When we started this in-depth service dedicated to flexo printing we set our sights high. Because this is the most widespread printing technology in the packaging field, and also the most dynamic from various points of view, subject to a constant and significant evolution of all the steps of the work cycle. Also, because Converting 5, media partner of a Flexo Day 2021, (again, finally, in the presence) was and is to be read by a wide and particularly “in target” audience.
Giving voice
In short, it was a good opportunity to launch a new initiative, all the more significant because it is on the eve of a year full of long-postponed trade fairs, which for many will be an opportunity
to buy. So, by sending out an invitation via email, we launched an online survey that would give printers and converters a voice, inviting them to express their views on their projects and the means in the field, with the dual objective of mapping the existing fleet of machines and sounding out investment trends. Encouraged by the interest shown by the replies received from important Italian companies – of all regions and sizes, active in both packaging and labeling – we decided, greedy, to relaunch the survey, in order to obtain a more articulated mapping, and significant data from a statistical point of view, which we will report in the next online and paper publications.
Spoilers
In the meantime, here is some initial information. Packaging is the main protagonist of the production of those who have already responded to the Converting survey: 75% of respondents indicate it as their primary source of revenue, followed by 19% whose core business is labels. On average, these companies produce 80% of their output in flexo, with the remainder split between gravure and digital. Plastic films are the most widely used materials, with self-adhesive labels also well represented (over 20% of respondents). As far as projects are concerned, the most frequent
answer among those who declared their intention to invest in flexo in the next two years was to upgrade/update their machinery (over 50% of the sample!). Another substantial 30% declared an interest in investing also in other technologies, specifically in digital.
We would like to thank the companies that took part in the survey in time to publish the first information in this issue of the magazine. And we’d like to reiterate: those who would like to dedicate 10 minutes of their time to this initiative can fill in our online questionnaire (in italian) by clicking on the button below.
GO TO THE SURVEYYou will help us to outline the orientations of Italian printers starting directly from their (your) statements, thus giving voice to companies that form a sector of absolute importance for the national economy. A sector concerned, today, by epochal changes that originate from extraordinary but also “ordinary” factors such as new consumer habits and cultures that, in reverse, condition the entire value chain of printed packaging.
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Flexography: state of the art
and development directions – Interview with Marco Carrara, CI flexo specialist, and Sara Alexander, MarCom Manager for flexible packaging industry, Bobst.
Anilox: the cleaning of the future is laser-based – Interview with Martin De Wit, owner Laserclean.
The unbearable sustainability of flexography – Achieve very significant savings and be sustainable in the flexographic process. By Stefano D’Andrea.
A Onyx 110 UVi for the American market – The Uteco R&D guidelines and the new UVi models that reach unprecedented goals of sustainability and performance.
UV LED: the Termoplast Nord-Koenig & Bauer Flexotecnica project – A new UV LED flexo press with central drum designed with 4.0 criteria.
Flexo News – Latest technological news from Apex, SOMA, BFT Flexo, Lombardi, Simec Group, Ulmex, Windmöller & Hölscher.
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