From: Packaging News

Tetra Pak is to become the first company in the food and beverage carton industry to offer full-colour digital printing on its carton packages.

The carton giant has acted on the popularity and trend of digital printing featuring customisation and small print runs.

Working in collaboration with Koenig & Bauer, the digital printing technology service is designed to simplify the complexity of design handling, reducing time from design to print and opening up new opportunities for flexibility in order placement and product customisation.

The full-width digital printer is currently being built by Koenig & Bauer and will be installed at Tetra Pak’s converting plant at Denton, Texas.

Field testing of the new, digitally-printed carton packages is expected to begin in early 2020 with North American customers.

Beverage brands can take advantage of added benefits like dynamic on-package printing and the ability to include a variety of designs within the same order.

Charles Brand, executive vice president, product management & commercial operations at Tetra Pak said: “We are committed to helping our customers explore new avenues with a truly ‘smart’ package, supporting their need for product customisation, smaller batch sizes, greater traceability and the ability to interact with the consumer. Our investment in this digital printer demonstrates our commitment to support customers with future-proof technologies as the digital revolution transforms the way we all do business.”

Christoph Müller, member of the board of Koenig & Bauer said: “We are absolutely delighted that Tetra Pak has decided in favour of our digital printer. Collaboration between our companies is on an extremely constructive and trusting basis. I am sure that, together, we will significantly change the market for the benefit of Tetra Pak customers.”

Carmen Becker, President and chief executive of Tetra Pak US and Canada, added: “Brands continue to look for opportunities to deliver greater customisation and personalisation of their products. We’re thrilled to offer our customers new and innovative ways to engage with consumers, all while increasing flexibility in the design and order process.”