Digitally Printed Packaging

Digital print is a direct printing process that operates similarly to a home or office printer, in a much larger format. The print-ready artwork file is electronically transferred from a computer directly to the press and then printed onto the desired substrate. Digital presses transfer four or more colors of ink (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black) simultaneously, producing full-spectrum prints without the use of print plates.

Digital print is available for a variety of packaging solutions, including but not limited to:

• Corrugated Boxes
• Retail and Point-of-Purchase Displays
• Folding Cartons
• Product Labels
• Pouches and Flexible Packaging
• Shrink Sleeves

The key difference between digital print and analog methods is that digital doesn’t require the use of print plates to transfer the image onto the material surface. Flexography and litho lamination both need print plates to transfer the image onto the desired substrate manually. Complex images with many colors use multiple print plates, as each plate can only transfer one color of ink. Print plates not only add time and cost to the process but can also creatively limit the outcome. Free of these restrictions, digital delivers many advantages to packaging manufacturing, including speed, quantity control, print quality, and range.

 Choosing between analog methods versus digital print depends on the needs of the job. If a brand is looking for packaging that features 100,000 identical impressions for a campaign set to launch in three months, litho lam or flexo may be the more competitive choice based on value. These methods were made for high-volume mass production with no print variance throughout the run. Unfortunately, they frequently require significant lead time.

However, if a brand is short on time, desires any level of variable graphics, or has specific volume requirements, digital print is a great solution. This rapidly evolving technology delivers unmatched print flexibility and empowers brands to react quickly in today’s ever-changing marketplace.

Digital print frees brands to print what they want, when they want, and how they want. Here are the reasons brands should consider choosing digitally printed packaging:

Print What You Want

Volume Control

With digital print, the first impression to the last is identical in quality. Machine setup wastes no sheets of material. Thus, manufacturers leveraging digital print can offer significantly reduced order volumes to their clients compared to traditional print minimums. But that doesn't mean digital is limited to small quantity orders only. Advances in speed and quality mean manufacturing plants running the latest digital equipment can produce high-volume orders with ease.

Scalability: From Prototype to Mass Production

Historically, buyers recognized digital print as an excellent solution for low-volume short runs because of its print-on-demand nature. Think prototyping, limited editions, and seasonal marketing campaigns. However, advancements in speed, quality, and supporting software applications mean today's digital presses can support high-volume mass production campaigns just as well. At present, digital is set to grow with your brand, delivering consistent quality packaging from startup to enterprise.

Print When You Want

Reduced Lead Times

With the number of manual pre-press procedures significantly reduced, digital print offers shorter lead times compared to analog methods, meaning faster speed-to-market is possible. Reduced lead times allow brands to stay relevant to changing packaging trends in retail and eCommerce with more agility than competitors limited by the longer lead times of flexo and litho-lam.

Supply Chain Efficiency

Digital print technology allows brands to manage packaging needs throughout product life cycles more effectively. Without the need for print plates, digital is not held hostage by high minimum order volumes for each artwork version or revision needed over time. Free to print what they want and when they want, brands can control run volume, frequency, and graphic iterations with ease, optimizing alignment between their supply chain, marketing efforts, and sales results.

Print How You Want

Version Control

With the ability to print in exact quantities and manage variable graphics with ease, brands can produce multiple versions of their packaging for limited-run marketing campaigns without incurring additional setup costs. For example, digital print allows brands to incorporate co-branded packaging into their marketing strategies without any extra strain to their packaging budget.

Quickly Respond to Packaging Trends

Digital print allows brands to move from mass production to mass customization and deliver a one-to-one experience to each consumer. How? With digital, every impression can be different. Exploring packaging trends that appeal to Millennials and Gen-Zers such as personalization, collectability, and extended content is simple with digital.

Security

Digital print supports seamless track-and-trace integration to enhance product security. The technologies developed by companies such as Digimarc allow your brand to measure and prevent loss, discourage theft, and improve quality control and product recall management — down to the individual unit.

Brands can also integrate digital watermarks into digitally printed packaging to increase consumer confidence. When scanned by retail locations or an individual consumer, digital watermarks assure that the product is indeed authentic or untampered. 

Sustainability

Digitally printed packaging can improve a brand’s sustainability profile in many ways. Print plates do not need to be manufactured, saving on waste. Additionally, the ability to replenish stock on-demand in exact order quantities minimizes packaging obsolescence, thus reducing the amount of packaging that is over-produced and ultimately thrown away.

Lastly, the latest digital presses use fewer toxic ink chemicals and are less harmful to the environment. For instance, the HP PageWide C500 press uses true water-based inks that are odorless, food safety compliant, and free of UV-reactive chemistries.

Packaging designers have more creative freedom when designing for digital compared to analog methods. Now more than ever, they have the opportunity to produce innovative packaging that can spark conversation and deliver unique consumer experiences without breaking the bank.

Key features that designers can integrate into their designs for digital print include gradients, variable data, hyper-customization, and digital watermarking for security and extended consumer content.

Most designers opt for Adobe Creative Cloud products such as Illustrator, InDesign, and Photoshop to build their files. A wide variety of additional plug-ins and tools are available to expand the capabilities of these programs, including HP SmartStream D4D — a free Adobe software plug-in that allows designers to create packaging decoration driven by variable data content.

Before a packaging designer submits their artwork file for print, each element must be carefully reviewed to ensure it is print-ready. Here are a few tips to prepare your file for digital printing:

Check Your Images: Images are recommended to be a minimum of 300 dpi for best results. If using a copy of your logo or artwork from the web, it may only be 72 dpi (web resolution). This resolution is not high enough quality for print.

Convert Your Fonts: Converting your fonts to outlines ensures that the correct typeface will be included in your design.

Convert Colors to CMYK: Since digital printing uses the CMYK color model, your file must be converted to CMYK color mode.

Add Bleed Lines: If printing to the edge, extend your artwork beyond the dieline by ¼" to the bleed line of your file (which may or may not be visible).

Choose the Right File Type: For best results, submit native artwork files or PDF. If you choose to save your file as a PDF, it must be saved in high resolution. If you're using Adobe InDesign, Illustrator, or Photoshop, it's critical to supply all linked files and to preserve the dieline layer in your document.

Zip It Up: It's helpful to compress (ZIP) your artwork file so it can be easily uploaded or transferred.

Every packaging manufacturer will have a unique submission process, so it's essential to follow the necessary steps as outlined by the chosen provider. These tips reflect The BoxMaker's process and may not be the same for your print provider of choice.