By Olivia Cahoon
Part 1 of 2
Digitally printed packaging is a great solution for new product launches, items with several different styles or flavors, or trade show sample packs. In the flexible packaging space, the assembly of the package—adhesives used and lamination process—are integral to guarantee attractive and stable products.
Get Into Packaging
SMACK Packaging is a packaging provider that started in 1986 as Super Poly Ltd. Located in Edmonton, AB, Canada, the business originally operated as a wholesale, distribution, and retail company in a 3,000 square foot work area with one employee.
Since then, SMACK Packaging expanded its business and added full manufacturing, graphic design, and importation services. The company operates out of a 20,000 square foot workspace with 20 employees and serves all of Canada as well as the Midwestern U.S.
The packaging company designs solutions for everything from specialty grains to pet foods and pharmaceuticals. It currently offers several packaging products such as bread bags, box bottom pouches, child resistant pouches, compostable pouches, coffee bags, flow form wrappers, layflat pouches, reclosable poly bags, stand up pouches, and vacuum bags.
In 2017, SMACK Packaging started using digital printing technology in its flexible packaging production process. With this decision, the packaging provider became one of the first in Canada to offer digital printing for flexible packaging.
Printing is outsourced to a partner that uses the HP Inc. Indigo 20000, installed in 2017. “The HP Indigo 20000 digital press is the current standard for digitally printed flexible packaging,” says Joey Chan, VP, marketing and sales, SMACK Packaging. “It is most beneficial to use a press with a solid history of research and refinement behind it to ensure print quality while being relatively easy to operate.”
Compared to traditional flexible packaging techniques, the digital process allows for short runs as low as 1,000 units and it doesn’t require printing plates or cylinders—eliminating the need for any upfront investments. According to Chan, plates and cylinders are costly, especially when many are involved.
For flexible packaging, the manufacturer selects FLEXPET biaxially oriented polyethylene terephthalate films from Flex Films for consistency and quality. Available in thicknesses from 6.5 to 75 microns, FLEXPET films are available in plain, chemically coated, clear, extra clear, green, heat sealable, matte, metallizable, and surface treated varieties.
Printed film is converted into flow form roll stock or finished pouches. For this process, SMACK Packaging uses the Nordmeccanica Super Simplex for lamination and Zhou Tai Machinery pouch making machines for pouch conversion.
The Laminating Process
SMACK Packaging follows a standard laminating and binding process for flexible packaging. Chan says this begins with mounting a digitally printed film on the first station. A laminate substrate is then mounted on the second station, where an adhesive mixture—resin and hardener—is pumped through the system. The digital film is then corona treated and the adhesive is evenly coated onto a laminate medium. The laminated medium is fed through rollers to ensure even adhesion and the laminated film is cured for 40 to 72 hours depending on ambient temperatures and humidity.
For this process, the company uses Dow MOR-FREE 421/C145 solventless adhesive. According to Chan, it offers low volatile organic compounds and a low coat weight. It also runs at higher speeds compared to solvent-based adhesives and there is no need for heating elements like oven for the drying process.
A Flexible Snack
In 2018, repeat customer Three Farmers Foods approached SMACK Packaging for new flexible packaging. Three Farmers Foods is a food brand that connects Canadian farmers to consumers by bringing sustainable, quality food products to the marketplace.
The client was launching new SKUs for its Crunchy Little Lentils snack packs and did not want to commit to the larger quantities required by a traditional print run. “With the number of SKUs launching and the complexity of the designs, a traditional print run would have required an upfront investment cost in printing cylinders, which was not an ideal cost to incur being that this was a new launch,” explains Chan. The client also needed the products quickly—within four weeks. “The turnaround time on digital production was much quicker than a traditional run.”
For the job, SMACK Packaging selected PET/LLDPE materials printed on the HP Indigo 20000. The manufacturer opted for digital printing because it quickly produces low SKU quantities without the need to invest in the numerous printing cylinders required by a traditional printing process, explains Chan.
Lamination took three days for curing and quality assurance and included the use of Dow MOR-FREE 421/C145 solventless adhesive.
In total, the packaging provider produced 30,000 flexible packaging pieces with four SKUs. The final product was roll stock for a vertical form fill seal machine, which takes film rolls, forms them into a bag shape, fills the bag with product, and seals it all in a vertical fashion. Each Crunchy Little Lentils snack pack measured 6.76×6 inches with a 3-mil thickness. The snacks are available in four flavors—BBQ, Herb & Garlic, Lightly Salted, and Sea Salt & Vinegar.
Challenges were minimal with the exception of the packaging’s adhesion strength. According to Chan, digital ink causes decreased adhesion strength between the print substrate and the lamination substrate. As a result, the corona treatment needed adjusting to create satisfactory adhesion between the layers.
This job stands out for SMACK Packaging because it was one of the first digital print jobs the shop was commissioned to produce. The experience was also different than a traditional rotogravure press job. “Our team had to make adjustments on the fly to accommodate the difference in order to create a quality product,” offers Chan.
Overall, Three Farmers Foods was satisfied with the end result and production method. One SKU was subsequently discontinued, which reinforced the client’s decision to opt for digital printing.
Streamlined Operations
For over 30 years, SMACK Packaging has operated in the packaging industry. The company offers packaging services to everyone, from large multi-national brands to entrepreneurial vendors at farmers’ markets. With digital printing technology, the packaging provider offers clients short runs, fast turnaround, and no upfront costs.
Part two of this series features a flexible packaging specialist that uses both flexographic and digital technologies.
Click here to read part two of this exclusive online series, Sweet Lamination.
Mar2020, Industrial Print Magazine