Rising to the Challenge: Charting Your Plant's Growth Trajectory

By: Adi Relles-Shorer, Post-print Corrugated Product and Marketing Manager, HP PageWide Industrial

Exciting news for your thriving Corrugated Packaging business! In the past two years, you've witnessed remarkable growth with a steady influx of orders and an expansion in serving an array of small brands. This is a significant achievement, especially given the fluctuating economy. However, it's time to address an essential topic: the need for further investments to keep up with this growth. Your team is stretching to its limits, often working overtime to meet demands, and some orders are experiencing delays. A deep dive into your equipment utilization points to a bottleneck in your printing and cutting capacities, suggesting the potential need for an additional RDC Flexo-Folder-Gluer. But, is there a more innovative solution?

The key question you face now is which press will best cater to your diverse range of jobs. As an independent, family-owned Box Plant, your annual production is impressive, about 60 million sqm, catering to sectors from local food producers to regional industrial clients. Despite having a fleet of 2-4 color presses and a standout 7-color high-quality Flexo post-print press, it's the latter that's hitting capacity limits. The reason? The smaller brands you serve are competing fiercely in the market, constantly revamping their packaging with striking graphics and frequent design changes. The trend is clear: high-color jobs are increasing, while the number of copies per job is decreasing. Additionally, the current supply chain challenges and high inventory costs are sparking debates over Minimum Order Quantities (MOQs), with a growing demand from customers for their reduction. Perhaps another 7-color high-quality Flexo post-print press and a standalone cutter are what you need?

Flexo vs. Digital: The Crossroads of Printing Innovation

Or, consider an exciting alternative: stepping into the world of digital post-print presses. This move, already adopted by some of your peers, has empowered them to offer limitless run lengths, commit to shorter lead times, and slash inventory levels. However, you're weighing how the higher digital ink costs align with your financial targets. Moreover, you identified a need for increased capacity, so how would a digital press with lower capacity than a high-quality HQPP Flexo align with your strategic goals?

Mastering the Art of Efficiency: A Deeper Dive into Digital Potential

Let's re-examine your job basket to make an informed decision. Analyzing this will illuminate how much volume you can economically transition to digital, effectively freeing up capacity on your current presses. Here’s an example based on a comparison with the HP PageWide C550 Press:

Your HQPP Flexo produces 15 million sqm annually.

The average run length on this press is 3,200 sheets, with a significant 60% of jobs under 3,000 sheets.

For these shorter runs (<3,000 sheets per run), Flexo's variable costs (ink and plates) average at €814/K sqm, while digital ink costs are at €515/K sqm. Despite the higher cost of digital ink, the substantial impact of plate costs changes the game.

A similar cost analysis over the whole job basket, suggests a potential economic migration of 20% of the volume (3 million sqm) to a digital press, enhancing profitability for your business.

This transition not only adds the digital press’s capacity but also maximizes efficiency on your existing Flexo equipment. If the HQPP Flexo spends about 26% of its time setting up for the total 15 million sqm, focusing on the 3 million sqm to be migrated digitally reveals an even higher setup time percentage (35%). By shifting these smaller, more complex jobs to digital, the Flexo press could run faster and potentially handle an additional 5 million sqm annually.

But there's more. Beyond the direct costs of ink and plates, a digital press addresses other hidden expenses. Think of the storage and handling costs for plates, the water consumption for cleaning Flexo presses, the disposal of dirty water which is becoming more and more expensive due to changing regulations, and the warehousing costs cut down by digital’s just-in-time printing and elimination of MOQ constraints. Also, think about how much profitable volume you will be able to produce on the digital press.

Future-Forward: Embracing Digital to Catapult Your Business Ahead

In a decisive move towards the future, embracing digital printing technology with the HP PageWide C550 could mark a transformative moment for your business. This isn't just a solution to your immediate capacity crunch; it's a strategic leap toward long-term growth and market leadership. By integrating a digital post-print press, you're positioning your business at the forefront of innovation.

Consider the benefits: The HP PageWide C550 addresses your current challenges head-on, significantly expanding your production capabilities without the need for extensive physical expansion. It's not just about meeting demand; it's about exceeding it with unparalleled efficiency. You'll witness a noticeable improvement in your bottom line as you optimize operations, reducing turnaround times and waste, thereby enhancing profitability.

But the advantages extend far beyond the operational. With this digital leap, you open the doors to new markets and opportunities. Envision the ability to swiftly respond to the ever-evolving needs of your clients, especially small and local brands. You'll be able to offer fast, personalized, versioned packaging solutions, a service that's increasingly in demand yet challenging to deliver through traditional printing methods. This capability can be a game-changer in building client loyalty and attracting new business.

Moreover, the HP PageWide C550 paves the way for innovative business models, such as subscription-based e-commerce, tailored to the needs of your customers. This flexibility in handling varied, dynamic printing tasks enables you to cater to niche markets and specialized packaging requirements, further diversifying your portfolio and revenue streams.

In embracing the digital realm, your business doesn’t just keep pace with the industry; it becomes a trailblazer, setting standards and exploring new frontiers. The future of printing is unmistakably digital, and with the HP PageWide C550, your business is not just prepared for this future but poised to define it.