More and more people are adopting corrugate for packaging as it is renewable-sourced and it is an effective step towards sustainable development. Along with being eco-friendly, corrugated boards used for packaging possess great structural rigidity and cushioning qualities to protect heavy or fragile contents from damage.

For short-run production, the corrugate is printed digitally which is later converted into boxes. The HP R Printer Series achieves this by directly printing on the corrugate material. Digital printing on boxes or corrugate works similarly to digital printing on paper. Corrugated sheets run underneath big inkjet printheads installed in the printer. After printing, these are cut and converted into boxes.

In packaging, getting the color right for each & every print becomes very essential since each and every box should have the same look and feel. Matching the color of the original plot is a must to avoid wasting time, media, and ink in unnecessary adjustments. The packaging printing machine – HP R Printer Series features color calibration which provides color consistency while reprinting.

When producing corrugated boxes with digital printing, one must also keep in mind that the ink printed on the surface has to be very flexible and should not crack while folding the corrugated sheet. The HP water-based pigment inks (HP Latex Inks) live up to this requirement as the ink infuses with the substrate and does not affect the substrate’s original touch and feel. It resists chipping on the edges and provides durable prints. It produces vibrant prints and has an expanded color gamut that allows matching of 95% of colors in the Pantone system.

The ink structure for any print from an HP Latex printer is; Optimizer – Color – Overcoat. The HP optimizer is designed to rapidly separate and immobilize the pigment colorants from the water-based ink vehicle at the print substrate surface, producing sharp text and image detail. Overcoat on the other hand, is applied on top of the Optimizer and Color. It is an anti-scratch agent protecting the print from everyday exposures. The new generation Latex inks feature the all-new HP White ink. This expands the applications and possibilities of Digital Printing.

Nowadays, with the increase in demand for just-in-time production, saving on the inventory wastage, cost and storage rental, variable data used in packaging for seasonal promotion, or to attract customer & spread awareness, Digital Printing takes a stronger hold in the packaging segment.