The Packaging Forum set up within the VDMA informs about digital printing methods and potentials of 3D printing in the packaging industry.
Lindlar/Germany, April 2016 – At the offices of HDG Verpackungsmaschinen GmbH in Lindlar in Oberbergischer Kreis in North Rhine-Westphalia, more than 30 member companies of the Packaging Forum within the VDMA discussed the latest trends going on in the packaging industry as to design, materials and technologies. The focus was, inter alia, on the growing use of digital printing technologies and the potentials of additive manufacturing processes (also known as 3D printing) in the field of packaging.
“Addressing trends regarding design, materials and shapes proactively is an absolute must for us packaging machinery manufacturers. After all, we must have the right technology already available when a trend becomes prevalent,” says host Frank Balensiefer, General Manager of the HDG holding company FAWEMA, stressing that being involved in the Packaging Forum and in dialogue with machinery manufacturers of the upstream fields of the packaging chain are of great importance to him. A look back: The Forum was initiated by three VDMA associations, i.e. the Printing and Paper Technology, Food Processing Machinery and Packaging Machinery as well as Plastics and Rubber Machinery Associations, in autumn 2014. “Our aim is to expand the networking of machinery manufacturers and engineering companies operating in the growing packaging market,” says Uta Leinburg from the VDMA Printing and Paper Technology Association and project leader of the Packaging Forum.
Individual printouts from digital printing machines and spare parts from 3D printers
For Achim Kurreck, Managing Director of H. C. Moog GmbH, a company developing and manufacturing machines for printing and paper in Rüdesheim on the Rhine, too, the Packaging Forum is as an opportunity to explore future trends. “The perspective that we need no longer store spare parts for the total life cycle of our machines, sometimes spanning decades, but can print them on demand with 3D printers, for instance, is very interesting for us as a manufacturer of special machines,” he explains. At today’s event, Prof. Lutz Engisch from HTWK Leipzig University of Applied Sciences talked about the chances and challenges of additive manufacturing processes in the packaging industry – and drew the attention to the potential advantages in spare parts logistics. “In the future, the machinery manufacturers will perhaps set up 3D printing centres at strategically important sites for the global supply of spare parts and will thus be able to respond much quicker to machine breakdowns of their customers than before,“ the expert explained. Engisch also sees potentials for additive manufacturing in the fields of tool and mould making, be it casting moulds or embossing moulds. On the other hand, he expects that 3D printed packaging products will be the exception. While it is possible to produce very striking shapes and thus to direct the attention of customers to advertising campaigns at the point-of-sale, cost and quality arguments still speak against the use of 3D printing technologies for the majority of packaging products.
The facts are quite different when it comes to digital printing processes, about which Dr. Andreas Paul from Océ Printing Systems GmbH reported. According to market analyses carried out by Smithers Pira, the digital print sector is showing a disproportionally high increase compared to the general growth of the packaging market. It is expected that there will be annual growth rates of 13.6 per cent to 2020. Achim Kurreck, whose company supplies multi-functional printing machines for printing, embossing, coating and finishing to packaging manufacturers, also listened carefully when this subject was dealt with. “Digital printing is gaining in relevance for our customers and, therefore, for us as well,” he explains. For instance, when it comes to printing so-called shocking pictures on the cigarette packs in the future. “For that, we can implement digital inkjet printing heads in our all-in-one machines which can then print the requested, changing photos on the packs enhanced with high gloss and metal effects,” he reports. According to him, the advantage lies in the simple possibility to change the motif of the photo very quickly combined with maximum print quality. Of course, this could also be used for the short-term realization of seasonal advertising campaigns and sales promotions.
