Flexible packaging is one of the most convenient, impactful, and cost-effective packaging options on the market. Unfortunately, it’s only been available to large national brands with big budgets and bigger inventory – until now. For the first time available in the US, an innovative flexible packaging manufacturer is leveraging digital printing technology and a disruptive service model to bring customizable flexible packaging to the smaller guys.
What’s New
The limitations of old technology go beyond restricting brands to large runs of flexible packaging orders. Conventional packaging converters take 6-8 weeks to complete an order and charge plate fees, which really add up for multiple versions of the same package. Changes to the packaging, which happen all the time with small brands, are expensive and slow.
Commercial and in-plant printers have benefited immensely from digital printing technology since its introduction in the 1980s, but it took until 2016 for a company called ePac to apply state-of-the-art wide-web digital printing to flexible packaging production for the first time. Not only do small and medium-sized brands now have greater access to flexible packaging at a price they can afford, they also have an increased number of design choices with unique graphics printed at photo quality.
Another great benefit of digitally printed flexible packaging is the ability to run and link flexible packaging designs with web content for branding continuity and timely execution of marketing campaigns. With digital printing, the entire package is now a canvas to be used to connect with the consumer and changed as many times as necessary without prohibitive costs. With internet usage growing each year, the ability to connect the package with online content puts more sophisticated marketing capability into the hands of smaller businesses, allowing their packaging to more effectively compete on the shelf next to bigger brands with bigger marketing budgets.
What’s to Come
At NORKOL, we understand the potential value a company like ePac can bring to small and medium-sized brands around the country, and that’s why we’ve decided to partner with them in order to make digitally printed flexible packaging increasingly available through our own fast-paced delivery model and nationwide logistics apparatus. Great technology should be available to everyone, and we want each of our customers in need of small and medium run flexible packaging orders to access quality digitally printed options no matter where they’re headquartered. Together with our Just In Time delivery service, and ePac’s 10-day turnaround, you can have access to the best in packaging when you need it, wherever you want it.
For more information on the future of flexible packaging, connect with the NORKOL team of packaging experts via the Contact page.