FESPA said it will launch a new Digital Corrugated Experience at FESPA Global Print Expo 2018 to be held between 15 and 18 May at Messe Berlin in Germany.
The digital corrugated experience is an educational and experiential area, which will unveil the commercial and production advantages of digital print for corrugated packaging and retail display applications.
Packaging converters and box-makers can see the benefits of integrating digital technology into their production mix.
Situated in Hall 5.2 at Messe Berlin, the area will address all elements involved in printing corrugated materials, including substrates; workflow solutions; digital printing technologies; materials handling; primers, inks, coatings and varnishes; and cutting and folding.
It will have a different format to the rest of the FESPA 2018 exhibition. Short educational Print Corrugated conferences will be integrated with business-building discussions with various suppliers.
The area will also demonstrate digitally printed corrugated applications, like shelf-ready and transit packaging boxes, pallet surrounds, promotional packaging and POS displays, supported by like-for-like printing comparisons, samples and narratives helping visitors to assess the range of commercially available solutions.
FESPA CEO Neil Felton said: “FESPA has been a leading force in the transition from analogue to digital print in the signage and graphics market, guiding our community of printers and sign-makers on the integration of digital inkjet technology alongside their analogue production processes as a driver of business transformation.
“When it comes to corrugated, many of our exhibitors have expertise in preparing, printing and finishing these materials for signage, display and packaging applications."
FESPA says that the launch of the Digital Corrugated Experience reflects the growing interest from both the packaging and specialty printing communities in the technology solutions, materials and workflows that are need to take advantage of digital print for short run and customized packaging.
Simthers Pira predicts the digitally printed corrugated material to grow from its present value of $1.44bn to more than $2.35bn by 2020.
FESPA events head Duncan MacOwan said: “FESPA’s Digital Corrugated Experience aims to offer an excellent return on time investment for corrugated box-makers, converters and large format print service providers who are interested in entering the short-run packaging market."
"In the space of a single day at FESPA Global Print Expo in Berlin, they will have the opportunity to deepen their understanding of the latest technological developments in digital printing and converting of corrugated board, and the chance to look at the entire corrugated production process.
“Through the applications showcase, they’ll discover the technology behind a range of finished products, while gaining valuable insights from the expert conference sessions.”
Image: FESPA to launch new Digital Corrugated Experience at FESPA Global Print Expo 2018. Photo: Courtesy of FESPA.