News

Hewlett-Packard is to increase its packaging focus with a push into the secondary packaging market.

The digital printer manufacturer is planning to replace corrugated flexo with digital inkjet flatbed print in the same way that roll-fed digital inkjet supplanted screen print for many display and point-of-sale applications.

Over the next two to three years, the company plans to exploit digital print’s short-run capabilities for retail-ready packaging, where the secondary packaging is used as a marketing tool.

“In this market, digital offers better quality [than traditional print] and opens up new ways of using our equipment,” said HP vice-president and general manager, inkjet commercial division Enrique Lores. “This is one of those cases where technology is ahead of the market. Once printers realise what is possible, they will find new applications we never dreamt of.”

The firm will be driving its secondary packaging push with its FB6700 machine, a flatbed inkjet printer that uses water-based pigmented inks on rigid stocks, including corrugated boards.

The fully automatic machine handles sheets up to 1.6x3.2m size and 20mm thick and can print 150sq m/hr (29 sheets/hr).

An inline laminating option, based on GBC technology, will be available in Q2, 2007.