Counting Down the Top 10 articles of 2019 - #6: Phillip Morris' Digital Printing Push

Based on our online clicks and unique page views, we're counting down the Top 10 articles of 2019. Join us as we look back at the best of 2019. Checking in at #6, Pat Reynolds gives clues us in on Phillip Morris' digital printing play.

Matt ReynoldsEditor

Dec 26th, 2019

According to Pat Reynolds' February 2019 article, few brand owners are as passionate about the potential for digital printing and finishing as Philip Morris, which has installed its own digital printing and converting line for folding cartons.

Sometimes a Consumer Packaged Goods company finds an emerging trend in packaging so appealing that management refuses to wait for the supplier community to fully develop the technologies that will make it possible to capitalize on that trend. One such company is Philip Morris International (PMI), whose corporate headquarters are in New York City and whose Operation Center is in Lausanne, Switzerland. The trend they spotted is digital printing and finishing of folding cartons, and now that they’ve spotted it, they’re going after it as aggressively as any brand owner on the planet.

“The question is ‘when’ not ‘if’ digital printing will take an increasing share of the total volume,” says Tony Snyder, Vice President Product Portfolio Management and Deployment at PMI. “Brand owners need to decide...

Continue to the entire article

Schmid Rhyner

Steinemann

Lang Laser

Smithers Pira

Heidelberg

Fujifilm

Gallus

Bumble Bee Seafood Multipack

How Bumble Bee Seafood is Transitioning Multipack Shrink Wrap to Recyclable Cartons

The company produces 26 million multipacks each year, and saw an opportunity to transition to more readily recyclable packaging through a partnership with R.A Jones.

Designs are inspired by flowers from different areas in France: Paris Magnolias, French Alps Globe Flowers, and Provence Lavenders.

UV Screen Printing Further Differentiates Yoplait's Glass-jarred Oui Yogurt

Oui by Yoplait introduced the French Florals Collection, consisting of three limited-edition, designed glass pots inspired by flowers from France.

Liquibox Hex Performance Hi Res 1

Bag-in-box Withstands Rigors of E-comm Delivery

With a focus on sustainability, HEX Performance® launched a new packaging solution for its liquid detergent that it says uses 60% less plastic than standard HDPE bottles, and withstands the challenges of the e-commerce logistics chain.

The portfolio includes two liquid filling units—with peristaltic pump or rotary piston pump—and stopper placing and crimping systems for vials and syringes.

Off-the-Shelf Servo-Driven Benchtop Filling and Stoppering

At Healthcare Packaging EXPO Las Vegas 2021, groninger highlighted its LABWORX benchtop machine portfolio, comprising small-batch liquid modules with short lead times and quick turnaround.

New Packaging Formats Affect Secondary Packaging Process

Package configurations are changing due to retailer and consumer demands, with significant implications for secondary packaging.

Handled with care: Your cookies and crackers deserve the best!

Handled with care: Your cookies and crackers deserve the best!

They are a delight around the world – and a challenge for manufacturers everywhere. The guide provides an analysis of the market trends and the corresponding requirements focusing on handling and infeed technology.

PACK EXPO Las Vegas: Day-Three New Technology and Innovations Findings

After three days of wall-to-wall coverage of PACK EXPO Las Vegas, packaging veterans Pat Reynolds and Jim Chrzan check down a list of new trend and technologies found at the show on this Take Five video.

The pack ML-enabled machine utilizes layer forming technology and features a small footprint with an interactive operator interface that allows for better collection of information.

BW Integrated Systems Highlights User-friendly, Vertical, Flexible, High-level Palletizer

At PACK EXPO Las Vegas, user-friendly machine meets customer and market demands with quick, vertical start-up.

Pictured are Billy Hogan, CEO, Liverpool Football Club (left), and Fisk Johnson, CEO, SC Johnson

Football Stadium PET Bottles Transformed into Mr Muscle Packaging

SC Johnson partners with the Liverpool Football Club to transform half a million PET bottles into new packaging for its Mr Muscle household cleaning products in the U.K.

Screen Shot 2021 10 19 At 10 52 36 Am (2)

All-Purpose Intelligent Robot Control System

MujinController manages any robotic application guiding the movement of robot arms via machine intelligence, a new category of artificial intelligence that automatically manages potential downtime scenarios through autonomous motion planning.

Water soluble and biodegradable mailer bag.

E-Commerce Innovations: Biodegradable Mailing Bag and Reusable Food Delivery Containers

See two examples of innovative sustainable e-commerce packaging from ThePackHub’s October Packaging Innovation Briefing Report.

Screen Shot 2021 10 19 At 10 57 03 Am

Unique Blow-Fill-Seal Solution for In-House Blown PET Cups

Serac presented at PACK EXPO Las Vegas a Blow-Fill-Seal solution for yoghurts and desserts in PET/rPET jars. This solution, which combines an SBL linear blow-molding machine and a linear dosing machine, has been named CupBox.

Women, E-comm, and Collaborative Tech Shape a New Way of Working

An expert panel at the Packaging & Processing Women’s Leadership Network discussed women and remote work, as well as solutions for adapting to pandemic-era consumer buying trends. Read, watch, or listen to the conversation.

Mars has removed the black PE film liner from its Maltesers candy box, replacing it with a dispersion-coated barrier board from Metsä Board.

