Inkjet direct-to-corrugated, or corrugated post-print, presses are making headway in the corrugated packaging market as well as the sign and display market. The growth in this market is exciting with printing on corrugated board expected to represent over 80% of all incremental growth for inkjet in the 10-year period from 2022 to 2032 according to Smithers1.
The opportunity to take advantage of this growth trajectory is attractive to companies currently using flexographic or litho lamination presses to serve the market, as well as commercial printing companies of all sizes wishing to expand their capabilities to include packaging and display products. With such a varied potential customer base, it’s not surprising that the range of single pass inkjet presses serving this market is also quite diverse.
One of the first aspects to be aware of is the range of corrugated flute types and board widths that the press will support. Flute thicknesses range from A flute (5 mm or .1/4 in.) down to F flute (.06 mm or 1/32 in.) with C flute (4 mm or 11/64 in.) being the most used. There are also double wall boards ranging up to 8mm or 5/16 in. in thickness. Some presses may support only the thinner E and F flutes used for lighter packaging and folding carton applications while others support the full range including single face, single wall and double wall boards. Production presses on the market today support board widths ranging from roughly one meter to 2.5 meters. If you are focused on the display graphics market, you may also want to ask about compatibility with additional substrates such as foamboard and corrugated plastics such as Correx. Target media may impact the need for pretreatment or the ability to use post print varnishes. Be sure to ask about availability and compatibility of those additional fluids if needed.
Presses vary in their use of ink type, resolution, color channels and, of course, speed. There are currently more presses using aqueous inks than UV inks are common and most offer only CMYK. Notably, the EFI Nozomi C18000 presses (UV ink) and the Delta SPC130 (aqueous) from Koenig & Bauer Durst offer CMYK plus three additional colors. The Barberán Jetmaster series, and the Fujifilm HS6000 (based on the Jetmaster) offer variations of two additional colors. Native resolutions vary from a low of 360dpi to 1200dpi. There are entry level presses available with top speeds of under 30 meters per minute (mpm) as compared to the top productivity presses reaching 150 mpm. Many presses have significant step-down in speed to delivery their top resolution and may offer multiple speed/resolution printing modes.
Once you have tackled the fundamental substrate, speed and image quality considerations, there are many other capabilities that can impact the productivity of the solution, particularly for the high-speed, high-volume presses. Ask about the availability of the following automation capabilities:
- Board feeders and stackers
- Warp detection
- Defect ejection
- Palletizing
- In-line color and image quality detection
With the array of inkjet press options available in the corrugated packaging and display market, including hybrid inkjet and flexographic solutions companies large and small can participate in this growing market. Look carefully for the capabilities you truly need as only a small portion of press buyers will require the top speed, resolution and media size support on offer today.
1. Smithers: ‘The Future of Digital Printing to 2032’