The secret to the success of digital printing enterprises: to create a new model of digital folding carton business!
Founded nearly four decades ago, Gowan has grown from a copy-print shop in the city centre to a technology-led manufacturing business thanks to its investment in first-class printing technology. Canon colour copiers enabled the company to make early advances, followed by investments in the A1 bubblejet copier, as well as technology for Apple Mac output directly to the copier, allowing the company to expand its customer base and revenue potential.
Benny Landa and his vision for digital printing, helped McGowan realise the potential of direct output to digital presses. Other notable investments over the years include Agfa's M-Press high-speed flat-panel press and the EFI Nozomi C18000 single-channel UV LED corrugated press. Currently, the McGowan facility in Dublin has over 25 machines in operation.https://www.risedongsheng.com/
The company was also one of the first to install Vigodi's digital printing efficiency technology in the early 2010s, with the third S74 in the world and the first in Ireland, further enhancing the post-press processing and decoration capabilities of products printed by HP Indigo digital presses.
This early B2 digital decorating system was so successful that upon seeing the latest generation of the B1 system from Vigodi, company CEO Mal McGowan was immediately attracted by its potential to help processors develop their output in terms of format and application, which led to the installation of the Vigodi Ultra 6000, one of two models the supplier designed specifically for the packaging market. For McGowan, this allowed the press to perform a wider range of jobs that had previously been incapable.
Folding cartons are the latest addition to McGowan's portfolio, and the company has boosted its folding carton business with the installation of another B1 digital machine (the Landa S10 sheetfed nano-image press) and the Heiko Beam 2 digital cutting and indentation system. On the company's factory floor, the new Vigodi sits between the two machines.https://www.risedongsheng.com/
"What makes us unique is that we don't buy equipment on an as-needed basis. We buy to open up new markets. For example, before we owned the Landa S10, we didn't process folding cartons at all. Instead, we bought the press to grow our folding carton business. Haike's equipment accelerated the entire production cycle, thus driving this process. The introduction of Vigodi equipment opened the door to more markets for us. When we first saw the B1 Vigodi, we immediately realized what it could bring to our business and helped us grow our new folding carton division."
"There is one particular national retailer in Ireland whose private label range uses a small amount of aluminium foil on its packaging," he says. "Without Vigodi, we would not be able to expand this customer because digital technology alone is not attractive enough. With it, we can now print their packaging on the Landa press and then digitally enhance it, which just shows the power and potential of this technology. Will all our packaging operations be digitally enhanced? In fact, only 25-30% of operations do this, but it helps to expand the other 70-75% of the business. For us, this is the magic of Vigodi."
While Mr. McGowan has identified the specific commercial benefits of introducing Vigodi's folding carton B1 digital decorating platform, there are also, as Mr. McGowan puts it, more general benefits to be gained, namely "impressive data-driven sustainability benefits and economic advantages".
Mark Nickerson, vice-president of global sales and marketing at VGD, points out that these are two of the three pillars driving the company's technology adoption. There are currently more than 400 VGD presses installed worldwide, and many customers operate multiple presses.
He emphasizes that faster preparation times, the absence of tools, and reduced operator complexity are noteworthy economic benefits for processors, and perhaps the best example of the technology's sustainability certificate is the independent testing of emissions and resource consumption, which shows that Vigodi's production process is seven times more efficient on B1 paper compared to simulations.
In addition to sustainability and economics, the third pillar - productivity - encompasses the ability to personalize and serialize users, customize and respond to market changes, diversify their SKU portfolio, and update their print materials quickly and efficiently, all delivered in a timely manner, with no worries for users.https://www.risedongsheng.com/
"If you're going to digitise a process, digitise the longest process", argues Mr. Nixon. "Bronzing and partial UV have always been the longest, often requiring multiple steps and long set-up times. Vigodi, the process takes only a few steps and the machine is ready in minutes. This allows our customers to be responsive to their customers, who in turn benefit from cost-effective and high-quality production tools."
Processors and their customers have also benefited from the development of technologies such as SHD, an algorithmically controlled digital printing process that purportedly enables "high precision and high quality precision" in intricate details of bronzing and topical embellishments. For example, SHD enhances the precision and accuracy of Vigodi bronzing to enable fine detail in designs and miniature typefaces, giving customers greater flexibility and more choice in how they can create an impact for their brands. The SHD-powered Ultra 6000 installed by McGowan is aimed directly at the packaging industry, capable of handling thicker substrates (up to 2mm) required for packaging applications, and combined with an industrial pallet feeder and stacker, the Ultra 6000 is also offered in larger specifications.
Vigodi decided to develop purpose-built polymers that are optimised to work with specific printing processes and their consumables, from HP's e-inks and Landa's nano-inks to toner and offset inks, to further benefit customers. "We are not trying to fight physics with one chemistry, but to create technologies that are not only suitable for our customers today, but that can guarantee their investment into the future. Our systems never become redundant because they are multi-polymer and therefore can evolve as printing and consumables evolve, and always deliver the best results regardless of the process."