Mars’s Switch to Barrier Coating Cuts 18 T-Rexes worth of PE

Mars removes the black polyethylene film from the inside of its iconic Maltesers candy box, replacing it with a recyclable, dispersion-coated barrier board that will reduce its use of plastic by 82 metric tons.

Freshly wrapped paperboard trays of fresh sausages emerge from the cling film application system.

Breakthrough in Compostable Film

Management at this family-owned third-generation producer of classic British sausages is hoping its efforts on the sustainable packaging front will be copied globally.

Signode Sgp4332

Strapping Machines Handle Washdown Environments

The SGP’s TüV certified stainless steel versions with IP 56 rating accommodate cleaning and disinfecting, while operating at speeds up to 65 plastic straps/min.

The Trine Modular Labeling Station, as an easy-to-install system to reduce downtime, can both be retrofitted to an existing Trine labeling system or be used with a new Trine system.

Accraply Highlights Upgrades on Trine Modular Labeling Station

Machine has improved throughput, changeovers, and maintenance to enable significant process improvements with minimal line disruption for Trine labelers.

Screen Shot 2021 10 19 At 8 57 29 Am

Flexibility Key to Modular P-S Labeleing Application System

Based on the M2 label applicator and an innovative motion control system, MFlex is modular and flexible with configurations for applications such as top labeling, bottom labeling, top/bottom labeling, front & back labeling, wrap labeling, and more.

Screen Shot 2021 10 19 At 10 40 08 Am

Direct-Drive Pick-and-Place Sidebot

Wyzo is the result of 30 years of delta robot experience, coupled with a vision to deliver a safe and highly efficient sidebot that can add considerable value to operations of all sizes.

Avomix Mcc Verstraete Iml Labels 2 Db

Inks and IML Handle HPP for Guacamole Pack

Spanish producer of fruit- and vegetable-based juices and sauces Avomix selected shelf-life improving high-pressure processing (HPP) technology for its Fresh Mix product range, specifically its guacamole.

More in Home

The Fanuc robot has end-of-arm tooling that uses Piab vacuum technology to pick either heavy cases or tier sheets.

Vacuum Technology Solves Palletizing Challenge

While palletizing corrugated cases is a regular automation application, doing so in a cold room that is regularly hosed with water to stay clean is especially challenging.

Getty Images 1207248534

Reimagining Sustainable Packaging through Collaboration

Incorporating more sustainable options into CPG packaging is both a necessity and a challenge. Read about current initiatives to innovate new materials, improve recycling systems, and get closer to a circular economy.

Spirits producer Amass has moved into cannabis with a THC- and CBD-infused non-alcoholic beverage.

Top Five Trends in Spirits and Wine in 2021/2022

GlobalData predicts new consumer trends and consumption habits in spirits and wine resulting from supply chain disruptions, climate change issues, and a shift in consumer attitudes.

Individual units are fed into the AP-25 bander by the infeed conveyor on the left while banded breakpacks exit on the discharge conveyor on the right.

Bringing Flexibility to Breakpack Production

Advanced controls let this maker of banding equipment bring a whole new level of quick-change flexibility to manufacturers delivering ‘breakpacks’ to their retailer customers.

More Editor’s Picks from PACK EXPO Las Vegas, Day Two

Watch Packaging World’s Emeritus Editor Pat Reynolds and Content Director Jim Chrzan as they rattle off a handful of interesting, innovative, or trending findings from the floor of PACK EXPO Las Vegas last month.

Screen Shot 2021 10 07 At 3 14 33 Pm

Cobot Bin Picking and Palletizing

At PACK EXPO Las Vegas 2021, Omron demonstrated its vision-enabled TM cobot bin-picking system and its cobotic palletizing system.

Carlos Ludlow Palafox, inventor of microwave-induced pyrolysis for recycling flexible packaging

Alternative for hard-to-recycle packaging waste

Carlos Ludlow Palafox, CEO of Enval Ltd. and the creator of a unique technology based on microwave-induced pyrolysis for flexible packaging including plastic laminates, shares his vision.

(left to right) Jon McClure, president, Pregis South Carolina operations; David Timm, division president, Pregis Performance Flexibles; South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster; Kevin Baudhuin, CEO, Pregis; and Dan Zamlong, managing director, Warburg Pincus.

Pregis Opens New Packaging Film Extrusion Facility

Sustainability figures prominently in both the new Andersen, S.C., building and the materials produced within it as part of Pregis’ 2021 $140 million capex investment in new production capabilities.

Screen Shot 2021 10 07 At 3 12 46 Pm

Electromechanical Welding and Control Architecture for Packaging

At PACK EXPO Las Vegas 2021, Emerson highlighted its GSX Welder with electromechanical actuation and DCX Generator architecture to control and monitor packaging machine processes.

Pringle's Holiday Cans

Getting Noticed: Holiday Pringles, Wine Pouches, and Tony's Chocolate

The importance of creating impactful and noticeable packaging continues to create a point of difference. See a few examples from ThePackHub’s October Packaging Innovation Briefing Report.

Screen Shot 2021 10 07 At 3 08 51 Pm

High-Performance Packaging Machine Control

At PACK EXPO Las Vegas 2021, Emerson showcased its high-performance packaging machine architecture to control multiple axes of motion and scale motion on the same PLC platform.

Screen Shot 2021 10 07 At 3 04 30 Pm

Beckhoff Showcases XPlanar Updates

At PACK EXPO Las Vegas 2021, Beckhoff highlighted is XPlanar materials handling system that uses levitating movers to transport materials for packaging, assembly or transfer.