Offset Printing: A Technology for Speed and Flexibility

Our Amcor experts make a case for why offset printing may be the new choice for brands to get packaging on store shelves with speed and agility.

Offset printing first gained widespread use in the newspaper industry over 100 years ago, thanks to its fast turnaround of large printing quantities. Today brands need to respond almost as quickly as news outlets to put the latest packaging designs in front of consumers. Getting new packaging to store shelves faster is the rationale behind Amcor’s investment in EB offset print technology.

Advancements in offset technology for packaging offer excellent print quality, flexibility in order size and faster speed to market. It’s the latest technique to consider for promotions, editions and even designing current events into packaging – going from artwork to print in a matter of hours or days instead of weeks.

At Amcor we understand the trends which are driving brands to change how (and how often) they promote via packaging.

Trend #1: Consumers are demanding more variety

Younger consumer groups, Millennials and Generation Z, demonstrate less brand loyalty, so the pressure is on brand owners to continuously attract them with new flavours, special editions and great packaging design.

This shift in consumer behaviour has driven a shift in our customers’ packaging purchasing behaviour. Runs are getting shorter; flavour variety is increasing and promotional items are becoming increasingly important to drive novelty at shelf and with retailers. We see more new product launches per year, creating a long portfolio tail. We also see an increase in seasonal items and packaging for specific retailer promotions. These influences have led to more frequent requests for small and medium size orders combined with pressure on packaging lead-times.

Trend #2: A greater need for speed to market

Part of the appeal of offset, particularly for new designs, is how quickly we can get on press after artwork is finalized. Instead of waiting weeks for cylinders to be engraved, the plates are created on-site within hours. For getting products to store shelves quickly, offset cuts down time to press and thus time to market.

Trend #3: Demands for high quality designs and greater shelf appeal are increasing

No marketer wants their packaging design to be limited by print technology, yet the trade-off for speed is often sacrificing print quality or paying a higher cost. One of the advances in offset printing is aluminium plates, versus older offset machines which use film. The aluminium plates provide sharper photography, consistent tone across large areas of single colour, plus halftone and gradients at high resolution. It also accommodates fine details such as small text. In fact, depending on the pack’s graphics, the latest offset technology can provide the quality of gravure.

Trend #4: Costly short runs with lots of waste are now obsolete

When digital printing came along, very short runs finally became affordable. And when run size is a bit longer, that’s where offset picks up the cost advantage. For cost efficiency, offset hits its sweet spot from 500 – 20,000 square meters of packaging film. That translates to anywhere from 3,000 -20,000,000 packs depending on the size of each pack. Runs below 500 sqm are typically suited to digital printing, while gravure and flexo may be the best fit for much longer runs. Of course, there’s more to selecting print technology than run size – print effects, anticipated repeat runs, lead-time and more are additional factors. Luckily our customers don’t have to be print experts, Amcor can recommend the right technology by taking all key factors into consideration.

Trend #5: More sustainable solutions are in demand from retailers and consumers

Amcor’s EB offset printer uses solvent-free inks and reduces set-up waste by up to 40% compared to other print technologies. To quantify the impact on the packaging’s environmental profile, our sustainability team performed a lifecycle assessment using ASSET, our Carbon Trust Certified lifecycle assessment tool. The results showed up to 22% reduction in Carbon Footprint* of the same pack printed on offset versus roto-gravure.

Amcor’s offset print services are currently approved for a range of home care, personal care, food and beverage applications and packaging materials with more applications being added to the pre-approved list continuously.

Find out more information on all our printing options, and discover which is the best fit for your packaging needs.

Contact us to connect with our nuts and dried fruit packaging experts. Or find out more about our full offering for snacks, sweets and nuts here.

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